Big hats, big cars, big attitude. They do things bigger in Texas, and nowhere more so than the Big D — the Lone Star State’s de facto northern capital and one of the most underrated cities in the US.
Over the past decade Dallas has welcomed a well-documented flood of young professionals from New York, California and all points in between. Attracted by reliably low taxes and reliably good weather, they have fuelled a booming restaurant and bar scene that can now go toe-to-toe with anywhere else.
A big part of Dallas’s recent evolution has been the growth of its sprawling Arts District, with first-class theatres, galleries and concert venues. Meanwhile, existing neighbourhoods such as 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 shopping and the burgeoning boutique hotel scene; stay for the rooftop cocktail bars, the state-of-the-art museums and the world-class dining.
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48 hours in Dallas — at a glance
Day one
Morning Perot Museum
Lunch Las Palmas
Afternoon Explore Uptown by tram
Drink at Bowen House
Evening Klyde Warren Park
Dinner Mamani
Day two
Morning Bishop Arts District
Lunch Lockhart Smokehouse
Afternoon The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Drink at Catbird
Evening Opera or theatre
Dinner Billy Can Can
Some of the M-line streecars have been running for nearly 120 years
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 call. Resembling a giant cube hovering above the city, it has an immersive interior stuffed with intriguing exhibits dealing with everything from dinosaurs to distant galaxies. To mark Dallas hosting nine Fifa World Cup matches this year (more than any other city), the Perot’s newest exhibition is a deep dive into the sport, 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 vintage M-Line streetcar, some of which have been rattling around for nearly 120 years. A loop of the free hop-on, hop-off service takes about an hour to complete, with the chatty conductors more than happy to point out highlights along the way (free; mata.org).
Klyde Warren Park is 5.4 acres of public spaceAlamy
Klyde Warren Park
Stroll through Klyde Warren Park, an incredible feat of urban design built on a flyover directly above a freeway. A leafy link between Uptown and downtown, the beautifully landscaped 5.4-acre park is one of the city’s most popular public spaces. There is something happening most evenings, from free yoga to live music, and you can also grab a predinner margarita from the cute Mi Cocina bar (free; klydewarrenpark.org).
Bishop Arts District
Drive ten minutes southwest of downtown across the Trinity River to explore the bohemian Bishop Arts District. A walkable, hipster-friendly neighbourhood packed with more than 60 independent boutiques, restaurants, cafés and art galleries, this is where Dallas’s creative class coalesces and is the perfect spot to pick up one-of-a-kind gifts. Perennial favourites include 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 still believe that JFK’s assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963, was part of a larger conspiracy. Explore the story from every angle at the impressive Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, housed in the infamous Texas School Book Depository building. Here you can stand at the window immediately adjacent to the one used by the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, before heading down to the grassy knoll to make up your own mind about the “second shooter” theory (from £18; jfk.org).
The Sixth Floor Museum is from where Lee Harvey Oswald shot John F Kennedy
Choose between opera or theatre
Dallas is home to America’s largest contiguous urban arts district, spanning an enormous 20 city blocks. As a result there’s always a must-see show to catch, particularly at the headline AT&T Performing Arts Center — home to not one but three of the country’s best performance 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 ingredients such as beef, cheese and wheat with the traditional flavours of northern Mexico to create the ultimate southern comfort food. This spicy smorgasbord of gooey queso, sizzling fajitas and crispy enchiladas is all served to glorious perfection at Las Palmas in Uptown. Make a reservation to avoid disappointment, and book a table on the patio for prime people-watching (mains from £12; laspalmasdallas.com).
Las Palmas blends Texan ingredients with Mexican flavours
Bowen House
This plush Victorian-style drinking den is the perfect place for an afternoon pick-me-up. Situated in a well-preserved 1870s house on a quiet Uptown side street, it serves killer craft cocktails (such as the mezcal Moulin Rouge) and excellent bar nibbles, with prices slashed during the popular 4pm-6pm happy hour (drinks from £7; bowenhousetx.com).
Mamani
Incredibly the French fine-dining restaurant Mamani won a Michelin star within eight weeks of opening in 2025. Now one of the hottest reservations in Dallas, it’s renowned for its exquisite starters (think scallop and caviar with watermelon radish) and high-end shared platters, such as veal cordon bleu. Perhaps the true star of the show is to be found on the dessert menu, though: the Paris-Brest pudding is a creamy, crunchy slice of pure heaven (mains from £21; mamanirestaurant.com).
The French restaurant, Mamani, is one of the hottest reservations in DallasMaribel Morales
Lockhart Smokehouse
The sizzling love affair between Texas and barbecue can be traced back more than a thousand years to the native Caddo people, and burns brighter than ever today. See what all the fuss is about at Lockhart Smokehouse, where the food is ordered at an old-fashioned butcher-style counter and is consistently excellent. Go for the dry-rubbed spare ribs or the melt-in-your-mouth burnt ends, but get there early — they often sell out by 2pm (mains from £7; lockhartsmokehouse.com).
The food at Lockhart is consistently excellent
Catbird
Drink in the delicious views from this sleek eyrie amid the skyscrapers of downtown Dallas. Catbird is equal parts art deco hideout and rooftop cocktail terrace, with a stellar line-up of original cocktails to try, plus punchy mocktails such as the Zen Garden — a sweet blend of matcha, brown sugar and pistachio (drinks from £12.50; catbirddallas.com).
Billy Can Can
Whether you go before or after a show, Billy Can Can is always a good bet. An elevated western saloon, it’s pure Dallas: glamorous and well dressed, with an Old West heart. The menu is both excellent and surprisingly affordable, with standouts including venison tartare and a blockbuster bone-in pork chop (mains from £15; billycancan.com).
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Where to stay
Bishop Arts hotel
The Bishop Arts District is a trendy neighbourhood
The best kind of budget
The Bishop Arts District, Dallas’s trendiest and most walkable neighbourhood, has been crying out for a hotel for years. Step forward the shiny new Bishop Arts hotel, with its sleek, apartment-style digs named after places around the world, at borderline bonkers prices. Each unit has a kitchenette, a washing machine and a desk, as well as access to the communal pool, so you can live like a local before stepping out to join the real ones for sun-drenched happy hour drinks at the nearby Bar Eden or Paradiso (room-only doubles from £75).
The Joule
The Midnight Rambler speakeasy in The JouleMei-Chun Jau
Best spa in town
Housed in a grand neogothic building on Main Street, the Joule is topped and tailed by a magnificent rooftop pool and a world-class basement spa. The latter is considered the best in Dallas, thanks to its serene subterranean setting and top-tier amenities. The hotel itself is drenched in art, including many Andy Warhol originals, while the Midnight Rambler basement speakeasy is a favourite with the in-crowd (room-only doubles from £154).
Hôtel Swexan
Hôtel Swexan is sophisticated but with Texan charm
Impeccable style meets southern charm
The odd moniker is a nod to the hotel’s mission statement: to blend the sophistication of a Swiss hotel with the classic charms of Texas. As a result it feels both luxuriously European and definitively Dallas, from its chic rooftop pool to its upmarket steakhouse, Stillwell’s. The swanky lobby bar, Isabelle’s, evokes an old London members’ club, with its antique fireplace, panelled walls and leather armchairs (not to mention its signature Churchill cocktail). Plus, the hotel offers guests free personal-shopping sessions, fitness classes and even the use of an electric car for buzzing about town (room-only doubles from £329).
Getting there and around
Dallas Fort Worth international airport (DFW) is one of the busiest in the world, with connections to all the big international hubs, including Heathrow (five flights a day with British Airways and American Airlines). Cheaper deals from the UK are sometimes possible if you break your journey on the east coast or in Houston, before connecting to DFW or Dallas Love Field. Sadly, Dallas does not excel at public transport, with the Dart light-rail system a cheap but infuriatingly slow and badly connected route into the city (dart.org). Instead, most tourists rely on Uber or Lyft.
Visit responsibly
Dallas is unusual in that some of the best deals come at the height of summer, when temperatures soar above 40C and the locals head for the hill country. Base yourself in downtown or Uptown to make many of the highlights walkable, and don’t overlook the local TRE train — a cheap and easy way to visit neighbouring Fort Worth (tickets from £3; trinityrailwayexpress.org).
Jonathan Thompson is a travel journalist who lives and works in Dallas