The city of Dallas was the starting point for our three-week round trip through Texas. Dallas is best known for the television series of the same name “Dallas” (1978 to 1991) and the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. But this city in Texas has much more to offer. In our travel report, we show you everything we saw and experienced during our 5 days in Dallas.
Table of contents
Things to know about Dallas
Dallas is one of the largest cities in the state of Texas and is located in the north of the state. The city covers an area of around 1,000 square kilometers and, together with Fort Worth and Arlington, forms the so-called “Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex”, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the USA. Geographically, Dallas is located near the Trinity River, which runs through the region and has historically played an important role in the development of the city. Dallas is also a major transportation hub and home to one of the largest airports in the world, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
The history of Dallas goes back to the early It dates back to the 19th century, when it was founded by John Neely Bryan in 1841. Originally, the city served as a trading center, especially for cotton and livestock. Their location on important railroad lines in the late The 19th century promoted rapid growth. In the Dallas gained additional importance in the 20th century with the discovery of oil in the region. Today, the city is an important business location with a strong focus on financial services, technology and energy. A sad chapter in the city’s history was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, which made headlines around the world.
With a population of over 1.3 million inhabitants (as of 2022), Dallas is one of the largest cities in the USA. The city is known for its diverse cultural and historical sights. Among the most famous are the Sixth Floor Museum on Dealey Plaza, which documents the events surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy, and the Dallas Museum of Art, which displays works of art from various eras. Other highlights include the Reunion Tower, a striking observation tower with a revolving restaurant, and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the country. The Dallas Public Library is one of the few places where visitors can see an original copy of the Declaration of Independence from July 4, 1776.
Skyline of Dallas in Texas, USA
Car rental for Texas & accommodation in Dallas
For our three-week round trip through Texas, we booked a VAN via billiger-mietwagen.de. When we were picked up at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, we were given a Chrysler Pacifica by the rental company SIXT, which was available for the entire duration of the trip (21 days), including the rental of the car. of all kilometers, full insurance coverage and the one-way rental fee (drop-off in Houston) cost a total of EUR 1,007.
We booked our accommodation “The Resting Space” in Dallas via Booking.com. The accommodation with pool and 2 bedrooms is only about 10 minutes from the center of Dallas and cost a total of EUR 579 for 5 nights.
Sights, attractions & photo spots
To explore the city of Dallas in the best possible way, we parked our car in a central parking garage near the Dallas Museum of Art. From here we were able to reach all the attractions and sights in the city center on foot.
Klyde Warren Park
As it wasn’t quite so hot in the morning, we first walked to Klyde Warren Park. There is a very cool playground for children here, the Sheila and Jody Grant Children’s Park. It is fenced, very clean and tidy. Toilets are also available on site. There are even a few small water fountains so you can cool off here on hot days. Just before lunchtime, lots of food trucks set up on the edge of the park, selling their specialties over the course of the day. And as there are plenty of seating areas with tables in the park, you can also spend your lunch break here in the shade of the trees.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
We paid a visit to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science during the hot lunchtime. The museum has been located in Victory Park since 2012. The $185 million cost of acquiring the land, constructing the new building, planning and designing the exhibitions, educational programs and an endowment could only be achieved through donations and made it possible to build the museum without debt or public funding. That is very impressive.
The museum offers its visitors various interactive exhibitions with state-of-the-art exhibits on everything from dinosaurs, diamonds and space to sport – on five floors that invite you to discover and experience. Our children loved the ‘Moody Family Children’s Museum’, which is located in the basement. Here you can crawl, romp, play and paint to your heart’s content.
Dealey Plaza – site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy
Dallas became sadly famous on November 22, 1963, when the 35th President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, was killed by two gunshots in a terrible assassination attempt. The assassin Lee Harvey Oswald shot at the presidential car from the former school book depository, now known as The Sixth Floor Museum, located on the corner of Houston Street and Elm Street at Dealey Plaza, hitting both Governor John Connally and the President.
Today, two white crosses are painted on the asphalt of Elm Street. The crosses mark the two places where Kennedy was hit. Thousands of tourists come here every day to find out about the events at the site of the attack.
It is interesting to note that the assassination of John F. Kennedy is still the subject of controversial discussion in the media – there is talk of conspiracy theories and doubts about the lone assassin theory. The investigation of the murder case was also marred from the outset by mishaps, omissions and mistakes by the investigating authorities, doctors and commissions of inquiry. The assassination of JFK will probably always remain a mystery…
Reunion Tower
The Reunion Tower, a 171-meter-high observation and restaurant tower, is located on the edge of downtown Dallas. It was built between 1976 and 1978 as part of a general redesign of the city and is now one of Dallas’ best-known landmarks. Admission tickets for the so-called GeO-Deck/Observation deck are available from 20 USD. As we had the Dallas CityPASS, we didn’t have to pay any extra admission here.
We then took the elevator up to the top, where we enjoyed the fantastic view of Dallas and the surrounding area. We found the view somewhat restricted due to the construction of the tower: the spherical tower basket, in which the viewing platform is also located, consists of a net structure made of dozens of aluminum rods that intersect at 260 points. Of course, the illuminated tower cob looks very nice at night, but during the day we found it a bit distracting.
Places of interest in Downtown
Downtown Dallas, with its futuristic office towers, is the beating heart of the city and offers a mix of history, modern city life and a growing cultural scene. The West End Historic District, one of the oldest and historically most important districts in the city, is particularly worth a visit. Once characterized by old warehouses and factories, it is now a vibrant district with restored red-brick buildings, charming cobbled streets and a lively atmosphere.
One of the sights in the West End Historic District is Founders Plaza, which pays homage to the city’s early settlers and founding history. It is located near Dealey Plaza and the historic Dallas courthouse (Old Red Museum), and houses a replica of the former log cabin of John Neely Bryan, the founder of Dallas. Another highlight in the district is the Dallas World Aquarium, which offers a fascinating underwater world with exotic animals and plants from all over the world.
The AT&T Discovery District is a state-of-the-art, interactive neighborhood located in the heart of downtown and created by AT&T, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the United States. At the center of the district is the AT&T headquarters, an ultra-modern building that looks very futuristic with its glass and steel architecture. Impressive is the huge digital media wall on the building, which serves as a kind of public screen and shows everything from art installations to news and live events.
An absolute eye-catcher is the Giant Eyeball sculpture, which is around nine meters tall and very realistically depicts an eyeball. Unfortunately, it is located in a fenced-in garden that can be booked for events, but you can take a look inside through a fence… and that alone is pretty impressive.
At the end of our city tour through Dallas, we made a stop at Pioneer Plaza. The square is located south of the Dallas Convention Center and is known for its spectacular, life-size sculpture installation that recreates a scene from a cattle drive. The Dallas Cattle Drive Sculptures have been located here since 1994: these are 49 bronze longhorn cattle and three cowboys on horseback driving a herd of cattle through the park. As a visitor, you can walk between the sculptures, which is really cool and very impressive.
Murals in the Deep Ellum district
When we stroll through cities, we always keep our eyes open for street art because we just really like it. And lo and behold, we were also able to discover numerous beautiful murals in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas. Deep Ellum is located east of downtown and is one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in Dallas: it is known for its vibrant arts scene, its history as a music district and its boutiques, restaurants and bars. Everywhere on the facades of buildings, restaurants, clubs and stores are colorful and often large murals that characterize the streetscape and are a veritable open-air gallery.
We can highly recommend a stroll through Deep Ellum, as there is something to see on every street corner.
Dallas Zoo
We visited the zoo in Dallas on our very first day of vacation to have a relaxed start to our vacation and slowly get used to the jet lag. Founded in 1888, it is considered the oldest zoo in Texas. More than 2,000 animals from over 400 species live on an area of 43 hectares.
On the day we visited, there was very little going on, so we were able to get straight to the zoo’s main attraction – feeding the giraffes – without having to wait too long. Every day from 10 am to 5 pm, you can buy a handful of lettuce leaves for USD 6 and feed them to the giraffes. It was a unique experience, especially for our children.
The zoo is divided into various themed areas, which are modeled on the animals’ natural habitats. For example, you will find the ‘Giants of the Savanna’, where elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches and other savanna animals live, as well as the ‘Wilds of Africa’ area, where animals such as lions, gorillas, hippos and crocodiles are housed. We really liked the facilities on the zoo grounds because they are spacious and beautifully designed. We were particularly impressed by the hippos – firstly because they had plenty of space to bathe and secondly because they are simply amazing, extraordinary animals.
The oldest part of the zoo (‘ZooNorth’) is home to a wide range of animals, including the “Endangered Tiger Habitat”, where rare Malayan tigers can be seen, as well as birdhouses and a wide variety of reptiles & amphibians from around the world. There is also the ‘Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo’, where children can feed and stroke goats and other farm animals.
Peppa Pig World of Play
The Peppa Pig World of Play is an absolute must for all little Peppa Pig fans. The park is located in Grapevine Mills, a large shopping center near Dallas, and is one of the few Peppa Pig World of Play facilities in the world. The indoor themed playground is designed for children aged 1 to 8 and is based on the popular British cartoon series. Here, children can immerse themselves in the world of Peppa Wutz and experience numerous interactive, imaginative adventures. Our older daughter ran back and forth excitedly the whole time and tried out all the play stations several times. She was totally thrilled. The absolute highlight was the meet & greet with Peppa Pig, where we were able to take a great souvenir photo.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center
There is also a LEGOLAND Discovery Center in the Grapevine Mills shopping center. This also exists in Germany, for example. However, as we had never visited one of these before, we were very excited to see what would await us here. And unfortunately we have to say that we were a little disappointed. It’s basically an indoor playground with stations where you could build with Lego bricks, a climbing area, a course that you could drive around in a LEGO car and two other rides. There is a small water playground outside in the form of Pirate Beach – so you should definitely remember to bring a change of clothes and swimwear.
SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium
Directly opposite the LEGOLAND Discovery Center is the SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium in the Grapevine Mills shopping center. It houses a fascinating indoor aquarium with over 5,000 marine animals as well as various interactive exhibitions where you can learn a lot about the sea creatures and their ecosystems.
Map with sights in Dallas & Fort Worth
On the following map at Google MyMaps we have marked the most important sights & photo spots in Dallas and Fort Worth. We always use a map like this ourselves to navigate around a foreign city and make sure we don’t miss any spots 🙂
Places of interest in Dallas & Fort Worth
CityPASS® – 4 top activities in Dallas
We can highly recommend the Dallas CityPASS® for exploring Dallas. It is perfect if you want to visit numerous sights in Dallas. With this sightseeing pass, you can visit all the sights included for a low fixed price, saving you time and money. The pass can be easily purchased via the CityPASS website or from GetYourGuide. The price of approx. EUR 50 per adult includes a visit to 4 attractions (Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Reunion Tower GeO-Deck, Dallas Zoo, George W. Bush Presidential Museum or Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum).
Depending on which attractions you visit, you can save up to 50% (compared to buying tickets individually).
Starbucks cup from Dallas
We are collecting the Starbucks Mugs from the cities and islands we visit on our travels. Unfortunately, not every city that has a Starbucks store with an own mug. But if the city has an own mug we like to collect them as a souvenir. We only collect city mugs from the "Global Icon Series", which was released in 2008. You can see our complete collection here: Starbucks - Our collection of Mugs from the Global Icon SeriesThe city of Dallas, of course, has several Starbucks stores and its own cup. This cup from the Global Icon series has not been available in Starbucks stores for some time now, but you can usually still buy them on EBay at reasonable prices.
The Starbucks city cup from Dallas
Round trip through Texas - Our travel route & reports
We did a lot of research for our round trip through Texas and in the end we probably put together a "typical" round trip where you explore the best-known cities and regions. We started our trip in Dallas and Fort Worth, then went on to the capital Austin, then to Fredericksburg and San Antonio, from there to the Gulf Coast to Galveston and finally we visited Houston. All in all, a really beautiful and varied route that you can do very well in 3 weeks with 2 small children 🙂
Our itinerary & travel reports:
➥ Dallas - Sights, Attractions & Photo Spots
➥ Fort Worth - Cowboy feeling in the Wild West
➥ Fossil Rim Wildlife Center - A safari in Texas by car
➥ Austin - Sights of the Capital of Texas
➥ Fredericksburg - The most German city in Texas
➥ San Antonio - Top 10 attractions: River Walk, Alamo & more
➥ San Antonio - SeaWorld & Aquatica Water Park
➥ San Antonio - Mission (UNESCO World Heritage)
➥ Galveston Island - relaxing on the Gulf Coast
➥ Houston - Our highlights and activities
➥ Houston Space Center - Dive into the world of space travel