45 Best Sights in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas

You can root root root for the Rangers (or a visiting team if you must) in this open-air, fan-friendly ballpark that opened in 1994. It's designed to look old-fashioned, with redbrick and granite facade and a home-run porch in right field, but the amenities are thankfully modern. If you're not in town when the Rangers are, consider a tour of the park through admission to the Legends of the Game Museum, which celebrates America's pastime with famous players' gear, photos, and artifacts.

Architect Louis Kahn's most famous American building was this museum, composed of six long concrete vaults with skylights running the length of each. Here are top-notch collections of both early-20th-century European art and old masters, including Munch's Girls on a Bridge and Goya's The Matador Pedro Romero, depicting the great bullfighter who allegedly killed more than 6,000 of the animals without sustaining an injury. The museum also exhibits Greek and Roman antiquities, African and pre-Columbian art, and has one of the largest collections of Asian art in North America.

The billionaire Bass brothers of Fort Worth are to be thanked for what may be the most eye-pleasing juxtaposition of scale: rather than tear down several blocks of brick buildings to accommodate the twin towers of their giant City Center development, they created Sundance Square by restoring the area as a center of tall-windowed restaurants, shops, nightclubs, and offices. Tourists mingle effortlessly with the business crowd during the day, and at night the mood is laidback and down-to-earth—much like the city itself.

Fair Park also contains six major exhibit spaces (many of which are closed Monday or Tuesday): the

A short walk from the Kimbell, west of Downtown Fort Worth, this museum's collection of American art is centered on Remington and Russell mostly, though in recent decades the curators have incorporated works by many late-20th-century artists. The photographic collection, among the largest in the United States, spans the history of the medium, from 19th-century daguerreotypes to 21st-century digital prints.

The Dallas Cowboys call this state-of-the-art stadium home, designed to seat about 80,000 (with flexibility for 10,000 more) near Rangers Ballpark. The giant stadium features a retractable roof that can open or close in 12 minutes and partially close to resemble the distinctive roof of the team's old Texas Stadium. The roof is supported by two arches that rise 320 feet above the field. Those arches also hold in place the biggest wall of video screens in NFL history.

Dallas's tallest building, at 920 feet, is visible for miles at night, thanks to the green argon tubing that outlines its 72 stories. Visitors can access Downtown's maze of underground tunnels from the building's basement. The tunnels, a welcome climate-controlled escape, include dozens of restaurants, delis, drugstores, gift shops, and florists.

You can't miss the two 48-foot limestone angels on one side of this multipurpose building, which unabashedly fills a city block. The hall opened to great fanfare in 1998 and it continues to draw acclaim for its classic architecture, sight lines, and acoustics. It hosts four resident companies and various touring shows, as well as the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held every four years. Free public tours are Saturday mornings at 10:30 if event schedules permit.

The renowned honky-tonk has been a cattle barn, airplane factory, and department store. It's now home to live music, eating, drinking, shopping, playing, and live bull riding. Daytime's probably the best time to visit if you've got children in tow; nighttime is much rowdier.

Test your navigational skills and patience in this human maze patterned after Old West cattlepens. For a fee you can race against the clock or someone else, but it's free to stand on the observation deck and watch others wander through the wooden maze.

A pair of 19th-century Chinese guardian lions from the Qing Dynasty is the first clue you've arrived at the Crow Collection (across the street from the Nasher Sculpture Center). The private gallery—a tranquil, intimate space—showcases the remarkable Asian art collection of philanthropists and native Dallasites Trammell and Margaret Crow. The museum also hosts traveling exhibits and displays treasures from China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. Don't miss an 18th-century carved sandstone facade from an Indian home.

This lovely attraction is composed of 66 acres of gardens and lawns in White Rock Lake Park. Spend an hour or two here to escape the noise and traffic of the city, walk nature trails, admire sculpture, and recline in soft, manicured grass. The annual Dallas Blooms event, in early spring, boasts spectacular displays of tulips, daffodils, and other blooming bulbs. Fall delivers more than 150,000 autumn flowers as well as great displays of pumpkins and other gourds.

This multipurpose center offers performance spaces for the Dallas Opera, Dallas Theater Center, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Texas Ballet Theater, and Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico. The complex consists of an opera house, an indoor theater, and an open-air theater. A 10-acre, on-site park is designed to tie the spaces together and attract the public to the site regardless of performance schedules.

Renowned architect I. M. Pei is responsible for the striking inverted-pyramid design of City Hall. The modern structure is set on a seven-acre plaza that features reflecting pools and a stunning bronze Henry Moore sculpture.

It may be difficult to imagine Dallas without its shiny skyscrapers, far-flung suburbs, and miles and miles of highway, but Heritage Village at Old City Park allows visitors to experience what life was like in Big D before 1910. The museum, set on 13 acres just south of I–30 and Downtown Dallas, consists of 38 restored buildings, furnished inside and out as they would have been (way) back in the day. You'll also meet a couple of donkeys, a cow, some chickens, and other barnyard animals. Visitors can tour structures such as a log cabin, an antebellum mansion, a schoolhouse, a church, a farmhouse, and a shotgun shack. The re-created Main Street features a sturdy bank (rebuilt on site brick by brick), a print shop, a general store, and a saloon, where you may be able to order an ice-cold root beer, play a game of cards or checkers, and even catch a gunfight that spills into the street. Docents are in period costume and stay in character, describing in detail their daily lives and challenges.

Housed in a series of white limestone galleries built off a central barrel vault, this museum remains one of the city's greatest cultural institutions. The permanent collection covers a lot of territory, from the arts of Africa, Asia, and ancient Greece to a painting collection with works by artists as diverse as esteemed colonial painter John Singleton Copley and contemporary German painter Gerhard Richter (part of a strong and growing contemporary collection). A popular draw at the museum is an installation that re-creates rooms in the Mediterranean villa belonging to Texas swells Wendy and Emery Reves. The Center for Creative Connections, designed for families, allows patrons to interact with art and artists.

The Fort Worth Zoo is a huge draw in the area, but the Dallas Zoo shouldn't be overlooked. The Wilds of Africa section re-creates the habitats of animals such as African penguins, chimpanzees, saddle-billed storks, and okapi (zebralike cousin to the giraffe). When it's not too hot or too cold, you can ride a monorail (for a fee) through the Africa exhibit to gain a treetop perspective and to learn more about the animals. Zoo North, the older section of the zoo, includes some exhibits that haven't been changed in decades. But other sections are modern and interactive, especially the tiger habitat and the children's zoo. A fabulous aviary allows children to feed birds, some of which will perch on your hand or shoulder. There's also a petting zoo, pony rides, giant fish tank, playground, and stream for jumping and splashing in. The DART red line stops just outside the zoo's entrance.

In South Dallas, this 277-acre National Historic Landmark has the largest collection of 1930s Art Deco architecture in the United States. It is also home to the State Fair of Texas for three weeks each fall. Within the park, you'll find the Museum of the American Railroad, the Dallas Aquarium, the Texas Discovery Gardens, and the Museum of Nature and Science.

Among the 23 gardens here are the Lower Rose Garden, whose classical design was inspired by the Villa Lante gardens in Bagnaia, Italy, and the Oval Rose Garden, where many Texas roses grow. The Japanese Garden is beautiful in fall, when the leaves on the maples begin to turn, and in spring, when cherry and other blossoms burst forth. Also on-site is a 10,000-square-foot conservatory.

This museum has interactive exhibits, a planetarium, and an Omni IMAX theater.

The oldest continuous zoo site in Texas, the lush grounds here house more than 5,000 exotic and native animals—including Komodo dragons, koalas, and a rare white tiger—in natural habitat exhibits. The Texas Wild exhibit offers an overview of the wildlife and habitats of the state's different regions. Children love the train, petting zoo, interactive barn, and weather theater.

This vibrant shopping center offers many outlet and factory stores in addition to mainstream retail. The experience is more than shopping, though. There are also an ice rink, an elaborate arcade, a multiscreen movie theater, and an indoor skate park.

In the park's murals tell the story of Texas in heroic terms. The Tower Building (open weekdays, 8:15–5:15) has free brochures that describe the buildings and artwork. A self-guided walking tour takes about 90 minutes.

Shops and restaurants fill the restored brick buildings in this area that evokes a slower-paced era in Texas. It's easy to spend half a day or more exploring the boutiques, sampling fresh pastries, and catching a performance at the Palace Arts Theatre Center.

Visitors can roam the grounds and tour log cabins representative of life on the North Texas plains in the 19th century. Staff members and volunteers wear period dress and crush corn, cook on an open fire, help visitors dip candles, and demonstrate the techniques of blacksmiths. Children particularly enjoy ringing the bell outside the schoolhouse and exploring the one-room school's interior. The Seela Cabin allows little ones to try on bonnets, aprons, and workshirts and get to work—sweeping, cooking, and spinning yarn.

Southern Methodist University is home to one of the world's largest and most significant collections of Spanish art outside Spain. Philanthropist Algur H. Meadows began acquiring the pieces while on business in Spain in the 1950s. He gave his collection to SMU, and the museum continues to acquire pieces today. The collection spans 1,000 years and includes masterpieces by El Greco, Velázquez, Ribera, Murillo, Goya, Miró, and Picasso, grouped chronologically in beautifully lit galleries. The museum also has an admirable sculpture collection and hosts exhibitions of wide-ranging interest. Don't miss the well-edited gift shop.

Each year some 300,000 fans pack it in at the over the course of the April-to-September season. The action inside the arena includes riders atop bucking broncos and bulls, barrel races, steer wrestling, a kiddie calf scramble, mutton busting (for those 4 and younger), and, on the tamer side, pony rides and a petting zoo.

This structure, residing in a gorgeously realized building designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and consisting of five glass pavilions built on a shimmering lagoon, sets the right tone for contemplating one of the country's strongest collections of post–World War II painting and sculpture. The 53,000-square-foot exhibition space holds works by icons of modernism and later movements, from Picasso and Jackson Pollack to Carrie Mae Weems and Cindy Sherman. If you're lucky, you'll catch works of a future master in the museum's occasional Focus series, which features up-and-coming contemporary artists.

The I. M. Pei–designed space is a place of sweeping dramatic curves, ever-changing vanishing points, and surprising views. Inside is the Herman W. and Amelia H. Lay Family Organ, a hand-built, hand-installed Fisk organ with 4,535 pipes. Free tours are offered four days a week (days vary) at 1 pm. Check the website, or call the center for current tour information and a list of upcoming performances.

The late Raymond and Patsy Nasher—real-estate developers, civic leaders, art lovers, and philanthropists—collected modern and contemporary sculpture for decades, before giving the collection, valued at $400 million, to the city in 1997. The center, which opened in 2003, is an international draw with an extensive representation of great masters—Borofsky, Calder, Dubuffet, Giacometti, Matisse, Miró, Moore, Picasso, and Rodin. The building, which has 10,000 square feet of gallery space, is faced with Italian travertine stone and topped with a glass roof to let in natural light. The 1.42-acre outdoor sculpture garden is landscaped with pools, fountains, pathways, and more than 170 trees. The view of Downtown from the calming green space is spectacular, especially after dusk.