Out-of-towner Cindy L. and her husband visited Dallas and wrote about the top attractions to visit for the first time in the city.
Dallas is a beautiful city with many historical attractions for out-of-towners and Midwesterners like me to enjoy! From the architecture, history, and Kennedy sites, my husband, Keith, and I wanted to see it all, but we only had a short amount of time. We had never been to Dallas before, so we set out to find the best sites to see in Dallas for first-time visitors.
Disclosure: Links in the article are provided for your convenience, in case you wish to purchase such tours. Texas Travel Talk will receive a small commission, with no additional fees to the buyer.
Top Sites To See In Dallas For First-Timers
Given our love for history, we chose a few Dallas historical tours to explore.
What historical sites in Dallas should first-timers see? Cindy, from the Midwest, writes about her top picks.
Not wanting to deal with city traffic, we reserved a room at the Courtyard by Marriott Reunion, which was a short walk to most anywhere we wanted to visit. The hotel had the amenities of a diner and a 12th-floor bar with a fantastic view.
Dealy Plaza
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed while traveling through Dealey Plaza in an open-top convertible limousine. The event changed Dallas forever and made Dealey Plaza one of the most visited historical sites in Dallas. We enjoyed viewing the bronze statue of George Bannerman Dealey that still stands in the park today.
To see more in less time, we signed up for the Dallas: 2-Hour JFK Assassination Tour without the Museum because we planned to tour the School Book Depository the following day. While advertised as an assassination tour, the two-hour tour is more of an architectural tour. We didn’t mind, as we both greatly appreciate unique architecture—$55 per person.
There are other tours, similar to the one we took, which include a visit to the museum.
JFK Memorial
Before meeting our tour guide, we checked out the JFK Memorial. Created by architect Philip Johnson in 1970, the square-shaped granite sculpture is 60 feet tall and 30 feet wide, with an open center. Johnson describes the Memorial as “A place of quiet refuge, an enclosed place of thought and contemplation separated from the city around but near the sky and earth.”
Across from the Memorial is a log cabin describing the pioneers of Dallas County. The first settlers to the area came from Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky and built log cabins.
Pioneer Plaza
Our tour guide arrived in an open-air golf cart that sported steer horns on the front. We loaded up with a Texas couple and headed for the first stop, one of my favorites – Pioneer Plaza. In the plaza is a beautiful bronze statue created by Robert Summers of Glen Rose, Texas. The sculpture is a recreation of a cattle drive, where three horse-riding cowboys lead a herd of longhorn cattle. The sculpture is believed to be the largest bronze sculpture of its type in the world. Check out a Pioneer Plaza tour.
Jeffress Fountain Plaza
We also loved the impressive Jeffress Fountain, located outside the First Baptist Church of Dallas, where church members are baptized. The fountain is topped with a cross and words from the bible.
The Giant Eyeball
The most unusual art piece we saw in downtown Dallas was “The Eyeball” – a 30-foot eyeball that represents nothing. Social media and the news have contributed significantly to the hype surrounding it today.
Dallas Farmers Market
As antique tractor collectors, Keith and I loved spying a Farmall tractor in the middle of the city at the Dallas Farmers Market. The market was a fun place to find great food, lots of jewelry, and curiosities. I found a few unique pieces of jewelry as my souvenir to take home.
West End Historic District
One excellent nearby dining option was Chet’s Dallas in the West End Historic District. We were in the city on Valentine’s Day, and amazingly, while there were no tables available, we sat at the bar and shared their Valentine’s four-course Dinner. This historic neighborhood, with its numerous historic buildings to explore, also features a few fun shops and is worth a visit for first-timers.
John F. Kennedy
For my husband, our visit to Dallas was all about President John F. Kennedy and all the stops along the way. We purchased tickets for a morning guided tour at the former Texas School Book Depository. The tour covered the JFK presidency, the timeframe leading up to his arrival, and his visit, as well as that of his wife, Jackie. The museum also offers insight into the political aspects happening at the time of President Kennedy’s death.
To learn more about JFK, we took the extensive JFK Historical Tour and met up with our guide at the JFK Memorial Plaza. We toured in an SUV and followed the route President Kennedy took on that day. The tour was extensive and included the Grassy Knoll, tracing Oswald’s escape route to his rooming house, which was set up just as it was in 1963. There is also a John F. Kennedy Trolley Tour for only $22 per person.
There were also stops at 10th and Patton Avenue, the (J.D. Tippit Memorial) where JD Tippit was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, and the Texas Movie Theater, where Oswald was caught.
While we would have loved to see more sites, such as the George W. Bush Presidential Library and the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, we were thrilled to have visited the most critical places in Dallas for someone who loves art, architecture, and history.
The Above Article and Photos are by Cindy Ladage, a travel writer from the Midwest. Check out her website – Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl.
Often, first-time visitors to any big city want to see many attractions. If that’s you, maybe suggest the Dallas City PASS.
The Dallas City PASS is $57 per person and includes Four Top Attractions:
- Visit the Reunion Tower GeO-Deck and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science
- Plus, choose admission to two of the following attractions: Dallas Zoo, George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, or Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum.
The Dallas City PASS, once purchased, is good for nine days.
More Sites To See In Dallas For First-Timers
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas, and while it’s a great place to live and visit, one of the city’s main attractions is its renowned art museums. The city of Dallas has some of the largest art museums in Texas. If it’s your first time in Dallas, whether you’re coming from out of state, like Cindy and her husband, or just haven’t made your way to the big city yet, there are more exciting historical sites to put on your to-see list.
Some say the Perot Museum of Nature and the Sixth Floor Museum are two must-see tourist attractions when visiting Dallas for the first time. And if there’s time during your visit, you may want to explore the Dallas Arts District, home to the Dallas Museum of Art, the Meyerson Symphony Center, and the Winspear Opera House. The African American Museum
AT&T Performing Arts Center
If you enjoy the nightlife, consider visiting the Entertainment District (now known as the AT&T Discovery District) to experience live music, special events, major concerts at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, as well as a variety of bars, restaurants, and other entertainment options. It’s Dallas’ nightlife all rolled up in one.
Across the freeways from the AT&T Performing Arts Center lies the intriguing Bishop Arts District, known for its unique murals, fun one-of-a-kind shops and boutiques, and the fabulous Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Just look for the white arch. Parking is free on the west side of the bridge, and walking is permitted on the bridge. It’s an excellent spot for photography.
Dallas boasts numerous popular attractions and historical sites, making it challenging to describe them all, as I believe first-time visitors may feel overwhelmed. I’m listing a few here in hopes that it helps first-timers enjoy the city. When you find something intriguing, be sure to look it up on Google.
Oh, and don’t forget to have dinner at the Reunion Tower so you can see the Dallas Skyline – it’s gorgeous!
And, if you find yourself in the city for more than a day, you might want to get away to visit other places. Here are 15 day trips from Dallas that can be reached in under an hour, which may be of interest.
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