Visitor's Information for Dallas

Dallas, the third largest city in Texas and the center of the state's largest metropolitan area, is located in the north central portion of the state. This populous city is home to the Dallas Cowboys 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.

Get in
Most people who come to Dallas are going to come by air since Dallas is home to DFW, the Dallas-Fort Worth International airport.

Coming from the south, I-45 is the major highway for travel between Houston and Dallas, while I-35 connects the city to Austin and San Antonio.If you come in on I-35 you need to keep in mind that, a few dozen miles both north and south of the "metroplex," the interstate splits into I-35W (which runs north/south through Fort Worth) and I-35E (the branch that runs north/south through Dallas). Miss the split and you'll wind up in a different city. Coming from the west, Dallas is reached by either I-20 on the south side or I-30 which comes directly into downtown. Both of these interstate highways approach Dallas from the east. I-20 comes from Shreveport, Louisiana and I-30 comes from Texarkana.

By plane
There are two major airports in the Dallas / Fort Worth area, DFW, and Love Field (DAL). Love Field is within the city limits not far northwest of downtown, but has certain restrictions on flights in and out. Love Field is home to Southwest Airlines, so if you are flying from within Texas, a nearby state or don't mind connecting, you might check with them. Love Field is also served by Continental Express to Houston. American Eagle flies to Chicago O'Hare from Love. The flight restrictions at Love Field were partially lifted when the "Wright Amendment Reform Act" was made law in October 2006. The restrictions will be fully lifted in 2014.

Otherwise, you will probably end up flying into DFW. DFW, one of the largest airports in the country by passenger volume, is physically large as well, reasonably clean, and during tourist-travel type times, lines are short and staff are friendly. Equally positioned between Dallas and Fort Worth, DFW is a great airport to fly into. Don't forget that as you drive out of the airport, you will have to pay a toll to leave. DFW is the chief terminal of American Airlines, which controls well over 80% of all the flights.

No matter which airport you are flying into or out of, if it is during rush hour, traffic will be a factor. Make sure you budget at least 2-3 hours to get to/from the airport if you are traveling on I-635, the Bush turnpike (SH-190), or 75 (Central Expressway). It will probably only take you an hour (and traffic has been getting better lately), but it is far better to have that extra hour of cushion than to be stuck on the one road that will get you where you need to go, and to be moving at a crawl.

Once you've arrived at the airport, you will probably do best to take one of the Shared Ride shuttle services. They offer door to door pickup and drop off, probably costing ~$30 for ~20 miles, which will get you to most places.

Get around
The simplest and most reliable way to get around Dallas is by car. There is public transportation in the form of buses and trains (light rail), but again, these best serve the local needs (commuting to work, etc), and are very difficult to get good timings if you are trying to get anywhere exotic althought the DART train does hit many tourist destinations.

The transportation system is called DART, and they do an excellent job of catering to special events (Cowboys games, State Fair), or special places (Dallas Zoo, West End, Arboretum) and will instantly give you a trip plan if you call them up or use their website. You will usually want to get a day pass ($3), since it will probably take you a lot of buses to get where you need to go.

The bus system, not unlike in many large cities, can be quite confusing, and trying to get to points downtown may involve a long walk due to one-way streets. Because mass transit is still far behind in popularity compared to that of other countries — and even more so in Texas, where cars are well ingrained in the culture — foreigners may be surprised that Dallasites will be unable to help direct them very well. The train system is easiest to understand, and connects to several suburban areas. Prices are relatively cheap, especially for train travel. On DART, bus drivers check tickets at the door, but on the trains, tickets are checked by DART security officers who sporadically board trains between stations. Being caught on the train without a valid ticket usually results in your being asked to immediately depart at the next stop, but you can also receive a fine not to exceed $500. Tickets are not as likely to be checked while the train is downtown or on excessively crowded trains, but it is always a risk to go for a free ride.

Car rentals are the most convenient for transportation for visitors, with local companies offering better prices but national chains offering more convenience vis-a-vis return policies and times.

To get from Dallas-Fort worth (DFW) airport to downtown Dallas or Fort Worth, take a free shuttle from outside your terminal to the Remote South parking lot. Here you can change to another free shuttle to the Trinity Rail Express station called Centre Port/DFW Airport. From here a train to either downtown takes about 20 minutes. You may have to wait an hour for the next train. Buy tickets from the vending machines; they take dollar bills as well as coins. Tickets cost about $2.50. Alternatively, you can take a shared van from the airport. These cost $15-$20, depending on your destination.

Districts
 

  • Downtown, including the historic West End. Home to a burgeoning residential and nightlife district
  • East Dallas - White Rock Lake and the nightlife of Lower Greenville and Deep Ellum.
  • Lake Highlands, a largely residential area bordering Garland on the north and Mesquite on the east.
  • North Dallas, including the areas along the northern I-635 loop and reaching up around the borders of Addison.
  • Northwest Dallas, home to Koreatown and to Dallas Love Field, the city's second biggest airport.
  • Oak Cliff, a large low-income, mainly residential district southwest of downtown. Sometime also referred to as south Dallas.
  • Oak Lawn, north of downtown, includes the gay district of Cedar Springs.
  • The Cedars, home to the Texas State Fairgrounds. Sometime also referred to as south Dallas.
  • Uptown - North from Oak Lawn, playground and shopping grounds for the beautiful people of the city. Includes Highland Park, University Park and the Knox-Henderson area, full of eclectic boutiques and restaurants.
  • West Dallas, corridor leading towards Arlington.

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 Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, and the ballpark of the Texas Rangers.
  • Irving, with Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Irving also 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.

 


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