Things to Do in Dallas, Texas

A Dallas, Texas, itinerary should include the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, the museums of the Dallas Arts District, the view from Reunion Tower, an evening in Deep Ellum or Bishop Arts, a plate of smoked brisket or Tex-Mex, and a day at the Fort Worth Stockyards next door. Dallas is spread out and car-friendly, so the trick is to plan each day around one part of the city.

You will find the bigger picture in our guide to the most famous landmarks in the USA.

Below are twelve things worth your time, each with where it is, what it costs to plan for, how long to allow and one tip that makes the visit better. Opening details were checked as of October 2026; book timed tickets in advance where we say so.

How we picked these: We chose sights and experiences that a first-time visitor would regret missing, spread across downtown, the main neighbourhoods and Fort Worth, and checked current ticketing rules with each attraction's published information. Free options are marked so you can balance a budget.

Quick comparison of things to do in Dallas

The table lists twelve things to do in Dallas with their area, the time to allow and the cost. Downtown and the Arts District hold the core sights, from the Sixth Floor Museum (about two hours, timed ticket) to the free Dallas Museum of Art and Klyde Warren Park, while Fort Worth Stockyards needs a full day.

The first five rows cluster within walking distance or a short trolley ride of each other, so they fit together on one or two downtown days. Deep Ellum and Bishop Arts are best saved for evenings and weekends, when their restaurants and music venues are busiest. The Arboretum, Fort Worth and the State Fair each need their own half or full day and, in practice, a car or a long rail trip. Items marked "timed ticket" sell entry by time slot, and weekend slots at the Sixth Floor Museum and the Perot Museum can sell out, so book online a few days ahead. "Free" places can still have paid parking, and special exhibitions at free museums usually carry a separate charge.

Best things to do in Dallas, full guide

Start in downtown Dallas with the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, then spend time in the Arts District at the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center and Klyde Warren Park. Evenings belong to Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts and Reunion Tower; families add the Perot Museum, and a day trip reaches the Fort Worth Stockyards.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Downtown at 411 Elm Street, the Sixth Floor Museum occupies the former Texas School Book Depository, from whose sixth-floor window Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963. The exhibition walks through Kennedy's presidency, the events of that day, the investigations that followed and the legacy, with the sniper's corner recreated behind glass as it was found. Allow about two hours, and take DART light rail to West End.

Outside, Dealey Plaza and the grassy knoll keep the layout of 1963, and an X painted on Elm Street marks the spot. A few blocks east is the John F. Kennedy Memorial, an open cenotaph designed by Philip Johnson; leave time afterwards to walk the plaza and the memorial. Tickets are timed and valid only for the date and slot shown, so book online before you go, particularly at weekends. Anyone interested in modern American history should put this first.

Dallas Museum of Art

The best free museum in town anchors the Arts District with a collection running from ancient Mediterranean and African works through European painting to American and contemporary art. General admission at the Dallas Museum of Art has been free since 2013, though you reserve a timed ticket online, and some special exhibitions charge.

It is a big building, so pick two or three galleries and give it two to three hours. The museum sits within a short walk of the Nasher, the small and quiet Crow Museum of Asian Art and Klyde Warren Park, which makes it easy to combine into one morning on an art lover's budget.

Nasher Sculpture Center

Across the street from the DMA, the Nasher Sculpture Center shows modern sculpture in galleries and a walled garden, in a building designed by Renzo Piano. Works by Rodin, Calder, Miró and Henry Moore are part of the collection, and the garden is a calm space right in the middle of downtown.

Admission is paid, and the place is compact, so an hour or two is enough for a short, peaceful stop. Go on a mild, dry morning to enjoy the garden properly, and see the DMA the same morning.

Klyde Warren Park

Built as a 5.2-acre deck over the sunken Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Klyde Warren Park links downtown's Arts District with Uptown. It has lawns, a children's area, a dog park, lawn games and a line of food trucks at lunchtime most days, with free events on many days.

Entry is free, and an hour here is the easiest break between museums. At lunchtime office workers fill the tables, which makes it good for people-watching. Check the park's event calendar for free fitness classes and concerts.

Reunion Tower GeO-Deck

That 561-foot tower with the lit ball on top, in the Reunion district on the west side of downtown, has marked the Dallas skyline since it opened in April 1978. The GeO-Deck observation level gives 360-degree views over downtown, the Trinity River bridges and far across the flat Texas plain. Admission is paid and a visit takes about an hour.

Photographers and first-time visitors should buy an online ticket for a slot just before sunset, to see the city in daylight and then lit up. For a free view, walk the Ronald Kirk pedestrian bridge beside the white-arched Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava.

Deep Ellum

Just east of downtown, Deep Ellum was a hub for blues and jazz in the 1920s. Today it is the city's best nightlife district, with live music, large street murals, small venues, breweries and late-night food, and DART light rail stops right there.

Walk it in late afternoon to see the murals in daylight, then stay for dinner and a show; Thursday to Saturday evenings are the liveliest, and exploring costs nothing. It gets loud and crowded on weekend nights, which is the point for most visitors. Music fans heading home after a late show should use rideshare and leave the car.

Bishop Arts District

Southwest of downtown in Oak Cliff, Bishop Arts is a few walkable blocks packed with independent boutiques, bakeries, coffee shops and some of the city's most interesting small restaurants. It feels more like a neighbourhood than a tourist strip, and it is free to wander.

Give it half a day: go for brunch or a late lunch, browse the shops, then stay for a casual dinner. Weekday visits are far less crowded. Parking fills up at weekends, so arrive early or use rideshare.

Smoked brisket and Tex-Mex

Every visitor should eat Texas barbecue, which means beef brisket smoked low and slow for many hours, sliced to order with sausage and ribs on the side. The best-known places in Deep Ellum, Oak Cliff and across the city sell out, so queues form before opening and the brisket can be gone by mid-afternoon. Pecan Lodge in Deep Ellum is one of the most famous names. Order brisket "moist" (fatty) for the classic texture.

Tex-Mex is the city's comfort food: fajitas, enchiladas in chili gravy, queso and the frozen margarita, which a Dallas restaurateur, Mariano Martinez, made famous with his frozen margarita machine in 1971. Dallas suburbs such as Irving, Richardson and Plano also have large South Asian communities, where halal restaurants are easy to find.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Families with children get the most from the Perot Museum, the city's science museum in Victory Park near the Arts District. It has dinosaur skeletons, hands-on exhibits on energy, the human body and engineering, and a striking cube-shaped building.

Plan on about three hours. Entry is by timed ticket, so book ahead, especially on weekends and school holidays, and arrive at opening to beat school groups.

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

On the shore of White Rock Lake in East Dallas, the Dallas Arboretum covers 66 acres. It is famous for its huge spring flower displays and the autumn pumpkin village, with lake views from many of the gardens, which makes spring and autumn the seasons to go.

Tickets are sold in advance for timed slots, and spring weekends sell out early. Allow two to three hours for a calm half day outdoors, then walk or cycle part of the trail around White Rock Lake.

Fort Worth Stockyards

Fort Worth, about 30 to 45 minutes west of Dallas by car, shows the cowboy side of Texas and makes the best day trip. At the Stockyards in the north of the city, a herd of Texas longhorns is driven down Exchange Avenue daily at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., a free show that draws crowds to the kerb; stand there 15 minutes early for a front spot. Rodeos (paid) run on weekend nights, and Billy Bob's Texas bills itself as the world's largest honky-tonk.

Fort Worth also has excellent art museums, including the Kimbell Art Museum designed by Louis Kahn and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, so you can split a full day between culture and cowboys.

State Fair of Texas

Autumn's big event runs each year from late September into October, when the State Fair of Texas fills Fair Park in east Dallas with rides, livestock shows, concerts and inventive fried foods, all watched over by Big Tex, the giant cowboy statue. Fair Park's art deco buildings are worth a look in their own right.

Outside fair season, Fair Park is quiet. If your dates line up, buy entry tickets online (food coupons cost extra), take DART light rail to Fair Park and go on a weekday morning, which is much less crowded than a weekend.

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How to get around Dallas: DART, car or rideshare

Dallas was built around the motorway, and the sights on this list sit in four clusters: downtown and the Arts District, Deep Ellum and Fair Park to the east, Bishop Arts in Oak Cliff and the Arboretum by White Rock Lake, and the Fort Worth Stockyards about an hour west. The right mix of transport depends on how many of the outer sights you plan to see.

For a three or four day visit, go car-free for the central days, using DART rail and the trolley between downtown, Uptown, Deep Ellum and Fair Park, then rent a car or use the TRE for a Fort Worth day. If you do rent, ask the rental company how it charges for toll roads, since many Dallas expressways have no cash booths and unpaid tolls are billed to the hirer later with a fee. From Dallas Love Field, the DART Love Link bus connects the terminal to Inwood/Love Field station on the Green and Orange lines.

Where to stay in Dallas for sightseeing

First-time visitors do best in downtown or Uptown. Downtown puts you near Dealey Plaza, the Arts District and DART rail; Uptown has restaurants, bars and the free McKinney Avenue trolley.

Downtown suits a short, car-free visit. The Sixth Floor Museum, Reunion Tower, Klyde Warren Park and the Arts District museums are within walking distance or a short trolley ride, and every DART rail line passes through, including the Orange Line to DFW Airport Terminal A. The downside is that parts of downtown go quiet in the evening and on weekends, and hotel parking is charged nightly, often at a steep rate, so ask before booking if you are driving.

Uptown is better for evenings out: McKinney Avenue and the West Village have restaurants, patios and bars, and the M-Line trolley links them back to the Arts District at no charge. Hotels here are generally newer and pricier.

Deep Ellum suits travellers who want nightlife on the doorstep, but weekend nights are loud; ask for a room away from Elm Street. Bishop Arts in Oak Cliff has a handful of small, characterful places to stay but needs a car or rideshare for most sights.

Hotels near DFW Airport or in Irving and Las Colinas work for short stopovers or business trips and usually cost less, and Grapevine is a practical base if a Fort Worth day is high on your list. Weekends with big games at AT&T Stadium, the State Fair of Texas in autumn and major conventions push prices up across the city, so book early for those dates. Find rooms by area on our hotel page.

Best time to visit Dallas

Spring (March to May) and autumn (October to November) are the best seasons, with warm days and comfortable evenings. Summer is hot and humid, with many days above 35°C, and winter brings occasional cold snaps.

Autumn adds the State Fair, and spring brings the Arboretum's flower displays. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is a major hub with nonstop flights across the US and to Europe, Latin America and Asia, and Emirates flies nonstop to Dubai, giving many travellers from Asia and Africa a one-stop route.

• Rent a car or plan rideshare. Dallas is spread out. DART light rail serves downtown, Deep Ellum and Fair Park, but most other trips are easier by car.
• Book timed tickets. The Sixth Floor Museum, Perot Museum, DMA and Arboretum all use timed entry. Reserve online before you go.
• Go early for barbecue. Popular smokehouses sell out. Arrive at opening, especially on weekends.
• Plan around the heat. In summer, do outdoor sights in the morning and museums in the afternoon. Carry water.
• Check entry rules. Visa Waiver Program nationals need an approved ESTA; most other travellers need a US visitor visa.

Compare fares to DFW on our flight page, check US visa guidance for your passport in our visa section, and see more ideas on our United States page.

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