Planning a Trip

Visitor Information

Besides the DFW Airport Visitor Information, there is a visitor information outlet at the Old Red Courthouse in downtown Dallas (at the junction of Houston, Main, and Commerce sts.; tel. 214/571-1301, 24-hr. hot line; Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm). It has Internet terminals and touch-screen computer information kiosks. Before your travels, you might want to visit the website of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau at www.dallascvb.com or www.visitdallas.com.

To get an immediate handle on what's happening in Dallas, check out the Dallas Morning News "Weekend Guide" (www.guidelive.com) or Dallas Observer (www.dallasobserver.com), a free weekly paper with arts, entertainment, and dining information.

City Layout

Dallas is extremely spread out, covering nearly 400 square miles. Traditionally, most people have worked in the downtown central business district and commuted to their homes in residential districts primarily north and east (but also south and west) of the city. New business attracted to the city has resulted in many more offices in outlying areas, particularly the corridor from Richardson to Plano, north of Dallas along U.S. 75 (Central Expwy.) and west of the city in Carrollton and Irving/Las Colinas.

The West End Historic District, financial center, and Arts District are all downtown, just west of Central Expressway (though Deep Ellum, also part of downtown, is on the east side of U.S. 75). Central, in fact, divides east and west Dallas. LBJ Freeway, or I-635, runs through far-north Dallas. It connects to I-20, which runs a loop south of the city. Irving, Grand Prairie, and Arlington are all due west, between Dallas and Fort Worth. I-30 leads directly west to Fort Worth.