Travel Professional – USA 2019

FEATURE

USA SPRING EDITION 25

DALLAS:

Big Things Happen Here

The Big D is ready with Texas-sized hospitality,
whether the interest is botanical, artistic, historic
or sports. The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical
Gardens offers seasonally themed floral creations
and the perfect place for getting in those 10,000 steps.
Uniquely themed areas include A Tasteful Place, a
kitchen garden, pavilion and kitchen offering daily
tastes of herbs, fruits and vegetables and cooking
classes, and the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure
Garden, with daily science labs and 150 interactive
science games.
Nation Tours offers six daily Segway tours of
downtown Dallas, featuring art, architecture and
historic points of interest such as Klyde Warren
Park, Dealey Plaza and the Dallas Arts District,
which is soon to be home to the new HALL Arts
Hotel in fall 2019. This 10-storey luxury boutique
property will have 183 rooms, two restaurants,
6,000 square feet of meeting space and 50 pieces of
curated local and international artwork. Also coming

is entertainment-focused Virgin Hotels, which will

be opening a 200-room hotel in the city’s Design

District. Also, beloved property Fairmont Dallas,

located between the arts district and the central

business district, is celebrating its 50th anniversary

this year.

The Sixth Floor Museum remains one of the

most popular attractions in Dallas, focused on the

assassination of President John F. Kennedy with

videos, photos and artifacts. It’s located in the

infamous Texas School Book Depository and next

door to the source of many conspiracy theories, the

Grassy Knoll. Steps from the museum is Dealey

Plaza, the city’s JFK Memorial and the new home of

the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education

and Tolerance, opening summer 2020.

Dallas’ bragging rights as a sports destination is

thanks to many well-known pro sports franchises.

The American Airlines Arena is home to NBA’s

Dallas Mavericks and the NHL’s Dallas Stars, and

serves as a downtown location that offers easy access

on game night. Fans will appreciate the celebratory

pre-game atmosphere around the arena as well as

perks such as the Dallas Stars Fan Experiences,

giving rare access to players pre- and post-game.

Nightlife can be easily found in friendly Deep

Ellum, an entertainment district with several brew

pubs, live music clubs and smoky barbecue joints,

including Pecan Lodge, where locals regularly line

up for some of the city’s best brisket and pulled pork.

The area is a hotbed of quirky and colourful murals,

created by local and international street artists.

Dallas skyline