Afternoon sightseeing/dining during DFW airport overnighter?
 

We only have the late afternoon and evening to sightsee Dallas/Fort Worth main attractions or whatever is realistic from the Dallas Forth Worth airport area. We are overnighting between two other destinations and gotta catch all the experiences we can. Is it possible to book a city tour in late afternoon (Sat afternoon). Can we tour the new Cowboys stadium? Is the Dallas stockyards worth a visit? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We are probably booking a room in the Solinas Irving area by the airport due to an early departure Sunday. Any moderately priced dinner restaurant recommendations that would be uniquely Texan and keep a 13 year old boy happy? Thanks. Cmac3

I can only answer a couple of your questions.

The Fort Worth Stockyards are worth a visit. It's the best western-Texas-cowboy visit in the DFW area. They have a daily cattle drive that you'll have to check the schedule on a web site. The H-3 steakhouse, bar and connected hotel are worth a walk through. Risky's BBQ is all authentic Texas cuisine and moderately priced. The western wear and furnishings shops in the area are worth a walk through. The stockyards are 30 minutes from the airport and 45 minutes from Las Colinas-Irving.

The Ranch at 857 W. Hwy 114 specializes in steaks and Texas cuisine. If you aren't overdone on BBQ, Red, Hot & Blue on MacArthur is a good Las Colinas BBQ spot.

I can't speak to stadium access or city tour options. Have fun.

They do have tours of the stadium. http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/tou...o_InfoTime.cfm

They start and end in the pro shop. Heh heh...Jerry is one smart cookie. How can you resist a little trinket, right? My DH and son are major fans and we went before the season open last year. We had no option for a self guided tour when we went, and I see it is an option now. Prices have come down too. We paid 20 something pp, so you are getting a bargain, so to speak!

Oh...if I could only do one thing in Dallas, I'd do the 6th Floor Museum. http://www.jfk.org/ It is very very moving...plus you will be close to the heart of downtown--location of the famed Mothership if you would like (the original, and still the main store, of Neiman Marcus.)

When you say "late afternoon" what time do you actually mean? Depending on time of year many "tourist attractions" close by 4PM or 5PM.

The Stockyards are in Fort Worth, not Dallas, and while the shops and restaurants will be open late you'll probably miss the cattle drive which starts at 4PM.

As for touring Cowboy Stadium the last tour on Saturdays begins at 4:30PM (everything closes at 6PM). You can google Cowboys Stadium for more info.

FYI - The 6th Floor Museum closes at 6PM

Again, depending on your arrival time you might not have very much time for "touring" especially if you plan on checking into your hotel after landing. Be realistic, assuming your plan lands on time it will take you at least 30 minutes to deplane and retrieve your luggage (possibly even longer), add another 30 to 45 minutes to get to your hotel, check-in and drop your bags in the room. Then you have to "go someplace" which will take you another 30 to 40 minutes. So you've used up about 1.5 to 2 hours of your afternoon. I'm not saying you can't visit somewhere but you won't have a lot of "visiting time".

Since you want something that is "uniquely Texan and keep a 13 year old boy happy" I suggest you go to the Fort Worth Stockyards - you can have dinner at one of the many "Texas Style" restaurants, browse through the shop and you might even find there's a rodeo event going on at the Cowtown Collisium. Go here for more info: www.fortworthstockyards.org

My suggestion would be to head to FW and catch "Molly the Trolley" and get an overview of downtown Fort Worth and the Stockyards. It runs until 10:30 on Saturday night. It doesn't say on the website, but for some reason, I think the trolley is free.

http://www.mollythetrolley.com/

When you get to the Stockyards you can visit Billy Bob's - "world's largest honky tonk."

All wonderful suggestions. Believe we'll head for the Stockyards for the evening and try to schedule another trip sometime with more time to spare. Thanks!

You'll want to check out the Cowtown Rodeo. Great entertainment and true Texas heritage.

http://www.cowtowncoliseum.com/Ticket%20Information.htm

I'm doing research for a upcoming trip to Ft Worth. Wonder are the restaurants at the Stockyard 'tourist traps', or are there any good authentic BBQ place where locals go?

BTW, I read that the trolley to the Stockyard is $1.50 each way. So it seems you're better off driving there and park (some free spots or $3 surface lots according to the website).

There are some very good restaurants in the Stockyards area 9they are often filled with tourists and locals alike), several of which serve BBQ. I won't get into where you can get the "best BBQ" as every Fort Worthian has their favorite(s) and they are not necessarilly located in the Stockyards. Suffice to say, you can find some decent BBQ in the Stockyards such as Risky's at area. You can devote an entire thread to BBQ restaurants in Fort Worth - there are hundreds of them.

Two very popular BBQ places are Angelo's (on White Settlement Road) and The Railhead (I-30 & Montgomery) although they are a bit of a distance from the Stockyard's.

OH! OH!, my mouth is starting to water - I think I might want BBQ for lunch.

Here is a listing of many restaurants in/near the Stockyards:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/ps/13/2759...rds-Hotel.html

If you want "where the locals go" BBQ, I would suggest Angelo's on White Settlement Road off of University North. Riscky's is another BBQ place a lot of people like - there's one in Sundance Square in downtown FW or there's one on the North Side (Stockyards).

With the Stockyards being in a Hispanic area of town, there are a lot of Mexican restaurants. Joe T. Garcia's gets A LOT of hype about being the "best" - many people come from Dallas to eat there. Personally, I don't like it. The atmosphere is fun, but the food not so much - IMHO.

Thanks for the Angelo's reco. Will definitely hit it maybe on the same day as going to the museums (Amon Carter & Kimball)