Arts & Culture

With more than 100 live performances occuring nightly throughout the Dallas/area, it's easy to find something for everyone - and hard to fit it all in! This sample itinerary is just a means to get you started with galleries and museums during the day, elegant and unique dinners and a wide range of performance venues every night. You'll see the schedule is flexible enough to let you plan a night, a day or a week! And since most everything is indoors, it's a great itinerary to enjoy during the summer, when everything is a brisk air-conditioned 72 degrees inside.

Day 1

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Start your afternoon at the spectacular Mustangs of Las Colinas, the world's largest equestrian sculpture and a great backdrop for a souvenir group picture. Fans of Norman Rockwell, Scouting and Americana will revel in a visit to the National Scouting Museum for one of the largest collections anywhere of Rockwell's original works. Then it's off to the Irving Arts Center, for a leisurely tour of its galleries and sculpture garden. A weather-friendly day also means a good time to explore the Jaycee Center for the Arts and its beautiful gardens. Dinner is at the canal-side Café Cipriani, followed by a performance at one of the Irving Arts Center's three theatres. Book a private moonlight tour via gondola on the waters of the Mandalay Canal to close out your evening in true Venetian style.

Day 2

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The Dallas Arboretum is always in bloom, and mornings are a perfect time to enjoy its scenery. Then it's off to downtown Dallas for an upclose look at the cattle drive captured in sculpture at Pioneer Plaza. The Trammell Crow Building features a unique art collection, and lunch at Avanti Café in Fountainplace makes for a great break. The Dallas Museum of Art is the next stop, and then it's a trolley ride to McKinney Avenue for antique shopping and gallery strolling. Dinner is a dine-around on the avenue, capped by a nighttime performance at either the Meyerson, Majestic or Fair Park Music Hall theatres.

Day 3

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"West" is the theme of the day, with your first stop at the Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art, then the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Fort Worth's Kimball Art Museum offers a spectacular collection, and a great lunch at its Buffet. Make time to include the new Modern Art Museum; the Amon Carter Museum is next, then it's Fort Worth's turn to show off its greenery with a stop at the Botanical Gardens. Dinner is in Sundance Square, with a show following at Caravan of Dreams, Casa Mañana, the Bass Performance Hall or Casa on the Square.

Day 4

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Your morning starts with the Grapevine Art Walk, including a visit to the unique Grapevine Heritage Center. A tour of Grapevine's wineries is next, with stops at tasting rooms and vineyards included. Enjoy a casual dinner at local favorites like Esparza's, Ravioli's, or Willhoite's, than catch the performance at the Grapevine Opry.

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau.