DFW Tours! Art in Dallas and Fort Worth. What to see and what to do.

What to Do in Dallas Fort Worth

DFW Tours! Dallas Art and Fort Worth Art

DFWArt Tours! On a Budget!

The DFW area understands the love of art and makes its collections available free of charge. Art elevates the soul and defines a culture.

Clearly, Fort Worth is more magnaminous in this regard than Dallas, although the African American Museum in Fair Park is always free! In Fort Worth the Amon Carter Museum, The Sid Richardson Museum and the Kimbell Art Museum are always free. Take the Trinity Rail Express to Fort Worth, children love riding ‘the train.’

Whether you are backpackers from another country or parents with young children on a limited budget, the art of Dallas and Fort Worth is not denied to you. There is no more wonderful place to watch the sunset than from the McDermott Terrace at the Meadows Museum at SMU. The campus is filled with wonderful fountains and ancient oaks and the Meadows Museum opens its doors free of charge one evening a week, Thursdays after five o’clock p.m.

Fair Park is hauntingly beautiful and is easily accessible with a DART stop at the park. Pack a lunch and plenty of fluids. Spend the day.

The underlying reality is that cost is not a barrier to experiencing the magnificent art of the area. All the museums are closed on Mondays and major holidays. All locations are Dart Accessible.

For Parents and Grandparents:

Both the Fort Worth Zoo and the Dallas Zoo are wonderful destination spots, though they are not free. The Dallas Zoo has its own Dart stop.

Heritage Village, just east of downtown Dallas, features scheduled activities portraying the history of the region. When the temperature is over ninety degrees and moving up to 100 degrees these activities are too hot for children.

Dallas Museum Art – No Admission Fee

Tuesday and Wednesday: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday*, Saturday, and Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays
*Late Night Fridays (third Friday of the month, excluding December), the Museum is open until midnight.

General Admission: Free
Adults: Free
Seniors (65+) Free
Military personnel (with a current ID): Free
Students (with a current school ID): Free
Children under 12: FREE

First Tuesday of each month is Free although special ticket prices may apply to exhibitions

Thursday Nights, 5–9 p.m.

The Nasher Sculpture Center

Adult
Seniors 65 and over
Military with ID
Student with ID
Children 12 & under

$10
$7
$7
$5
Free

Joint Ticket with the DMA

Adult
Seniors 65 & over
Military with ID
Student with ID

$16
$12
$12
$8

Free on First Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Unless there is a special event such as the third Friday late night or the Thursday evening Jazz, the hours of the DMA are 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

African American Museum at Fair Park FREE

Always free. Always great!

Tuesday – Friday: 11:00 am – 5:00pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00pm

Monday and Sunday: Closed

Meadows Museum on the SMU Campus

Tuesday-Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Thursdays until 9:00 p.m.
Monday: Closed

Adults $8
Seniors $6 – 65 and over
Students $4

Complimentary admission on Thursdays after 5 p.m.

Meadows Museum members and children under the age of 12 are admitted free.

Be sure to see the SMU Mustang sculpture.

Kimbell Art Museum – Fort Worth

Admission to the Museum’s permanent collection is always free.

There is a charge for special exhibitions. Half-price exhibition admission is offered on Tuesdays (all day) and on Fridays from 5–8 p.m.

Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fridays, noon to 8 p.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.

Amon Carter Museum – Fort Worth

The Amon Carter Museum is always free.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday:
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: Noon to 5 p.m.

Sid Richardson Museum

The Sid Richardson Museum is always free.

Monday through Thursday, 9:00 am. to 5:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 9:00 am. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 12:00 pm. to 5:00 p.m.

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

$4: Students with ID and Seniors (60+)
$10: General (13 to Adult)
Free: Children 12 and under
Free: Modern members

The Museum is free on the first Sunday of every month and half price every Wednesday.
Access to the Lobby, Café Modern, and The Modern Shop is always free.

Dallas Arboretum

Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Adults – $12.00
Seniors – $10.00
Children 3 to 12 – $8.00
Children under 3 – Free
Be prepared to pay $7.00 parking fee per car

The Arboretum is not accessible via light rail, though there is a bus stop very near by:

DART: GARLAND @ LAKELAND – N – FS (#16881) It is the Garland at Lakeland Stop.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden

Botanic Garden grounds are open from 8:00 a.m. to dusk.

Adults $1.00
Seniors $.50
Children aged 4-12 are $.50 -
Children under 4 free (one adult may sponsor up to 5 children)

Japanese Gardens

Adults $4.00 weekdays, $4.50 weekends and holidays
Seniors $.50 off regular admission
Children (4-12 yrs.) $3.00 – under 4 free

Women’s Museum at Fair Park Dallas – CLOSED

Adults: $5.00
Senior Citizens and
Students 13-18: $4.00
Students 5-12: $3.00
Children under 5: Free

Tuesday – Sunday: Noon to 5 p.m.
Monday: Closed

DFWArt Tours! Suggestions.

Enjoy Dallas. There is so much to do here!

Dallas Arts District Tour and Lunch

You can enjoy the Dallas Museum of Art visit with the Nasher Sculpture Center. A favorite focus is the architectural recreation of several rooms of Chanel’s Villa Pausa in the South of France.

Dallas Arts District

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Tour Fair Park

Fair Park is working on an AT&T Cell Phone Tour. With your mobile or smart phone, you will be able to take a self-guided walking tour while listening to short stories about 70 historic, artistic, or quirky discoveries in Fair Park. The largest collection of art deco exposition buildings in the world is located at Fair Park.

You can also explore Fair Park’s highlights by taking their architectural walking tours.

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Dallas Garden Tour and Lunch at DeGolyer Mansion

The Dallas Arboretum consists of 66 acres located on the eastern shore of White Rock Lake. The Jonsson Color Garden features more than 2,000 varieties of azaleas, there are over 30 varieties of ferns in the Palmer Fern Dell, and over 200,000 flowers bloom during the festival periods.

Dallas Gardens and De Golyer Mansion

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African American Heritage Tour

The Dallas Museum of Art, The African American Museum, and noted sculptor of the Freedmen Cemetery, David Newton, represent the strong commitment of the Dallas Arts Community honoring the African American Heritage. The Fair Park African American Museum architecture is dramatic and is capped by a rotunda with a sixty foot dome. The four galleries which radiate from the rotunda represent Africa’s quadrants.

African American Heritage in Dallas
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Fort Worth Cultural District

The Kimbell has been called, “One of the country’s (if not the world’s) top small museums.” The Modern Museum of Fort Worth is a sparkling jewel designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and second in size only to the Museum of Modern Art in New York among museums dedicated to contemporary and modern art. The Amon Carter possesses the finest and most complete collection of works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, two giants of Western art, as well as a major photography collection with works by Ansel Adams, Man Ray, Elliot Porter, Robert Frank, Alfred Stieglitz, Walker Evans, and many others. The Collection includes a new Mary Cassat and important contemporary paintings by Marsden Hartley, Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove, and Stuart Davis.

> Fort Worth Cultural District

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Fort Worth Botanical Garden

Fort Worth Botanical Gardens are comprised of a lush 109-acre park includes 23 specialty gardens. See the Japanese Gardens, the historical rose garden, and the conservatory.

> Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

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Meadows Museum, SMU

The Meadows Museum located on the SMU campus, houses one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Spanish art outside of Spain. The museum supports their core collection with expansive and broad exhibitions from other geographic regions. Walk over to Styker Plaza and lunch at Kuby’s, my favorite place or enjoy Tex Mex, barbecue and many other options.

> Meadows Museum of Art – SMU

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Oswald’s Eighty Minutes after the Dreadful Shot

> Lee Oswald’s Steps and Life. Follow the eighty minutes of Oswald’s return go Oak Cliff before his apprehension at the Texas Theater. View the Book Depository and Sixth Floor Museum. Lunch at Campisi’s Egyptian Room, reputedly a mob favorite and the food just happens to be delicious as well. Wonderful 50′s decor, unchanged.

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Cowboy and Ranger Stadium

Cowboy Stadium is filled with art. Explore not only the art but the nooks and crannies of this grand stadium. Stepping into this venue is an undeniably uplifting experience. The architecture has been defined as the greatest stadium architecture in existence today. You should book your tour ahead of time, however. This is an incredibly busy venue. When the Cowboys are not on the field, you can tour the field as well.

> Cowboy Stadium – Ranger Stadium

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Additional Suggestions

Consider these options as well.

Hall of State – Fair Park

Bonnie and Clyde Tour

Dallas Holocaust Museum, Center for Education and Tolerance

Texas Automotive Museum

Dallas World Aquarium and Orinoco Rainforest

Dallas Zoo

Firefighter’s Museum of Dallas – near Fair Park!

Founder’s Plaza and from here walk to IM Pei’s city hall with fabulous Henry Moore sculpture.

Frontiers of Flight Museum

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Heard Museum and Sanctuary

Heritage Farmstead

Las Colinas – Williams Square

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (has tours)

Mesquite Championship Rodeo (air conditioned)

Museum of the American Railroad

Neiman Marcus and Zodiac Room – Downtown Dallas

Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture

Sixth Floor Museum

The Museum of Nature and Science

The Women’s Museum

Windmill Stables and Nature Preserve

West End Historical District in Dallas – kind of a tourist trap

Festivals and Events

Visit regional festivals and events! A sample of these events include:

First Mondays at Canton.

Tejas Storytelling Festival – MARCH 2-4, 2012, Denton, TX

Shakespeare Festival of Dallas

Art Fairs

Nature Preserves and Walks

Trinity River Audubon Center – opens the Great Trinity Forest on its 6,000 acre site. This is the largest urban bottomland hardwood forest in the United States.

Cedar Ridge Preserve – encompasses 633 acres located on the White Rock Escarpment. Audubon Dallas manages the preserve. There are ten marked trails. Located thirty minutes south of central Dallas.

Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center – includes 270 acres of wildlife habitat for some endangered species and plant life.

—— Lee Ann