Never Been to Texas
 

I've got a work trip to Dallas at the beginning of October. I will stay 2 extra days. The hotel is at the airport so I'm planning on moving to downtown? when it's my extra 2 days off. I'll be there Friday/Saturday and leaving on Sunday. What can I see and do in that time--where should I stay for a hotel. I've never been to Texas and would love to experience stuff that epitomizes the people. Any help would be appreciated.

Staying in the airport area may be a better idea if you want to visit Fort Worth as well. What kinds of things to you enjoy doing/seeing?

There are two airports in Dallas. I assume you mean DFW and not DAL?

If the Texas State Fair is going on, you might want to check it out. It is generally most of the month of Oct. It is the biggest one in the country.

Sometime in October, Addison has a really good restaurant tasting event.

I suggest you read this on-line guide to Dallas-Fort Worth. I'm familiar with the similar guides for LA, San Diego, and San Francisco, and they all seem pretty accurate. I scanned the one for Dallas-FW and it's even more voluminous than the ones for the the CA cities I mentioned.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/...city-guide.htm

Then come up with a tentative itinerary, post it on the board, ask for a critique and recommendations for hotels and restaurants. You'll get better results than you have so far.

Better yet - http://www.fodors.com/world/north-am...as-fort-worth/

If you like art then you're in luck.

Go to Fort Worth and see the Kimball Museum- it's a beautiful building by architect Louis Khan.

My friend and I spent hours in the Dallas Art Museum. There are pieces in that museum I will never forget.

Thanks for all the information. Is it better to stay in Ft. Worth or Dallas? And/or how is the public transportation at the airport if I stay near there? What's a typical cost to take a cab from the airport into the Dallas or Ft. Worth downtown area?

Whether you stay in Dallas or Fort Worth is a matter of personal preference. The airport is located midway between both cities.

Public transportation from airport to either Dallas or Fort Worth is somewhat limited but there are rail services, buses, shuttles and of course taxis and limo. You can find detailed info here: http://www.dfwairport.com/transport/

Taxi fare to/from the airport and downtown Dallas runs $40 and to/from downtown Fort Worth it's $43.

You really should just rent a car. With only 2 days it won't cost that much and will save you a lot of time vs. waiting for public transportation or paying for a taxi all the time.

I agree. The words "Texas" and "public transportation" really don't go together.

If I wanted to see what epitomizes Texas, I'd go to the State Fair.

I have to ask one more time. Which airport? Southwest flies in to DAL. American flies into DFW.

Since this is your first trip to Texas, I'd say not to miss the Stockyards at Ft. Worth for sure. http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/

I used to make 3-4 trips a year to the Dallas area for training. One of my favorite memories is getting in mid-morning on a Sunday and spending the day at the Stockyards. Longhorns being ridden, a cattle drive thru the area, there was an antique tractor show going on, and I got to eat steak on a stick with a beer.

There are some really excellent metal sculptures (cattle, cowboys, horses, etc.) in downtown Dallas as well as Las Colinas (business park area). Any particular interests?

It's true that the airport is between Dallas and Ft. Worth, although I think it's maybe a bit closer to Ft. Worth. At any rate, consider it an entirely 3rd location (if you are speaking of DFW). The airport car rental is offsite. I've clocked leaving the airport by car at about 10 minutes just to get offsite; we are talking about some spread-out distances.

You really do need a car.

Mid-downtown Fort Worth to DFW Airport - 25 miles

Mid-downtown Dallas to DFW Airport - 24 miles

The difference must be in the amount of traffic.

I will be at the DFW airport.

I vote for Stockyards (& Billy Bob's if that's your type of thing) as well.

There is a rodeo every Friday and Saturday night in the Stockyards. Although we don't all do rodeo, it is a huge part of our history. http://cowtowncoliseum.com/

There is also Billy Bob's "honky tonk" in the Stockyards if that's your thing.

Sundance Square is a nice area in downtown FW that is worth a quick look.

FW has great art museums if that is your interest:

http://www.kimbellart.org
http://themodern.org/

Public transport is somewhat limited, but if you do stay in the downtown area of either Dallas or Fort Worth, there is the TRE train that will take you to either city. However, the TRE has a limited schedule after work hours and on the weekend.

Dallas will be having the State Fair of Texas from Sept. 28 to Oct. 21: http://www.bigtex.com/sft/

Give us some idea what your interests are and we can guide you further.

I like good museums, but I also like country western music and "stuff"...clothing/jewelry...etc. Not big on rodeos but I'd guess being at a live event is totally different than watching on TV.

The State Fair sounds fun. I like antiquing, but not sure what you'd find at a county fair. What's common at the State Fair? What's parking like if I rent a car? In Chicago it's like a second mortgage to park in the downtown area.