Dallas - A Thriving City In Which Arts And Culture Abound

Investment and redevelopment have transformed Dallas into a thriving city in which arts and culture abound, and there are fabulous places to eat at the end of a long day's fantastic sightseeing

- Tom Otley

Dallas comes with more preconceptions than most US cities, and most of them are wrong. It's a major conurbation, with the greater Dallas area home to well over seven million people and growing quickly, yet you could walk around Downtown all day and wonder where all the workers are. The regional offices of major financial institutions are present; there are new and refurbished hotels, bars and restaurants, yet the vanishingly small number of shops (apart from the beautiful original 1914 Neiman Marcus building on Main Street) shows that people come here to work and then leave in the evening, heading to the suburbs.

What makes it even more surprising is that pre-Covid, 27.7 million people visited Dallas annually for a total economic impact of US$8.8 billion. In the last 25 years over US$2.5 billion has been invested in Downtown Dallas and the population almost tripled between 2000 and 2010, and now stands at 13,000 people.

When finished, Downtown will have added 23 acres of green space over the past 15 years

What's also unexpected is there so much to see and do in the centre of Dallas - shopping aside. Within walking distance of Downtown you have world-class art galleries and museums, interesting architecture, successful urban regeneration and sites of real historical interest including, of course, Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum located on the top of the infamous Book Depository from where JFK was thought to have been shot. You'll also get a warm welcome from Texans.

Colourful artwork in Deep Ellum

DINING IN STYLE