7 Best Sights in Greater DFW Metroplex, Dallas and Fort Worth

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the Metroplex, you can rely on a couple of things here in the summer: It's going to be hot, and if you've got kids, they're going to want to go to Six Flags Over Texas. No wonder. There are more than 50 rides plus musical shows, games of chance, and lots of food. You'll find lots of Warner Bros. and DC Comics tie-ins, such as Looney Tunes USA, where preschoolers can ride attractions sized just for them, and Gotham City, where thrillseekers can speed 70 mph on Mr. Freeze or soar through the air on Batman the Ride. If you're visiting in the summer, be aware that the park will be crowded and you will be hot. But your kids? They probably won't even notice.

About 40 minutes north of Downtown Dallas lies one of the city's most enduring landmarks, Southfork Ranch. Built in 1970, the ranch became one of the city's best-known symbols after the TV show Dallas premiered in 1978. You can tour the mansion, have lunch at Miss Ellie's Deli, and try to remember who shot J. R. Unless you're a diehard fan of the show or are already in the Plano area, it's probably not worth the drive or expense.