This expansive area is home to a mix of urban and diverse neighborhoods with tree-lined streets, trendy galleries and boutiques, moving cocktail spots and savory restaurants.
Plan Your Trip To Central Dallas
Spread over 20 square blocks and encompassing 68 acres, the walkable downtown hub of creativity features art for all the senses with award-winning museums, performing arts venues, restaurants and bars, while an arts magnet high school, Booker T. Washington, inspires tomorrow's brilliant artists.
Boasting the largest contiguous urban arts district in the nation and an array of vibrant and breathtaking visual and performing arts experiences across the city, Dallas offers world-class exhibits and adventures for culture lovers.
If you're pressed for time, don't fret! There's plenty of time to see all the major attractions. From the Nasher Sculpture Center, one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary sculptures in the world, to stunning sounds of the Meyerson Symphony Center, you can't beat a day in the Dallas Arts District.
The Crow Collection of Asian Art is one of only a handful of museums in the country dedicated solely to the arts and cultures of Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. Experience a peaceful world of beauty and spirituality in the heart of the city with pieces dating from 3500 B.C. to the early 20th century. Don't miss a glimpse at precious jade ornaments from China, delicate Japanese scrolls and a rarely seen 2-by-28 foot sandstone façade of an 18th century Indian residence.
Klyde Warren Park opened in 2012 and introduced a central green space in the middle of a bustling downtown scene. The 5.2-acre park delivers a comprehensive activities calendar for locals and visitors, including daily food trucks and fitness classes, a dog park, a children's center, games and live music. Connectivity was key in picking the spot above Woodall Rogers Freeway for the park; visitors can get to Klyde Warren via foot, trolley or bicycle from multiple neighborhoods.
Nestled in the heart of the Dallas Arts District, the AT&T Performing Arts Center is hailed as the most significant performing arts center built since Lincoln Center in New York City. The center is home to the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, which follows a traditional horseshoe shape, engineered specifically for opera and musical theater performances. The Winspear is home to the Dallas Opera and Texas Ballet Theater.
A 24-story state-of-the-art tower, overlooking the Dallas Arts District, this mixed-use complex combines office, residential, restaurants and retail. Inside, the lobby features the largest digital art installation in North Texas and outside award-winning restaurants Tei-An, Jorge's Tex-Mex Café and YOLK surround an impressive basalt log fountain that lights up the night. You can even catch a free ride to and from your downtown destination within the riding zone on the One Arts Cart by calling 855-ONE-ARTS.
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, home to 11 permanent exhibit halls and various traveling exhibitions throughout the year, delivers hours of fun for children, adults and lifelong learners alike. Catch a view of Downtown Dallas from the museum's glass-encased elevator as you work your way up to the top floor and back down.
Sammons Park embraces and unifies all venues of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Weaving together the Winspear Opera House, Wyly Theatre, Strauss Square, and City Performance Hall, the ten-acre park stretches from Woodall Rodgers Freeway to Ross Avenue and is the first public park in the Dallas Arts District.
The compact, vertical orientation of the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, climbing 12 stories into the Dallas skyline, was designed by Joshua Prince-Ramus of REX and Rem Koolhaas of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. The theater, home to the Dallas Theater Center, Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folkorico, is a prime destination for music and theatre enthusiasts.
Located in the Arts District, Chef Stephan Pyles is bringing an intimate, modern scene together with dazzling attention to food. Try the lobster club for lunch, or the crispy Colorado lamb belly for dinner.
Lunch with a view! Located in Klyde Warren Park, this restaurant offers new American dishes, classic cocktails and desserts in sleek surrounds with floor-to-ceiling windows. It's the perfect place to sip wine on tap and watch the park buzzing with activity.
Pop into the eclectic, speakeasy bar before or after a late-night show in the Arts District. This hidden gem sits in the back room of Musume, an Asian-inspired eatery with Japanese influences that's showcased through its décor and cuisine at both the restaurant and bar.
