The enjoyable Texan metropolis residence to sports activities, arts and (after all) barbecue

Big hats, huge automobiles, huge perspective. They do issues greater in Texas, and nowhere extra so than the Big D — the Lone Star State’s de facto northern capital and one of the crucial underrated cities within the US. 

Over the previous decade Dallas has welcomed a well-documented flood of younger professionals from New York, California and all factors in between. Attracted by reliably low taxes and reliably good climate, they’ve fuelled a booming restaurant and bar scene that may now go toe-to-toe with wherever else.

An enormous a part of Dallas’s latest evolution has been the expansion of its sprawling Arts District, with first-class theatres, galleries and live performance venues. Meanwhile, present neighbourhoods reminiscent of Bishop Arts, Trinity Groves, Uptown and Lower Greenville have blossomed into bona fide cultural hotspots. Come to Dallas for the sports-watching, the tax-free buying and the burgeoning boutique lodge scene; keep for the rooftop cocktail bars, the state-of-the-art museums and the world-class eating. 

What to see and do

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Swagger cowboy-like into downtown Dallas, making the Perot Museum your first port of name. Resembling an enormous dice hovering above town, it has an immersive inside filled with intriguing displays coping with every part from dinosaurs to distant galaxies. To mark Dallas internet hosting 9 Fifa World Cup matches this 12 months (greater than every other metropolis), the Perot’s latest exhibition is a deep dive into the game, entitled Soccer: More Than a Game (£27; perotmuseum.org).

Explore Uptown by tram

Head deeper into Uptown, exploring Dallas’s most dynamic neighbourhood on a classic M-Line streetcar, a few of which have been rattling round for practically 120 years. A loop of the free hop-on, hop-off service takes about an hour to finish, with the chatty conductors more than pleased to level out highlights alongside the way in which (free; mata.org). 

Alamy

Klyde Warren Park

Stroll via Klyde Warren Park, an unbelievable feat of city design constructed on a flyover immediately above a freeway. A leafy hyperlink between Uptown and downtown, the superbly landscaped 5.4-acre park is among the metropolis’s hottest public areas. There is one thing taking place most evenings, from free yoga to dwell music, and you can even seize a predinner margarita from the lovable Mi Cocina bar (free; klydewarrenpark.org).

Bishop Arts District

Drive ten minutes southwest of downtown throughout the Trinity River to discover the bohemian Bishop Arts District. A walkable, hipster-friendly neighbourhood filled with greater than 60 impartial boutiques, eating places, cafés and artwork galleries, that is the place Dallas’s artistic class coalesces and is the proper spot to choose up one-of-a-kind items. Perennial favourites embrace Zsa Zsa’s Unique Boutique and the beloved bookstore-slash-bar the Wild Detectives.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Some 65 per cent of Americans nonetheless consider that JFK’s assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963, was half of a bigger conspiracy. Explore the story from each angle on the spectacular Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, housed within the notorious Texas School Book Depository constructing. Here you may stand on the window instantly adjoining to the one utilized by the murderer Lee Harvey Oswald, earlier than heading all the way down to the grassy knoll to make up your individual thoughts in regards to the “second shooter” concept (from £18; jfk.org).

Choose between opera or theatre

Dallas is residence to America’s largest contiguous city arts district, spanning an infinite 20 metropolis blocks. As a consequence there’s at all times a must-see present to catch, significantly on the headline AT&T Performing Arts Center — residence to not one however three of the nation’s finest efficiency venues: the Winspear Opera House, Annette Strauss Square and the Wyly Theatre (tickets from £26; attpac.com).

Where to eat and drink

Las Palmas 

Tex-Mex blends time-honoured Texan ranching elements reminiscent of beef, cheese and wheat with the standard flavours of northern Mexico to create the last word southern consolation meals. This spicy smorgasbord of gooey queso, scorching fajitas and crispy enchiladas is all served to wonderful perfection at Las Palmas in Uptown. Make a reservation to keep away from disappointment, and e-book a desk on the patio for prime people-watching (mains from £12; laspalmasdallas.com). 

Bowen House

This plush Victorian-style consuming den is the proper place for a day pick-me-up. Situated in a well-preserved 1870s home on a quiet Uptown facet road, it serves killer craft cocktails (such because the mezcal Moulin Rouge) and glorious bar nibbles, with costs slashed through the in style 4pm-6pm completely satisfied hour (drinks from £7; bowenhousetx.com).

Mamani 

Incredibly the French fine-dining restaurant Mamani received a Michelin star inside eight weeks of opening in 2025. Now one of many hottest reservations in Dallas, it’s famend for its beautiful starters (assume scallop and caviar with watermelon radish) and high-end shared platters, reminiscent of veal sous-chef. Perhaps the true star of the present is to be discovered on the dessert menu, although: the Paris-Brest pudding is a creamy, crunchy slice of pure heaven (mains from £21; mamanirestaurant.com).

Maribel Morales

Lockhart Smokehouse 

The scorching love affair between Texas and barbecue could be traced again greater than a thousand years to the native Caddo individuals, and burns brighter than ever at the moment. See what all of the fuss is about at Lockhart Smokehouse, the place the meals is ordered at an old style butcher-style counter and is constantly glorious. Go for the dry-rubbed spare ribs or the melt-in-your-mouth burnt ends, however get there early — they typically promote out by 2pm (mains from £7; lockhartsmokehouse.com). 

Catbird

Drink within the scrumptious views from this modern eyrie amid the skyscrapers of downtown Dallas. Catbird is equal components artwork deco hideout and rooftop cocktail terrace, with a stellar line-up of authentic cocktails to attempt, plus punchy mocktails such because the Zen Garden — a candy mix of matcha, brown sugar and pistachio (drinks from £12.50; catbirddallas.com).

Billy Can Can

Whether you go earlier than or after a present, Billy Can Can is at all times a great guess. An elevated western saloon, it’s pure Dallas: glamorous and properly dressed, with an Old West coronary heart. The menu is each glorious and surprisingly inexpensive, with standouts together with venison tartare and a blockbuster bone-in pork chop (mains from £15; billycancan.com). 

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Where to remain 

Bishop Arts lodge

The finest form of finances 
The Bishop Arts District, Dallas’s trendiest and most walkable neighbourhood, has been crying out for a lodge for years. Step ahead the shiny new Bishop Arts lodge, with its modern, apartment-style digs named after locations around the globe, at borderline bonkers costs. Each unit has a kitchenette, a washer and a desk, in addition to entry to the communal pool, so you may dwell like an area earlier than stepping out to hitch the true ones for sun-drenched completely satisfied hour drinks on the close by Bar Eden or Paradiso (room-only doubles from £75).

The Joule

Mei-Chun Jau

Best spa on the town
Housed in a grand neogothic constructing on Main Street, the Joule is topped and tailed by a powerful rooftop pool and a world-class basement spa. The latter is taken into account one of the best in Dallas, due to its serene subterranean setting and top-tier facilities. The lodge itself is drenched in artwork, together with many Andy Warhol originals, whereas the Midnight Rambler basement speakeasy is a favorite with the in-crowd (room-only doubles from £154).

Hôtel Swexan

Impeccable model meets southern attraction
The odd moniker is a nod to the lodge’s mission assertion: to mix the sophistication of a Swiss lodge with the basic charms of Texas. As a consequence it feels each luxuriously European and definitively Dallas, from its stylish rooftop pool to its upmarket steakhouse, Stillwell’s. The swanky foyer bar, Isabelle’s, evokes an previous London members’ membership, with its vintage fire, panelled partitions and leather-based armchairs (to not point out its signature Churchill cocktail). Plus, the lodge gives company free personal-shopping periods, health courses and even using an electrical automobile for buzzing about city (room-only doubles from £329).

Getting there and round

Dallas Fort Worth worldwide airport (DFW) is among the busiest on this planet, with connections to all the massive worldwide hubs, together with Heathrow (5 flights a day with British Airways and American Airlines). Cheaper offers from the UK are generally doable in case you break your journey on the east coast or in Houston, earlier than connecting to DFW or Dallas Love Field. Sadly, Dallas doesn’t excel at public transport, with the Dart light-rail system an inexpensive however infuriatingly sluggish and badly related route into town (dart.org). Instead, most vacationers depend on Uber or Lyft.

Visit responsibly

Dallas is uncommon in that among the finest offers come on the peak of summer season, when temperatures soar above 40C and the locals head for the hill nation. Base your self in downtown or Uptown to make lots of the highlights walkable, and don’t overlook the native TRE prepare — an inexpensive and simple method to go to neighbouring Fort Worth (tickets from £3; trinityrailwayexpress.org). 
Jonathan Thompson is a journey journalist who lives and works in Dallas