The perfect itinerary for a weekend in Dallas

After snagging tickets to see Madonna on the American Airlines Center last month, my two friends and I made a decision to spend an extended weekend in Dallas – a city that neither of us had visited before the pandemic and that we were wanting to return to after we learned about it. It features the biggest contiguous arts district within the country and essentially the most buildings designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize winners.

We’ve planned a jam-packed three-night itinerary that is wealthy in art, culture and food and simple to follow.

Here’s what we did:

Where to remain in Dallas?

There are so many great hotels in Dallas, but we selected Fairmont Dallas because we’re obsessive about Fairmont Gold. We knew we could enjoy a free breakfast within the Gold Lounge and grab snacks, bottled water, and Diet Coke (also included) each time we wanted. Plus, it might be an ideal place to simply hang around together. It was an ideal alternative and I loved my suite and the indisputable fact that we could easily and safely walk back to the hotel after the Madonna concert.

However, I spent the primary night at the brand new JW Marriott Dallas Arts District because I’m an enormous fan of the brand and really desired to see what this latest hotel looked like. Wow! The hotel is sleek and modern but so warm and alluring and full of fantastic art that actually honors the area people. My suite was huge and comfy and I could have easily spent the entire weekend there, especially because there may be also a improbable executive lounge.

I’ll have a extremely hard time deciding between the 2 hotels on my next visit, and likelihood is I’ll spend one other night or two in each.

Friday

After landing at Love Field – which I highly recommend if possible since it’s less chaotic than Dallas Fort Worth and so conveniently situated downtown – I spent a while exploring JW Marriott and hanging out within the Executive Lounge indulging in too many sweets.

I met my friends for dinner at Margaret’s, the hotel’s signature restaurant, and was blown away by the revolutionary seasonal dishes. Chef Jonah Friedmann makes it a degree to make use of local ingredients for the freshest flavors, and we couldn’t stop talking about—or eating—the appetizer called Acknowledge the Corn that puts a smile on our faces. The corn-shaped jalapeno cornbread was served with delicious toppings, but we’d have been just as joyful with the honey butter spread on top.

After dinner we went off just a few calories, but that Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is so near the hotel that we probably didn’t walk many steps. We were thrilled that our visit to Dallas coincided with Amos Lee in concert Dallas Symphony Orchestra and we spent a magical evening listening to certainly one of our favourite singer-songwriters. It was a really special experience to listen to it accompanied by the attractive, wealthy sound of DSO.

The Meyerson Symphony Center is so well designed and the acoustics are so crisp and clear that I feel it might be unattainable to not enjoy a show here. Additionally, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra truly offers something for everybody, with upcoming collaborations including Country Hits: Songs from Nashville; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in concert; and Twist and Shout: The Music of the Beatles – A Symphonic Experience.

Saturday

After a hearty breakfast within the Executive Lounge – JW Marriott has a fairly complimentary selection – we headed over Nasher Sculpture Centerwhich is celebrating its twentieth birthday^Th anniversary this 12 months. A stroll through the galleries and outdoor sculpture garden is a stunning option to start the day. You can ask for those who would love to take a guided tour while you arrive, or check the web site for detailed information concerning the pieces on display.

We had reserved a lunch table to hitch the women having lunch on the legendary restaurant Zodiac in the unique Neiman Marcus. Oh, if the partitions could talk. Zodiac has been serving wonderful dining since 1953, and the food is as delicious because the stories that come from it. (We’ll never tell.) We sat on the coveted Stanley’s Table, a non-public nook with an attached front room, where we prepared our own dishes to accompany fragrant salads and the delicious strawberry butter popovers that The Zodiac is thought for. Of course, we couldn’t leave with no box of Neiman Marcus’ famous chocolate chip cookies.

There’s an excellent likelihood we’d have treated ourselves to a 3rd popover if we hadn’t needed to do the matinee Every sensible thing At the Dallas Theater Center. I had seen the show on Netflix and loved it, but it surely was much more moving to see it in person and have the whole audience take part. Small and intimate, the Dee & Charles Wyly Theater was the right place to see this interactive one-man show (Blake Hackler in an excellent and heartwarming performance), and it’s an ideal place to enjoy Select M for murderwho’s currently playing there.

Since we had moved to the Fairmont Dallas after breakfast, we relaxed and unwinded within the Gold Lounge Every sensible thing before taking an Uber to dinner The Mansion Restaurant at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, a luxury uptown hotel in Dallas that friends have been raving about for years. Once a non-public estate, the property has retained most of the home’s stunning details and you’ll be able to feel its wealthy history. At the attractive Mansion Restaurant, Chef Charles Olalia creates culinary masterpieces that remember regional flavors with French flair. This is a really special place and I’d love to come back back and experience the hotel overnight and the Mansion Bar – a neighborhood favorite – next time.

Sunday

We woke up early to have breakfast on the Gold Lounge before taking the Uber there Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, one of the crucial popular places in the town. It’s so vibrant and Instagrammable that we weren’t surprised to see wedding parties, families, and quinceaneras all posing for photos amid the stunning flowers and greenery. This way you get a portion of nature into the town.

Since we will only eat a limited amount, we combined lunch with it Tea within the Adolphus, a Dallas icon for greater than a century. The three-course tea is served within the French Room of the posh hotel and is a superb treat. The experience begins with a glass of sparkling wine, followed by trays of finger sandwiches, scones and pastries, all paired with fastidiously curated loose leaf teas. We were so glad we didn’t eat lunch beforehand.

From Adolphus we walked to Dallas Museum of Art, stopping along the option to take a have a look at the large eyeball (top photo) that takes pride of place in the midst of downtown. You will need to have seen something like that. The DMA can also be a must-see, displaying greater than 25,000 artistic endeavors, from Native American art to African art and way more. You could easily spend a day here.

We had a light-weight dinner Paradiso, a fairly, leafy restaurant in Bishop Arts where wood-fired pizza and handmade pasta take center stage. We really desired to eat dessert Emporium Pies, whose sign reads “Fine cakes for fine people,” but we just didn’t have room. We made a rapid stop at The wild detectives Because we won’t pass a bookstore – especially one which can also be a bar in a renovated Craftsman house. We would have bought something because we care about supporting independent bookstores, but we didn’t know if we could take it to the Madonna concert on the American Airlines Center.

As it turned out, we could have easily gone back to the hotel for some time after which walked to the venue since Madonna didn’t start her 8pm concert until 10:30pm. I’m glad we got to see their performance, but I’m also glad we were inside walking distance of the Fairmont so we didn’t must cope with 20,000 people attempting to get Ubers at the identical time. And I’m especially pleased that receiving the concert tickets gave us reason to plan a improbable weekend in Dallas. We’re already on the lookout for an excuse to come back back.