9 Best Sights in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You don't have to be a cowgirl or cowboy to fall in love with this fine museum and its celebration of pioneering women. The building, just across from the Will Rogers Memorial Center, shares fascinating Western history through technologically savvy exhibits. The Hall of Fame honors more than 180 pioneering women, including Sacagawea, Mary Ann Goodnight, Georgia O'Keeffe, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Sandra Day O'Connor. Each woman's accomplishments are highlighted on easy-to-use touch screens. Other kiosks allow visitors to listen to female country music stars and modern-day cowgirls describe life on ranches and the road. Another area displays flashy rodeo fashions from the past century. Don't miss the chance to "ride" a bucking bronco and later watch and share the video online.

Near Fort Worth's museums, this partially restored coliseum–and–stock pen complex was named after the humorist and Fort Worth booster, who described the city as "where the West begins" (and Dallas as "where the East peters out"). The center boasts an equestrian arena that's used for horse and livestock shows. Will Rogers is host to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo every January.