Things To Do in Fort Worth

Despite its laid-back image and small size, Fort Worth abounds with sights, sounds, and things to do. Whether you're a cowboy, an aesthete, or a historian -- or just plain folk -- Fort Worth, an enjoyable, relaxed, and cultured city that's also remarkably well organized for visitors, should prove entertaining. There are three distinct parts, each a couple of miles from one another: the Stockyards National Historic District, the focus of the city's cattle-raising and livestock auction legacy as the cow town of the cattle drives north in the 19th century; newly revitalized historic downtown Fort Worth, a beautifully laid-out, clean, and renovated core; and the Cultural District, a world-class museum, arts, and architecture center with the superlative Kimbell Museum (perhaps Texas's finest art museum), the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, and the fantastic new Modern Art Museum. We'll take them in that order, though where you start should match with your interests in either art or a living museum of the Old West.

Plenty of attractions in Fort Worth are free; pick up the flyer Everything Free to Do in Fort Worth at the visitor center to find out how much you can do for no money.

Coupon Discounts -- Visit the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau website for money-saving coupons at major attractions, including the Stockyards, Museum of Science and History, Cowgirl Museum, and Billy Bob's Texas, as well as the airport shuttle. Go to www.fortworth.com/16coupons/16coupons.shtml and print out any of more than a dozen coupons.

The Stockyards National Historic District

Two miles north of downtown Fort Worth, off North Main Street, is the still-beating heart of Fort Worth's Old West heritage. The Stockyards National Historic District -- where women police officers patrol on horseback, and a cattle drive takes place daily on the cobblestones of Exchange Avenue -- is part Western theme park and part living history museum. The livestock industry's 1880s roots are here, and it became the biggest and busiest cattle, horse, mule, hog, and sheep marketing center in the Southwest (and quite a pocket of wealth). The 125-acre district encompasses the Livestock Exchange Building, the focus of old livestock business; Cowtown Coliseum, the world's first indoor rodeo arena; Stockyards Station, the former hog and sheep pens, now overrun with Western shops and restaurants; Billy Bob's Texas, known as the world's largest honky-tonk; Western shops and authentic saloons, such as the White Elephant; and the historic Stockyards Hotel, where bar stools are topped by saddles and Bonnie and Clyde once camped out while on the lam. Such Western heroes as Gene Autry, Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, and Bob Wills are honored in bronze along Exchange Avenue's Trail of Fame.

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is held the last 2 weeks of January and first week of February. It's hands-down the time in Fort Worth to see a surfeit of rodeo performances, as well as the nation's oldest continuous livestock show. For information, call tel. 817/877-2420 or get tickets at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.fwssr.com.

Christmas in the Stockyards -- A fairly new tradition in the Stockyards, Christmas in the Stockyards, is held the first Saturday in December. Perfect for families, it features games, crafts, roping lessons, a parade, and Cowboy Ride for Toys, all of which is followed by the lighting of a 45-foot tree and Christmas carols. For more information, call tel. 817/625-9715 or visit www.fortworthstockyards.org.

Longhorn Express: Fort Worth Herd -- Amazingly, the Fort Worth Stockyards still look the part of the Old West. To enhance the atmosphere even more, a twice-daily "cattle drive," the Fort Worth Herd, takes place on the main drag, Exchange Avenue (at N. Main St.), at 11:30am and again at 4pm. About 15 head of 1-ton longhorn steers, led by cowhands dressed the part in 19th-century duds, rumble down the redbrick street past the Stockyards, on their way to grazing near the West Fork of the Trinity River and back again to the Stockyards. Claimed to be the world's only daily longhorn cattle drive, it's perfect for photo ops. The best places to view the longhorns are the front lawn of the Livestock Exchange building and from the catwalk above the cattle pens. For more information, call tel. 817/336-HERD (336-4373).

Historic Downtown & Sundance Square

Charming, unassuming, and remarkably unhurried, downtown's centerpiece, Sundance Square (named for the Sundance Kid, who hid out here with the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and a prime stop along the Chisholm Trail during the cattle drives of the 1800s), is 14 blocks of redbrick streets, late-19th-century buildings, and attractions that include the Bass Performance Hall, a couple of museums, and a pair of Art Deco movie theaters. It's a model of urban planning, and a real rarity in Texas: a place with sidewalks that invites nonmotored strolling. Downtown Fort Worth is lit up like a Christmas tree at night, and Sundance Square's bars and restaurants are the heart of downtown nightlife.

A Water Break -- Take a breather at the refreshing Fort Worth Water Gardens, designed by the famed architect Philip Johnson -- 4 acres of water (19,000 gal. per minute) cascading over cement and into five pools. At Commerce and 15th streets, downtown; call tel. 817/871-7699 for more information.

The Cultural District

Fort Worth is the cultural capital of the Southwest, with the finest art museums in Texas and the most impressive small art museum in the country. The city ropes off the Cultural District, making it an elite island by placing it safely apart from downtown business interests, a couple of miles west. Arts philanthropy has thrived in Fort Worth to a degree unmatched in Texas and many parts of the United States. Wealthy patrons and an enthusiastic city have welcomed some of the world's most celebrated architects, including Louis Kahn, Philip Johnson, and Tadao Ando, to create museums that make much larger and more cosmopolitan cities salivate with envy. The presence of the glorious new Modern Art Museum across the street from the Kimbell and down the block from Philip Johnson's expanded Amon Carter has entrenched Fort Worth as perhaps the top art and architecture city between the two coasts. South of downtown is an area of parks, gardens, historic homes, and the Fort Worth Zoo, considered one of the top five in the country.

Great Shopping Areas

Fort Worth can't compare to Dallas as a shopping mecca (nor, I suspect, would it want to), but, especially if you're looking for Western clothing and souvenirs of the city's cow-town history, you're in luck. The top tourist area, the Stockyards National Historic District (and particularly Stockyards Station, a mall of pure Texan shops converted from the old sheep and hog pens) has plenty of authentic Western fashions, antiques, art, and souvenirs, many found in shops inhabiting historic quarters. Sundance Square in the downtown historic district is gushing with art galleries, museum gift shops, and fashionable clothing and furnishing stores, most in turn-of-the-20th-century buildings. Along Camp Bowie Boulevard in the Cultural District, there are a number of art galleries and design-oriented shops. The Downtown Fort Worth Rail Market, a European-style market that bills itself as "Texas's First True Public Market," is located in the historic Santa Fe Warehouse, 1401 Jones St. (tel. 817/335-6758). It has a good farmers' market and a couple dozen permanent merchants.

If you're in town during the end of November through mid-December, don't miss the Western Mercantile show (tel. 817/244-6188; www.nchacutting.com) in the Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall in the Cultural District. Besides demonstrations of cutting horses, there are booths selling custom saddles, boots, and every kind of Western paraphernalia you can imagine (as well as luxe custom horse trailers).

Western Gear

Two of the best Western shops, for real ropers, urban cowboys, and rodeo queens, are on the Stockyards' classic Exchange Avenue. Family-owned M. L. Leddy's, 2455 N. Main at Exchange (tel. 817/624-3149; www.leddys.com), with the big neon boot sign out front, is one of the city's oldest Western wear shops. Originally a boot maker and saddlery, it has fine cowboy duds such as handmade belts, formalwear, custom-made boots, and saddles, and the best-selling top-of-the-line cowboy hat, the pure Beaver. It has another, slightly slicker and "uptown" shop, called Leddy's Ranch at Sundance, 410 Houston St. (tel. 817/336-0800), with a full range of boots and Western clothing. Across the street from the Stockyards Hotel, Maverick, 100 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/626-1129; www.maverickwesternwear.com), has such high-end Western wear as hand-embroidered shirts, saloon-ready 19th-century-style suits, and other swank cowboy duds. It also has a long bar, so you can grab a longneck while shopping and look the part of the cowboy or cowgirl you are (or hope to become).

Also in the Stockyards, Ponder Boot Company, 2358 N. Main St. (tel. 817/626-3523; www.ponderboot.com), is the place to go for custom boots. Step inside and choose your leather and get your own brand or initial on a boot that will last you a lifetime, for not all that much more than a top-of-the-line factory-made boot (most will run $600-$850). Georgia, the owner, will demonstrate the superior quality of one of her handmade, custom boots using a pair of dissected boots (if you ask nicely).

Peters Brothers Hats, 909 Houston St., at 9th Street (tel. 800/TXS-HATS [897-4287]; www.petersbros.com), has been around since 1911, stocking Stetsons and hats of all kinds, including Western fedoras and custom-made cowboy hats. Also check out Retro Cowboy, 406 Houston St., on Sundance Square (tel. 817/338-1194), for women's Western apparel, sterling silver jewelry, and men's vintage shirts. If the duds at these rather upscale Western stores are a bit too dear for your cowboy wallet, check out Western Wear Exchange, 2809 Alta Mere, 183S at I-30 (tel. 817/738-4048), a rare resale shop dealing exclusively in Western wear. If it's already broken in, you'll be closer to looking and feeling the part of a real roper.

Once you've got the duds, you need the tunes. Ernest Tubb's Record Shop, 140 E. Exchange Ave., in Stockyards Station (tel. 800/229-4288 or 817/624-8449; www.etrecordshop.com), has a great stock of honky-tonk, cowboy, and country-and-western recordings, including old vinyl and hard-to-find stuff.

Antiques & Furnishings

Bum Steer, 2400 N. Main St. (tel. 817/626-4565), just a block from the Stockyards' main drag, sells Western antiques, vintage clothing, chaps and saddles, mounts and hides, and those lovable antler chandeliers. Just up the street is Cross-Eyed Moose, 2340 N. Main St. (tel. 817/624-4311), run by the same folks and stocking slightly more affordable Western goods, some used clothing and antiques, as well as custom furnishings, game mounts, and Western decorative stuff. I picked up a great used pair of $10 boots here for my nephew. The Antique Colony, 7200 Camp Bowie Blvd. (tel. 817/731-7252), has some 120 dealers of antiques and collectibles.

Department Stores & Malls

Stockyards Station, 140 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/625-9715), once the Southwest's largest hog and sheep marketing center, has been converted into a cute center of several dozen restaurants and shops featuring Western apparel, Lone Star wines, country-and-western music, leather goods, Texas products, and arts and crafts. There's even a Stockyards Wedding Chapel (tel. 817/624-1570) for cowboys and girls dying for a true Old West ceremony.

University Park Village, 2 blocks south of I-30 on S. University Drive near Texas Christian University (tel. 817/654-0521), is an upscale shopping center with Talbot's, Williams-Sonoma, Ann Taylor, Voyagers The Travel Store, and Wolf Camera.

Despite its decent size, Fort Worth still feels like a small town, and plenty of young people looking for a bigger scene split for Big D on weekends. Still, Cowtown has a few good nightlife options, especially at the two extremes of the scale: high culture and cowboy culture. Whether you're inclined toward opera, symphony, and theater, or up for some boot-scootin', Fort Worth has some fine venues. Exchange Avenue in the Stockyards is where you want to be on weekends for some hot Western swing, Texas shuffle, and honky-tonk tunes. The street becomes a cruising strip of souped-up trucks, guys and dolls in cowboy and cowgirl finery strutting their stuff, and dancers ducking into honky-tonks and cowboy discos. Meanwhile, Sundance Square is full of bars, restaurants, cafes, and movie theaters, and is mobbed on weekend nights (luckily, there's plenty of free parking after 5pm and on weekends right in and around the square). City Streets, 425 Commerce St. (tel. 817/335-5400), is a one-stop-shopping entertainment complex, generic and mild-mannered but popular with visitors for its range of bars, lounges, and pool halls -- and, of course, happy hours.

For listings, check out the "Entertainment" section of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram or check the weekly listings posted on its website, www.dfw.com. For tickets, try Arts Line at Ticketmaster (tel. 817/467-ARTS [467-2787] or 214/631-ARTS [631-2787]; www.ticketmaster.com) or Texas Tickets (tel. 817/277-3333).

The Performing Arts

Elegant Bass Performance Hall (tel. 877/212-4280 or 817/212-4280; www.basshall.com) is one of the top places in the country to see a musical or theater performance. Home to the distinguished Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, its stage has welcomed an eclectic range of productions including The Nutcracker, Handel's Messiah, Madame Butterfly, Broadway shows (such as Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk), and pop, jazz, and country concerts by the likes of Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, Nanci Griffith, and Pink Martini, as well as dance/theater performances such as Stomp.

Casa Mañana Theater, 3101 W. Lancaster, at University Drive (tel. 817/332-2272; www.casamanana.org), is the country's first permanent theater designed for the musicals-in-the-round. The aluminum geodesic dome with an oval stage recently underwent a $3-million renovation. Casa, as its known locally, has been around for more than 50 years, and it puts on a wide range of dramas, comedies, and musicals, and is home to one of the top children's theater operations in the United States, mounting productions such as Aladdin.

The Jubilee Theatre, 506 Main St. (tel. 817/338-4411; www.jubileetheatre.org), is home to intimate African-American theater, staging such dramas as Brother Mac (adapted from Shakespeare's Macbeth) and A Raisin in the Sun, as well as musicals such as Lysistrata Please (a rock version of the Aristophanes classic) and Road Show, an original production.

The Rose Marine Theater, 1440 Main St. (tel. 817/624-8333; www.rosemarinetheater.com), a movie theater dating from the 1920s just south of the Stockyards, has been restored and converted by the Latin Arts Association; here you'll find plays in Spanish, Latin films, and other arts targeting the Latino population.

The Bar Scene

The oldest bar in Fort Worth and the site of the city's most famous gunfight in 1897, White Elephant Saloon, 106 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/624-1887), is an authentic Cowtown saloon, a great place to knock back a Lone Star longneck in the afternoon or check out some live Western music nightly on the small stage. The atmospheric bar is decorated with donated hats (from the likes of Ray Wylie Hubbard and Jimmie Dale Gilmore) and cases of porcelain and ceramic white elephants. There's also a nice beer garden, with live bands under the trees.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 111 E. 4th St. (tel. 817/336-7470), is a beer snob's dream, boasting 75 beers on tap and 125 bottles, including a slew of American microbrews and exotics such as Belgian guerze and German seasonals. For the novice or anyone looking for something new, there are "flights," sampler trays from around the world. The place can get rowdy on weekends with cigar-smoking types and TCU students, but it's still one of the best places in Fort Worth to wet your whistle. Food tends toward such beer-complementary items as bratwurst and beer cheese soup (yes, you read that right). It also features an eclectic roster of live music on weekends. A swank bar with an outdoor patio and live music in warm months, 8.0 (tel. 817/336-0880), just off Sundance Square, is frequented by Fort Worth's young and beautiful. The outdoor rooftop bar Grotto, complete with waterfall, at Reata is another great place for a drink before or after dinner.

Honky-Tonk Heaven

The one place that's practically a required stop in Fort Worth is Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza (tel. 817/624-7117; www.billybobstexas.com). A cavernous barn for prize cattle in a former life, this absurdly large honky-tonk, a symbol of Texas for many people, has it all. With 40 bar stations, a monster dance floor for hard-core boot-scootin', a rodeo arena, video games, pool tables, mechanical bulls, and pro bull riding, it's 125,000 square feet (er, 7 acres) of country-and-western heaven. Open for over 20 years, Billy Bob's continues to draw the biggest names in country music, including George Jones, LeAnn Rimes, Willie Nelson, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Its fame is such that you'll see real ropers in their best hats and tight jeans, drugstore cowboys, and a swell of German and Japanese tourists, all soakin' up the flavor. Located in the heart of the Stockyards, Billy Bob's does business Monday through Saturday from 11am to 2am, and Sunday from noon to 2am. The cover charge varies according to the musical act; day visits cost $1. Don't miss the pro live bull riding on Friday and Saturday at 9 and 10pm; admission is $2.

Another "Texas-size" honky-tonk is the family-owned and -operated Stagecoach Ballroom, 2516 E. Belknap at the corner of Sylvania, off Airport Freeway (tel. 817/831-2261; www.stagecoachballroom.com), a real contender for most authentic old-time ballroom in Texas. It sports traditional country music and dance, and is a good spot to pick up some moves if you're not exactly a smooth-footed kicker. Wednesday is Ladies Night, and cover for live music guests is usually $15. (There is live music on Wed and Fri-Sun, beginning at 7pm. Thurs nights are newly dedicated to "smoke-free" C&W, Big Band, and Back to the '50s dancing, 6-10pm; $5 cover. Also, look for Lone Star Talent Night contests on Tues.)

Sadly, the poetically named Big Balls of Cowtown, one of my very favorite dance halls, where classic Western swing was practiced with a fervor, is no longer around. The space is inhabited by Pearl's Dancehall & Saloon, 302 W. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/624-2800; www.pearlsdancehallandsaloon.com), featuring live traditional, Western swing and honky-tonk music Wednesday to Saturday. Although it's a bit spiffier in its new incarnation, it's still the coolest spot in the Stockyards for nontouristy C&W music (featuring name acts such as Dale Watson) and dancing. Free dance lessons are given every Wednesday at 6:30pm.

Also in the Stockyards District, there's often live country music at Rodeo Exchange, 221 W. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/626-0181), and Ernest Tubb's Record Shop, 140 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/624-8449), the latter only on Saturday afternoons.

Everybody, Get in Line -- If you want to learn to line dance, shuffle, and two-step like a Texan, why not do it in one of the most famous honky-tonks in the world, Billy Bob's Texas? Wendell Nelson is the dance man who will lead you -- and even the whole family -- through the basics. Free classes are Thursdays at 7pm for the family. Call tel. 817/923-9215 for additional information. For a more intimate experience, waltz and swing classes are also offered every Wednesday at 6:30pm at Pearl's Dancehall & Saloon (tel. 817/624-2800).

Other Live Music

Sadly, Fort Worth's premier jazz venue, Caravan of Dreams, bit the dust several years ago. And while nothing has sprung up to fill its big shoes, there are a handful of other live music venues in town that don't go the country route. Sardines Ristorante Italiano features the live jazz of Johnny Case. The top rock venue in town is the Ridglea Theater, 6025 Camp Bowie Blvd. (tel. 817/738-9500; www.ridgleatheater.com), a hip, restored 1940s Art Deco theater that plays host to touring rock bands, including alternative flavors of the month. Aardvark, 2905 W. Berry St. (tel. 817/926-7814; www.the-aardvark.com), is a cool small space that hosts a wide-ranging roster of pop, alternative rock, and neo-folk acts with small cover charges Tuesday through Saturday.

The top blues joint in town, celebrating 2 decades of the blues, is J&J Blues Bar, 937 Woodward St. (tel. 817/870-2337; www.jjbluesbar.com), just north of the Cultural District. A little down 'n' dirty -- how else would you want your blues bar? -- it hosts both national and local acts Friday and Saturday nights, with shows from 10pm to 2am. The crowd is a mix of blues traditionalists and college kids from TCU.

For traditional live C&W, also check out the bands scheduled at two of the most famous spots in Fort Worth, Billy Bob's Texas and White Elephant Saloon], as well as Pearl's Dancehall and Saloon and Stagecoach Ballroom.

A sister of the clubs of the same name in Austin and Dallas, Pete's Dueling Piano Bar, 621 Houston St. (tel. 817/335-PETE [335-7383]; www.petesduelingpianobar.com), has shows Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm; four expert pianists play pop and rock standards and encourage loud audience singalongs. Calling Pete's a "piano bar" probably doesn't do it justice; you won't hear Bach, but you will hear Johnny Cash.

Rodeo

The Stockyards Championship Rodeo is held most weekends on Friday and Saturday nights at Cowtown Coliseum in the Stockyards, 121 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/888-COWTOWN [269-8696]; www.stockyardsrodeo.com). Tickets range from $4.50 for children to $15 for reserved box seats. Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show runs during summer months and holiday weekends.