Dallas, Texas Attractions

The State Fair of Texas, North America's largest exposition, has been held here since 1886. But you don't have to wait for the fair in September or the Cotton Bowl Classic football game in January to find something to do in Fair Park. In addition to the stadium and fairgrounds, the park contains eight museums, including the Museum of Nature and Science and the African American Museum, as well as musical theatre at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

The Majestic Theatre was founded during the Vaudeville era of the Roaring Twenties and hosted a variety of acts including Houdini, Mae West, and Bob Hope. When Vaudeville began to fade and talking pictures entered the entertainment industry, the Majestic Theatre switched its focus to featuring movie premiers. They also presented numerous live musical entertainment with Big Bands such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. Today, the Majestic Theatre is surrounded by hotels and other popular entertainment destinations such as the DART Light Rail, and the Experimental Theatre was opened in 1999 right underneath the Majestic.

One of the most traumatic events in American history led to this comprehensive look at the life, death and legacy of President John F. Kennedy. The museum is located in the former Texas School Book Depository, the building in which Lee Harvey Oswald had his sniper's nest. The collection includes home movies taken the day of the assassination in Dealey Plaza as well as hands-on educational activities and a museum store.

This music and dining club is the eleventh location in the United States, and features a music hall; a restaurant specializing in Southern-inspired cuisine such as jambalaya and baby back ribs; room for special events and a souvenir store. The musical acts keep guests rockin' all night long.

The fastest game on hardwood is expertly played by the Dallas Mavericks, one of the NBA's most valuable franchises. Though they have yet to take home a championship in their nearly 30-year history, the Mavs continue to keep fans cheering from the stands for their every shot at basketball immortality.

The Dallas Stars, who won the Stanley Cup in both 1998 and 1999, were founded in 1967 as the Minnesota North Stars and moved to Texas almost 20 years ago. They moved to the 18,500-seat American Airlines Center in 2001 and continue to bring in fans of the fastest game on ice.

As the most valuable sports franchise in the United States, the Dallas Cowboys are an iconic American team. They've won five Super Bowls in their nearly 50-year history and continually make the playoffs.

In the lush natural areas surrounding the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, golfers enjoy fairways on the prairie and rolling hills. Home to a number of world-class resorts and challenging courses, you'll find all the elements of a great golf vacation in the Lone Star State.

All kinds of sporting events, whether college or professional football and basketball, baseball, hockey or rodeo, are bigger in the Metroplex. That's especially true of North Fort Worth's Texas Motor Speedway, which is not only one of the most modern NASCAR tracks but also one of the largest sports facilities in the United States.

The food at Mercy is served smaller portions called "plates," and diners are encouraged to try several different items and pair them with different wines. Many items are meant to be shared and passed around, more family style. The dining experience is very European, in that you try a few things in smaller portions with different wines.

This is the latest restaurant of celebrity Chef Stephan Pyles, pioneer of new American cuisine and founding father of Southwestern cuisine. This architecturally significant restaurant serves Pyles newest style of cooking, New Millennium Southwestern with emphasis on cultures that are related to Spain - the Latin New World, the Mediterranean and Arabia.

Editors at Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and Fodor's have consistently included The French Room on their annual lists of superlative restaurants. Now guided by Executive Chef Jason Weaver, whose resume includes the posh Mandarin Oriental New York and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, The French Room is an exceptional dining experience by any standard.

At Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, they remember the pleasure of dining the old-fashioned way, the way brothers Jim, George, Tom and Pete Pappas served their guests over 60 years ago. Today's generation of Pappas brothers is committed to creating an environment reminiscent of the fine dining style their father and uncles enjoyed providing to their guests.

This 2008 James Beard Award-winning restaurant offers four different dining rooms in the Ritz-Carlton, including a gorgeous patio setting. The menu is full of bold, Texas-fresh cuisine created by chef Dean Fearing, often called the father of contemporary Southwest cuisine.

Savor a wide range of tantalizing treats at one of Dallas' hottest restaurants, Abacus. Executive chef and owner Kent Rathbun prepares contemporary global cuisine. Abacus' menu reflects Rathbun's eclectic style including Mediterranean, Cajun/Creole, American, Southwestern, and Pacific Rim influences.

Dallas' horizon brightened with the debut of Five Sixty atop Reunion Tower. The skyline's distinguishing 560-foot landmark with the distinctive glowing ball houses legendary chef Wolfgang Puck's first fine dining restaurant in the city. Upon ascending 50 stories, diners depart from the elevator at the center of the restaurant. The cuisine draws inspiration from Puck's renowned signature fine dining restaurants including Spago, Chinois and CUT, and features modern fusion Asian dishes.

Certified Texas organic beef, wild game and fresh gulf seafood are the star performers of Bonnell's. Each dish exhibits creativity and innovative tastes with a blend of Southwestern, Creole and Mexican influences.

Even the welcome is big at the Dallas Zoo. At 67.5 feet, the giraffe at the entrance is the tallest statue in Texas. Take the DART Red Line on Monday or Tuesday and see the animals for cheap.

Parents, remember when a nickel bought something worth having? Kids, see how much you can score with a couple of bucks in this magical Knox-Henderson emporium. Pricier toys and gifts are in stock too.

If you don't think your little 'uns can sit through a live theatre performance, see how Dallas Children's Theatre's professional company or a national touring show can hold them spellbound.

Texas! What image does that word conjure up? Rodeo bull riders? Country music? Sizzlin' steaks? Two steppin' cowgirls? This family friendly fun includes a real cowboy dinner, with real cowboy hospitality, and even a rodeo or bull riding on the weekends! Located in the Historic Fort Worth, Texas Stockyards near downtown, Billy Bob's Texas has become one of the most popular visitor attractions and meeting facilities in the state.

"Puffy" the locomotive is the oldest continuously operating steam engine in the South, pulling train buffs in authentic Victorian-style coaches between Grapevine and the Fort Worth Stockyards.

The original bar that made mechanical bulls famous burned down in 1989, but the dance floor, restaurant, showroom, free dance lessons and the bulls are back and bigger than ever.

The Palladium Ballroom in Dallas features top musical performances by today's most popular and up-and-coming bands.

This lovely, 2,056-seat hall is where Fort Worth goes for the symphony, ballet and opera as well as the Cliburn Concerts, a series showcasing some of the best classical musicians in the world. Musicals and popular entertainment are also featured in this historic Sundance Square venue.

Forget karaoke. Mix two pianos, four A-list players, a song list from ABBA to ZZ Top and one rowdy crowd and you've got a sing-along, clap-along good time.

Zeus Comics and Collectibles is a comic and action-figure shop and it's still the place to get your fix of the latest and the nostalgic.

At the Dallas Farmers Market, farmers have been selling fresh produce, specialty meats and flowers directly to customers downtown every day since 1941.

By iconic luxury retailer, they mean the flagship store with a museum on the fifth floor dedicated to a century of itself and its famous catalog.

In 1922, saddle- and boot-making companies were common trades. Four generations later, the Leddy family handcrafts boots, saddles, hats and other leather Western items of uncommon quality in the Fort Worth Stockyards.