Pura Vida View
DFW
I have lived most of my life in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and definitely consider it home. With two huge cities located adjacent to each other, surrounded by ever growing suburbs, there is a lot to do and see! The metroplex offers museums, music venues, theaters, beautiful gardens and parks, historical landmarks, the largest State Fair in the USA, Many shopping centers and large malls, amusement parks, professional sports, lots of fun nightlife venues and what seems like an endless amount of restaurants and bars.
I currently live in the Suburb of Southlake which is north of and centrally located between Dallas and Fort Worth. I lived 17 years in Frisco and grew up in Plano. I continue to love exploring the many different suburbs and neighborhoods around the two cities and I am always discovering something new.
The Arts in Dallas
Dallas has one of the largest arts districts in the nation and houses several museums and performing arts centers. Founded in 1984, The Arts District Friends, renamed The Arts Community Alliance set to create the largest Urban Arts District in the country. The District has more Pritzker Prize winning architects than any other location in the world! Located near downtown, the 19-block area covers just over 68 acres. In addition to the many world-renowned performing and visual arts establishments, the area is home to many outdoor festivals, concerts and educational programs. Plan your visit toe the Dallas Arts District!
Not as big as Dallas, but equally as impressive, The Fort Worth Cultural District, located a few miles from Downtown, is home to a fine collection of world-renowned museums. It is also home to the Will Rogers Memorial Center, which is a multipurpose facility that hosts a wide variety of events and is home to the annual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Dickies Arena located adjacent to Will Rogers Memorial Center, opened in 2019 and is a state of the art venue for many kids of events, concerts, sporting events, The Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo performances, and more. I have seen several concerts and even went to a tennis championship event at Dickies, it's a great facility.
Each city has it's own zoo. My favorite, and the one I took my daughters to for years, is the Fort Worth Zoo. It is very impressive with so much to see and do, you could spend an entire day and still want more time. It brings in more than a million visitors annually and is considered one of the best zoos in the country. Located just outside of downtown Dallas, The Dallas Zoo is the largest zoo in Texas and spans 106 acres. It is home to more than 2000 animals and also offers some fun events throughout the year including Safari Nights, Dino Safari and Zoo Lights.
The Dallas World Aquarium is located in the heart of Dallas in the West End district. It was converted from a vacant warehouse into an aquarium in 1992 and has expanded throughout the years. In addition to fish and sea creatures, it is home to a rainforest full of land animals and birds.
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is not really located in Dallas/Fort Worth, but it's still worth mentioning and definitely worth going to! Located in Glen Rose about 100 miles from Dallas and 60 miles from Fort Worth, Fossil Rim is an 1800-acre park that is a drive through safari where you can feed animals right from your car. I have been multiple times with my girls and enjoyed it just as much as them!
There are so many beautiful parks, trails and gardens in the DFW area. One of the most visited and beautiful is the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden which is listed among the top arboretums in the world! It is located alongside White Rock Lake in East Dallas. The gardens throughout are just breathtaking and with 66 acres to explore you will be truly amazed by the beauty around every corner.
Another unique park right in the heart of Dallas is, Klyde Warren Park. It is a 5.2 acre urban playground with more than a million visitors each year. It is a very active place offering free programming, outdoor concerts and films, food trucks, games, greenspace to relax, and much more Bring your kids to play at the children's park or your fur babies to enjoy the dog park. Check out the interactive Nancy Best Fountain, a 5000 square foot splash pad and watch as it comes to life every night with a light and music show...you are encouraged to play in the fountain! There are even free fitness classes.
Located in the heart of Fort Worth's Cultural District, the Fort Worth Botanical Garden is 120 acres of gardens, horticultural displays, unique exhibits, and more. The oldest major botanic garden in Texas contains more than 2,500 species of plants and is composed of twenty-three specialty gardens including the celebrated Japanese Garden which is breathtaking!
Sundance Square located in downtown Fort Worth is 37 blocks of shopping, restaurants, art galleries, outdoor entertainment, live music and theater performances, festivals, concerts, and much more. It is home to Bass Performance Hall which is home to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Opera, Texas Ballet and also a venue for touring Broadway productions and concerts.
Two of my favorite restaurants in Fort Worth are located in Sundance Square.
Whether you are in Sundance Square, the Stockyards, the cultural district, West 7th or Near Southside, you are sure to find some amazing restaurants in Fort Worth! Here is just a short list of some places we have tried and enjoyed.
There are so many neighborhoods within the city of Dallas and surrounding it that are worth exploring. From far north Dallas in Frisco, Plano, and The Colony to Downtown, Highland Park, Uptown, the Bishop Arts District and beyond, you will find many fun things to do and so many different dining options
Check out these some of our favorite Italian Eateries around Dallas
In the mid 1800s the Fort Worth Stockyards were first established as the last outpost for cowboys driving cattle to market along the famous Chisolm Trail, and they quickly became a major center for the buying and shipping of livestock thanks to the Texas and Pacific Railroad. From the late 1800's to the mid 1950s they grew to become the largest livestock-trading center in the southwest. However, as the trucking industry became a cheaper and more efficient means of transportation than the railroad, business declined. Today, live auctions are for prize-winning bulls and longhorns.
You cannot visit Fort Worth without experiencing the Stockyards, also known as, Cowtown. You will feel like you've gone back in time to the old west. There is so much to see and do, from themed retail shops, many restaurants, live animals, entertainment, re-enactment gun fights, and the don't miss twice daily cattle drive at 11:30 am and 4:00 pm, where real Texas cowhands drive a herd of Texas longhorns through the main street of the stockyards. It is also home to the world's only year round rodeo which takes place every Friday and Saturday in the Fort Worth Cowtown Coliseum. And of course you don't want to miss a visit to the famous Billy Bob's Texas Honky Tonk!