Dallas Travel Guide

2023 is another year of my inner travel bug truly thriving. I kicked off my first trip of the year visiting somewhere I had never been before by heading on a sister trip to Dallas, TX! I felt so thankful to have this experience, because even though Dallas is just another major city in the US, I personally love visiting other cities because they really are all so different in their own way, and let me tell you, this trip was truly an experience! Not to mention, this was my first time ever visiting Texas and it felt like a whole different world down there. It’s this part of traveling that I absolutely love, even if you’re staying within the US! I also shared a full vlog on our trip over on my YouTube channel here.

Let me start off by saying that visiting Texas in the springtime is a whole experience in itself, because the first day we were there, we were under Tornado watch and egg-sized hail warnings! Looking back at it now, it’s actually pretty funny because my sister and I were driving down the highway trying to get back to our hotel in time before the storm, when the high winds kicked in within a span of about five seconds, which instantly set off a panic within me, and everyone else is just driving around like everything is business as usual. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life lol. Long story short, we did not make it to our hotel in time and had to take shelter in a Super Target after a billboard landed about 100 feet in front of our rental car, it got scary pretty quick! It made me realize that everything really is bigger in Texas, even the storms!

But before I go off on a tangent about that experience, I wanted to round up all the best things to do in Dallas, because it really was such a fun time and a nice city!

Things to Do in the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Metropolitan Area:

Fort Worth Stockyards

If you want a true feel of Texas, I highly recommend checking out the Fort Worth Stockyards! We briefly checked it out on our way from Fort Worth to Dallas and it was a true Western experience. The Stockyards are a historic part of Fort Worth filled with old brick roads, country western gift shops, restaurants, entertainment, rodeos, and more. They also bring cattle through the main part of the district daily! This is a great place to check out if you’re traveling with kids, but is also worth seeing without!

Tour AT&T Stadium

Touring AT&T Stadium was probably the highlight of the trip for me because the stadium was so impressive! While I may not be a Cowboys fan, the stadium itself was super cool, and an added bonus that they took us down through the Cowboys’ and Cowgirls’ locker rooms. Ordinarily, you’d be able to walk out onto the field, but we went during Monster Jam weekend so were unable to. May or may not have come home with some Cowboys gear as a memento of the experience!

Dallas Farmers Market

Visiting the Dallas Farmers Market was probably my second favorite part of the trip because I love a good farmers’ market! For starters, it was so cute, but they also had a lot of cool little shops to check out and shop for gifts and check out local things. Plus some good food options!

NorthPark Mall
Fort Worth Outlet Mall

If you’re looking to do some shopping in Dallas, the NorthPark Mall has you covered – they’ve got a little bit of everything! The Fort Worth Outlet Mall is another great option to get some discounts.

Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden

The botanical garden is a must-see in Dallas! I had heard such great things about it prior to our trip and knew it was something we needed to check out. The thing about that though is everyone else thinks the exact same, meaning it is very popular and very busy! We showed up and tickets were sold out for the day, unfortunately. Word to the wise here, buy your tickets online in advance! We ended up hanging out at a nearby lake park instead and could somewhat see into the gardens, and it looked amazing from the outside, so I can only imagine what it would have looked like on the inside! I’ve heard it makes for an amazing place to get professional photos taken as well.

Downtown Dallas
Klyde Warren Park

Another fun thing to do is walk around downtown Dallas! There are so many city parks, restaurants, and shopping, plus it’s fun to see what other downtown areas look like compared to other parts of the country. One nice thing about downtown Dallas is the downtown area is very clean and felt safe for the most part! Klyde Warren Park is a great city park downtown with open grass area, food trucks, and more.

Buc-ee’s

Buc-ee’s is another must-see in Texas and is honestly the most Texas place I have ever seen. It’s a gas station/supermarket/gift shop and is a true Texas experience!

Where to Eat in Dallas:

Campisi’s
Uno Mas Tex Mex
Taco Cabana
North Italia
Masero
Bellagreen

There are so many good food options in Dallas and we didn’t have the time to truly take advantage of all of it but some of my favorites were Campisi’s (Italian), and Taco Cabana. TBH, Taco Cabana is more “fast food” style but it’s unique to Texas and it was so good! We didn’t make it to Masero or Bellagreen but I’ve heard these are amazing! The inside of Uno Mas Tex Mex was very cool as well and had a fun vibe so I highly recommend checking that out if you’re into Tex-Mex.

Where to Stay:

Fairfield Inn Marriott Dallas Downtown

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn Marriott in downtown Dallas and I loved this hotel! It’s just a few blocks over from the Dallas Farmers Market which made it such an easy walk in the morning, plus it’s right on the “outskirt” of downtown while still downtown and walkable to most places. Plus, the inside of the rooms had an old brick but modern vibe to it which I just love. Not to mention we had a nice city view of downtown as well! If you want to be close to everything I’d recommend staying downtown.

My sister and I stayed in Dallas for about 3-4 days and it felt like the perfect duration to check off all the key things to do in the area. Now I’m wanting to visit some of Texas’ other major cities like Austin, Houston, and San Antonio to see how they compare!

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