Dallas,the third largest city in Texas and the center of the state’s largest metropolitan area, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, is in the north central portion of the state. This populous city is home to the Dallas Mavericks and you’ll regularly be reminded of the city’s mass enthusiasm for the team. A shopper’s paradise, Dallas has more shopping centers per capita than any other city in the US.
Dallas/Highland Park and University Park. One of the wealthiest areas of the city, the “Park Cities” are mostly residential, but also offer world-class shopping opportunities at Highland Park Village (corner of Mockingbird and Preston) and elsewhere. North Park mall is on the northern edge of the Park Cities. University Park is home to Southern Methodist University (SMU), the Meadows Museum at SMU, and the under-construction George W. Bush Presidential Library.
West Dallas is largely a blighted area of poverty, but it does feature the one-of-a-kind Belmont Hotel, which has arguably the best views of downtown. West Dallas is easily connected to the Oak Cliff area, and is poised for re-development as part of the Trinity River Project, and the under-construction Hunt-Hill Bridge across the Trinity River, designed by famed Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava.
Some area attractions often thought of as Dallas attractions are actually located in the suburbs, notably the following:
Addison, almost surrounded by North Dallas, has a lot of restaurants and shopping packed into its 4 square miles.
Arlington, home to the new Cowboys Stadium, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, and the ballpark of the Texas Rangers.
Irving, former home of the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium, it serves as the gateway to the massive DFW airport.
The suburbs of Carrollton and Lewisville, north along I-35E have less to offer in terms of attractions, but provide ample tourist accommodations, plenty of restaurants, and are reasonably close to any Dallas destination. The same might be said for Richardson and Plano, which lie north from Dallas along US-75.
Grapevine has a nice historic main street area and numerous wineries.
