Your perfect 2-day itinerary for Dallas!
Learn the best way to explore Dallas in 48 hours. Make the most of your visit or show your guests around like a pro.
The ultimate 2 days itinerary covering Dallas’ top attractions and must-sees in the city!
Dallas 48-Hour Itinerary
Day 1: Downtown Dallas - Main District, Dallas Landmarks, Sixth Floor Museum and Reunion Tower
Day 2: Forth Worth Stockyards
Dallas is not an obvious tourist destination with all figured out and tons of maps and guides showing you exactly where to go and what to see.
But it does not mean at all that Dallas does not offer amazing attractions. Just that you will have to dig a little deeper and work a little harder to plan your visit. Or…. read this post 🙂
It will guide you during 2 days throughout the city’s must-visit places and make sure you spend your time wisely, focusing on the best attractions and experiences around. The ones that really worth your time and that you should not miss while in Dallas.
From the cosmopolitan vibe of Dallas to the city’s history and cowboy culture, this fun-packed 48-hour guide will make sure you make the most of your visit and experience Dallas under different perspectives.
Devour and keep it. Bookmark this post and hold it tight if you have a trip planned to Dallas or visitors coming from elsewhere. And make sure to check on our 3-day itinerary for Dallas or read our list with the 15 top things to do in Dallas if you are looking for more ideas or planning to spend more time around.
Dallas' double personality issues 😁
If you came to Dallas expecting to find sort of modern old west, it won’t disappoint you. If you thought ‘nah…. pure folklore, Dallas is a cosmopolitan city!’, it won’t disappoint you as well.
Throughout the past decades, Dallas reinvented and modernized itself but was able to preserve its deep Texan roots.
Yes, you can experience a rodeo in town – actually the only year-round rodeo in the world – but you can also shop Gucci after having a superb meal at one of the several city’s premium restaurants. You can definitively listen to live country music at authentic honky tonks. But also explore prime art collections and first-rate landmarks and museums. Yes, eventually you’ll see someone with cowboys’ boots or hats around – and will learn that they are actually trendy and quite expensive-, but you’ll stumble upon rushed executives in impeccable suits as well.
For a full picture of Dallas, nothing better than exploring the best of both worlds. This is what this itinerary intends to do. And that’s why it covers Downtown Dallas and the Forth Worth Stockyards. Learn bellow the best way to explore both areas.
Day 1: Downtown Dallas
This is my to go destination when I have visitors from out of town and only one day to show around. I personally prefer them to see the more real and less touristic side of the city and Downtown Dallas does the job. It also includes the most top attractions per square-foot in town, making it a perfect place to spend more time exploring and less time moving from one place to another.
Bellow you’ll find a summarized itinerary. For more details, check the post on how to spend one day in Dallas.
1. Main Street District
Kick off early in the day by having breakfast at CDB Provisions or at the Commissary. Walk to the Giant Eyeball Sculpture for some crazily cool Instagram snapshots. Cross the street and stroll through the Neiman Marcus flagship store and historic building. Have lunch or a drink at The Zodiac at Neiman Marcus.
2. Dallas' Landmarks Walking Tour & Southern Cuisine
From the Neiman Marcus flagship store, take a 10-minute walk towards the Pioneer Plaza to check on the amazing life-sized cattle drive sculpture and adjoining Pioneer cemetery.
Then walk 5 minutes down Young Street and stop by the Red Flying Horse neon sign, a Dallas iconic symbol, for a quick snapshot. Go up Market Street for about 8 minutes and stop by the JFK Memorial Plaza to check on the monument built as a memorial to JFK’s life and death.
If you’re hungry, take a 5-minute walk detour to taste authentic southern comfort food at Ellen’s Southern Kitchen.
Finally, take a short walk to reach Dealey Plaza and see with your own eyes the Xs marking the very spots where JFK was shot in 1963.-
3. Sixth Floor Museum OR Dallas Worldwide Aquarium
Explore the Sixth Floor Museum, one of the top attractions in the city and an unforgettable experience you can only live in Dallas. It is the place from where JFK was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.
If you have kids in tow, visit alternatively the Dallas Worldwide Aquarium, only a short walk away. It is a world-class aquarium guaranteed to entertain kids and adults alike.
4. Reunion Tower
Top off going up the Reunion Tower for the best Dallas views. Watch an amazing sunset from the Reunion Tower GeO-Deck or at the connected Cloud 9 Cafe. It features a rotating floor allowing you to sit down while the cafe spins slowly showing you an amazing and unique 360-degree sunset.
Day 2: Fort Worth Stockyards
Live up to the dream and step back in time!
If your idea of Dallas is sort of an old west type of place – chances are it is – the neighboring Stockyards won’t deceive you. Located in a National Historic District, it is a touristic yet very authentic area where you can get the cowboy vibe Dallas still preserve as an important part of its culture.
The Forth Worth Stockyards is not technically in Dallas. But it is part of the DFW metroplex area and only a short 40-minute drive from Downtown Dallas.
It offers tons of attractions, so plan to spend a whole day there. And if you only have a single day to explore the area, try to go on a Saturday, this way you can experience the vintage train ride and the world-famous Stockyards Championship Rodeo in the same visit.
Check the detailed one-day itinerary for the Stockyards bellow and make the most of your visit. Park your car and enjoy: all attractions are within a walking-distance from each other.
Extra Tip
I would recommend you watching the top-rated Netflix movie 'The Rider' before visiting the Stockyards.
It will give you a better understanding of the southern American cowboy culture and allow you to see the Stockyards championship rodeo for what it really is: an authentic western cowboy experience and real championship - not merely a touristic performance.
1. Have brunch or lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s
Start off your day with a brunch or lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s, one of the most traditional Tex-Mex restaurants in the DFW area. It is located near the Stockyards – about 5 minutes driving and 10 minutes walking – and has been around for over 80 years.
2. Take a vintage train ride
Follow with a Trinity River Train Excursion, offered every Saturday and Sunday at 2:45 pm by the Grapevine Vintage Railroad. The vintage train departs from the Historic Forth Worth Stockyards Station and takes you on a one-hour tour through the historic Cotton Bell Route.
3. Watch a real cattle drive
You will return just in time to watch the 4:00 pm cattle drive, Forth Worth Herd. There you’ll see Texas Longhorns bulls being driven by real Texas cowboys through the Stockyards main street.
The twice daily cattle drive is held daily at 11:30 am and 4:00 pm by the Stockyards Visitors Center (130 East Exchange Ave.).
Note: if you don’t get there in time, you can still take a peek at the Texas Longhorns herd at their stall behind the Livestock Exchange Building on East Exchange Avenue.
4. Warm up to the Rodeo: Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, cowboy gear shops and kids' activities.
Here you have 3 options before heading to the rodeo – or if time allows you can combine them all!
- Visit the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, where you will get a glimpse of the rodeo life.
- Stroll through the Stockyards shops and find everything from authentic cowboy gear to vintage records. You may want to check out on Cavender’s Stock Yards, Chief Records, Adobe Western Art Gallery and Barbara Custom Hats for authentic souvenirs or even some interesting window shopping.
- Visit the Stockyards Petting Zoo to feed farm animals and get lost in the near wooden maze at the Cowtown Cattle Pen Maze – especially interesting if you have kids in tow (the petting zoo is opened only until 5:00 pm, so if you plan to do that go straight after the Cattle Drive watch).
5. Experience a real rodeo championship.
Time to watch a real Rodeo!
Held weekly on Friday and Saturday nights at the Cowtown Coliseum, the Stockyards Championship Rodeo is the only one open all year round in the world.
Inside the Cowtown Coliseum you can find food vendors to grab a quick snack while you watch cowboys trying to remain on top of the bulls – and failing roundly.
6. Hit the dance floor!
Not ready yet to call it a day?
If the show must go on, choose between the White Elephant Saloon, one of the most legendary Forth Worth places, Billy Bob’s, the world’s largest honky tonk – country music venue, bar and dance hall – or any of the tons of country style pubs around. You can’t go wrong with any of them and most offer live music, a dance floor and a very authentic ambiance with old west decor.
Wrapping Up
Visiting Downtown Dallas and the Forth Worth Stockyards is the best way to explore Dallas in only two days.
It will give you an overall idea of Dallas’ culture and roots and take you through the city’s best and most unique attractions. The ones you can only experience visiting Dallas, and this is what travelling should be all about!
I hope you really enjoy this itinerary and that it helps you to experience the best version of Dallas. Come back here and let me know your impressions!
Do you know of any other places that someone visiting the city for a short time frame shouldn’t miss? Leave your comment bellow.
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