Dallas for 24 hours
 

I will be in Dallas for about 24 hrs this week. I am staying at the Holiday Inn Northpark, where I will be attending a seminar most of the day. I would like to know if it would be worth renting a car. The only thing I really want to do is shop and I hear that the North Park Mall is the best one. Could I walk there? Could I take public transportation to the Galleria? Thanks in advance. <BR>

Check with the hotel re a shuttle, or go to the DART Park Lane station & ride that shuttle to North Park. You can take a bus to the Galleria but not a straight shot. A better plan, during the day, is to take the DART rail to downtown (West End or Akard stations). Go to the original Neiman Marcus. The West End has some nice, though somewhat touristy, things to see, do and buy. Sorry you don't have more time, we have lots of things to see and do.

It depends on what you're looking for whether North Park or the Galleria is better. galleria definitely has more elegant shops: Tiffany's Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Nieman arcus, where North park has more normal ones (Dillard's, JC Penney). Both malls have a Nieman Marcus. You could walk to North park, but it would be a long walk! See if your hotel has as huttle, or if the DART buses go past it and directly to either mall. (Dart pickup is available at both malls, but the Galleria isn't on the rail line.) I'm sure you're not the first traveler they've had ask! Have a good time- and next time, stay longer! :-)

I suggest just taking a taxi. Dallas is not known for its public transportation. Unless you would like to specifically go to some of the Higher-end stores like Macy's or Saks, you wouldn't be missing out on much if you didn't go to the Galleria (except for maybe ice skating). There's not much downtown, even at the West end.

Dallas' public transportation IS getting better! In fact, DART was named Transit System of the Year in 1998! Taxis are actually less prevalent outside of the airport zones, and then you have the difficulty with how to get back. Seriously, I recommend the bus. We're only talking about a 2 mile round trip!