During your Dallas vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art
This exceptionally displayed collection is the product of one of Dallas's best-known real estate developer's fascination with the arts of Japan, China, and India. The 500 pieces on display (taken from a collection of more than 7,000 objects) range from 1000 B.C. to the 20th century. The first floor is dedicated to the arts of Japan; its galleries hold Japanese scrolls and screens, as well as ceramics and bronzes. The Chinese galleries focus mostly on painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the last Chinese empire, the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Across a sky bridge is the third gallery, dedicated to Indian culture, with Hindu sculptures and features of Indian architecture, including a large residence facade in elaborately carved red limestone. There are also a number of sculptures from Cambodia -- a standout is the pre-Khmer 7th-century figure of Vishnu -- and Nepalese and Tibetan objets d'art. Allow an hour or two to see it all.Crow's non-Asian sculpture collection is on display at the Trammell Crow Center, located at 2001 Ross Ave. at Harwood. It includes 19th- and 20th-century French bronzes (by Rodin and Maillol) throughout the office building and in the garden.
The Dallas World Aquarium
Housed in a former warehouse in the West End district, the Dallas aquarium not at Fair Park is a good place to hide out from the sun downtown. My niece and nephew enjoy communing with the stingrays, sea turtles, sharks, and reef fish. Their favorite, though, is "Orinoco -- Secrets of the River," an immersion into the tropical rainforest of Venezuela, a cool area teeming with Peruvian squirrel monkeys, endangered Orinoco crocs, jaguars, and soft-billed toucans. The newest exhibit is "Mundo Maya," with a 400,000-gallon shark tank. Plan on about an hour's visit. A restaurant and a cafe are on the premises.
The Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden
Dallas may not be celebrated for its cool green beauty, but the area around White Rock Lake, and more specifically the Arboretum and Botanical Garden, is a welcome oasis. Just 15 minutes from the gleaming skyscrapers of downtown Dallas are nearly 70 acres of carefully planted and groomed gardens and natural woodlands, interspersed with a handful of historic residences, that meander along the banks of the lake. The Jonsson Color Garden features one of the nation's largest collections of azaleas, which bloom spectacularly in spring, and nearly 6 acres of chrysanthemums in the fall. And while North Texas is not exactly New England, October and November are as ablaze in color as anything you'll see in this neck of the woods. If you find yourself in Dallas during the torrid summer (or spring and fall) months, the Palmer Fern Deli is a secluded, shady spot where mist-sprayers drop the temperature at least 10° to 15° -- reason enough for a visit here. An hour is probably enough time to see most of the gardens, though it's a fine place to linger, read, and relax.
The Melrose Hotel Dallas
This is another one of Dallas's upscale hotels with an old-world, rather than an Old West, atmosphere. In the heart of the Oak Lawn neighborhood, near the nightlife of Cedar Springs and Turtle Creek, the midsize Melrose feels like a gracious old neighbor. Built in 1924, the eight-floor hotel was completely renovated in 1999. Once a favorite of artists and entertainers like Arthur Miller, Elizabeth Taylor, and Luciano Pavarotti, today the newly revamped hotel caters mostly to execs and couples on weekend getaways. No two rooms are alike, though they are uniformly luxurious and inviting, with 10-foot ceilings, crown molding, antiques, and marble-tiled bathrooms. The renovated Landmark restaurant consistently wins accolades in the local and national press, and the stately Library Bar is a terrific spot for a nightcap.
Hotel Zaza
Welcome to Dallas's "it" hotel, the newest place to be seen, with a scene populated by the young and fabulous, fashionable, and merely wealthy. The Zaza is pretty much a cocktail of SoHo, San Francisco, and Los Angeles as served up in Dallas, but with the friendliness common in Texas. A business hotel for many in the arts-and-entertainment world, this swank four-story boutique lodging at the southern end of McKinney Avenue, the main axis of chic Uptown, is a pleasure-fest of exclusive style. Stylishly decorated standard rooms have plush fabrics and good taste, but the real stars are the array of fabulous, spacious suites with themed decor (ranging from "Out of Africa" and "Erotica" to the expected "Texas" and, no lie, the "Shag-a-delic" Suite) and balconies. The eyepoppingly gorgeous Dragonfly restaurant, run by celeb chef Stephan Pyles, and cocktail lounge have quickly become stars in the Big D nightlife firmament.
The Bradford at Lincoln Park
This residential-style hotel -- the most upscale member of this exceptional-value small chain that operates in Texas and Colorado -- may be the best deal in Dallas. It's where all of my wife's coworkers stay when they visit the Dallas home office. Popular with business visitors who stay for a week or more, the stylish and spacious suites are coolly decorated in muted tones, with fully equipped kitchens. (There are three different floor plans to choose from, but for most visitors the "Executive," the cheapest room, will be more than sufficient.) Conveniently located just off Central Expressway and near NorthPark Center and Northwest Highway, it's just 10 minutes from downtown (unless you catch rush hour, when it could take forever) and even nearer to the nightlife options of Greenville and McKinney avenues.
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Other direct flights from Green Bay (GRB) on American Airlines
