I have been obsessed with the television show Dallas from the opening credits of the first episode, with its shots of freeways, oil fields, ranches and that fantastic city skyline.
Broadcast from 1978 until 1991, before a brief 2012 reboot, Dallas introduced us to the Ewings, a ruthless, dysfunctional Texan family of feuding ranching and oil billionaires who did deals in bars, boardrooms and bedrooms. There was the devious and ruthless JR; his beautiful, alcoholic wife, Sue Ellen; his honourable brother, Bobby, and his classy, moralistic wife, Pam. Most of the action took place in Dallas itself and the Ewing family home, Southfork Ranch, about 25 miles north of the city.
I was enthralled by the show’s Eighties fashions, outrageous storylines and the city itself. Dallas was one of the most-watched TV shows in history and in 1980 more than 21 million viewers in the UK tuned in to BBC1 to find out the answer to the biggest question of the day: who shot JR? (Spoiler alert: it was Kristin, his sister-in-law.)
So I couldn’t resist a pilgrimage to the city and the chance to stay at the actual Southfork Ranch, fulfilling my dream to live like a Ewing.
The Dallas cast outside Southfork in 1979
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What you need to knowWhere is it? Dallas is in northern Texas, 240 miles north of Houston. Southfork Ranch is 25 miles out of townWho will love it? Megafans of the primetime Eighties soapInsider tip? Get kitted out in full cowboy gear at Wild Bill’s Western Store
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Dressing the part and staying at Southfork
My first job was to look the part of the wealthy rancher with a visit to Wild Bill’s Western Store on North Market Street in downtown Dallas (wildbillswestern.com). A must-visit destination for cowboy chic, this is rumoured to be where the cast bought their boots and stetsons. Cowboy boots are extremely difficult to try on but luckily the shop assistant had special boot-pull hooks. (He also had a loaded revolver — this is Texas, after all.) I tried boots in ostrich, alligator and old-fashioned cowhide before settling on tan ones made from buffalo shoulder. Those, along with a stetson, shirt, belt buckle and neckerchief, had me looking just right for the next part of my trip: an overnight stay at Southfork Ranch.
Head to Wild Bill’s Western Store to be kitted out like a cowboy
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Built in 1970, Southfork, in the small city of Parker, is now a tourist attraction and events centre. As I sped up the driveway, as countless Ewings had done before me, it felt surreal seeing the famous white mansion, which appeared much smaller in real life.
I’d picked a Live and Dream Like a Ewing package, which gave me a night in the family home and included a personal tour of the mansion and on-site Dallas museum, a horseback tour of the grounds and “JR’s VIP steak dinner” (£1,470 for two; southforkranch.com). Such lavish treatment would surely even satisfy the spoilt princess Lucy Ewing, I thought.
Southfork doubles up as a tourist attraction and events centre
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Dressed in my cowboy outfit, I took to my beautiful horse, Echo, scanning 300 acres of grounds and taking deep breaths of Texas air. I felt like Miss Ellie, the Ewing matriarch, empathising with her enduring love of the land.
After a huge piece of prime Texas steak with baked potato, vegetables and salad — and copious amounts of bourbon — I left the grand dining room, with its mahogany dining table and crystal chandeliers, and made my way to my enormous JR-themed bedroom. I fell asleep in a curtained sleigh bed watched over by scarily huge portraits of JR and Sue Ellen hanging on the wall.
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From JR to JFK
The next morning, before Southfork’s group tours started to file in, I made my way back to the city. The town of Highland Park, to the north of the city centre, is designer Dallas. Close to their sprawling mansions, impeccably dressed Pams and Sue Ellens can be spotted splashing out on their designer shoulder pads. Built in 1931, Highland Park Village is one of the US’s oldest self-contained shopping malls, with stores such as Ralph Lauren, Cartier and Tom Ford facing an interior parking area full of supercars befitting modern-day oil tycoons (hpvillage.com).
Until the TV show came along, the thing many people would have associated with Dallas was the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy, who was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository in the west of the downtown area. The Book Depository is now the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and provides fascinating, eerie exhibits about the assassination and the events leading up to it, as well as the investigations and the conspiracy theories that have come since (£18; jfk.org). You can even spend time on the grassy knoll just outside on Elm Street, where some thought the fatal shots had come from, and see points marked on the road where each shot hit JFK.
The site of the Kennedy assassination with the Sixth Floor Museum, left, at Dealey Plaza
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Ten minutes’ walk south from Dealey Plaza, Reunion Tower featured in the opening credits of every episode and has panoramic views from 470ft up, although you can’t see quite as far as Southfork (from £14; reuniontower.com). The 259 LED lights on the observation deck mean “the ball” — as the tower is known in these parts, because of its shape — can be seen from just about anywhere in the city.
My adventure was ending and I was back where I started: totally immersed in that fantastic skyline. And now I was part of it.
Cristo Foufas travelled independently. Fly to Dallas
More top spots in Dallas
By Marieta Marinova
Hôtel Swexan
Hôtel Swexan mixes Swiss and Texan styles
In the heart of Harwood, a charming, walkable neighbourhood in uptown Dallas, Hôtel Swexan is a standout spot close to the city’s best dining, shopping and cultural venues. The 134-room hotel blends Swiss sophistication with Texan style. A rooftop pool and bar overlook the Dallas skyline. Opened in 2023, it has already earned a Michelin Key for its service, while one of its on-site restaurants, Stillwell’s, holds a Michelin recommendation. The hotel helps guests to tap into the local style by letting them order bespoke cowboy hats and personalised boots ahead of a stay.
Details B&B doubles from £452 (hotelswexan.com)
Far Out
For modern American food with a Texan twist try Far Out, northeast of the Fair Park area, which is home to popular museums and performance and sporting venues. In an airy Quonset hut (with a semicircular roof) it has interiors that lean into a modern western aesthetic: stone floors, cacti everywhere. The menu champions locally sourced ingredients, fermenting and pickling — try the stuffed mushrooms and juicy Texas tomatoes with crispy pig ear. On selected evenings the patio comes alive with live music (mains from £18; faroutdallas.com).
1519 Main
For a refined cocktail experience, 1519 Main in the Central Business district is the place. It’s housed in a beautifully preserved 1920s building, which retains original details such as rose-and-cream marble floors, and this bar’s timeless elegance is complemented by a list of high-end cocktails — try the Blind Pig, with bacon-infused bourbon, or a Latin Flapper made with Mexican tequila and mezcal, lime and passionfruit (cocktails from £10; 1519main.com).
Dallas Museum of Art
Dallas Museum of Art has works by Pollock and Basquiat on display
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This is one of the largest art museums in America so is a must for art lovers. New exhibitions include a dynamic installation featuring works by Pollock and Basquiat, and International Surrealism, which explores the diverse practices and techniques of Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Leonora Carrington, and is free on selected days or £15 otherwise (free; dma.org).