Destination attractions things to do in ft worth

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

Fort Worth is one of the best cities in the nation to experience authentic Western heritage. Even though Fort Worth is a large Texas city with world-class art museums and artistic performances, you can still watch a daily cattle drive at the Stockyards or catch a rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum. Nicknamed Cowtown, Fort Worth combines the best of culture and Western heritage in its many festivals and seasonal events.

For transportation in Fort Worth, ride the Longhorn Trolley. These green buses run every 20 minutes, and you can catch the trolley downtown at Sundance Square and ride it to the the cultural district, zoo or stockyards. Most of Fort Worths attractions will give you free trolley tokens, but regular fare is only $2. You can also drive your car, or take cabs. Here are some places you may want to visit if you go to Fort Worth:

The Stockyards National Historic District is the best place to experience Fort Worths western heritage. Theres the Cowtown Coliseum (an indoor rodeo arena), Stockyards Station, which has Western shops and restaurants, the Livestock Exchange Building, saloons and the Trail of Fame, which honors cowboy heroes such as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

Also at the Stockyards is Billy Bobs Texas, which claims to be the worlds largest honky-tonk, and theres always something going on there. Billy Bobs has a mechanical bull that you can ride, country music shows by well-known artists each weekend, an indoor rodeo arena, a gift shop, restaurant, and of course, lots of bars. If you want to put on a Western hat and chaps and get your picture taken, theres a big bucking bull on which you can pose.

Sundance Square is a 20-block downtown area that has historic buildings, restaurants, shops, galleries, a performance hall, small museums, nightclubs and movie theaters. Youll know youre in the area when you see the red brick streets. Check their website for oft-held festivals and performances at clubs and Bass Performance Hall. Notice the two gigantic limestone trumpeting angels on the exterior of Bass Hall, which has been named one of the top ten opera houses in the world, and the Chisholm Trail mural. Drop in to the Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art, a small museum with paintings by Russell and Remington.

Also downtown is the Fort Worth Water Gardens, a beautiful, peaceful urban oasis designed by Philip Johnson. The gardens contain an active pool, with cascading water, and two still pools, one surrounded by majestic cypress trees. If you want to visit, you may have to ask for directions; since much of the park is below the streets eye-level, its hard to find sometimes.

Fort Worths cultural district includes world-class art museums and architecture. The Kimbell Art Museum, designed by Louis Kahn, is considered one of Americas top small museums. The Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, designed by Philip Johnson, houses a large collection of western paintings, sculptures and photographs. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, housed in an impressive new building designed by Tadao Ando, is across the street from the Kimbell. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History offers a domed IMAX movie theater, planetarium, galleries, a caf, and many activities for children. Other smaller museums are also in the cultural district, which is near the Fort Worth Zoo.

Lone Star Park offers world-class horse racing and is north of Interstate 30 at Grand Prairie, east of Fort Worth. Texas Motor Speedway is 15 miles north of downtown, on Interstate 35W, and has NASCAR Winston Cup and Indy-style professional racing. Fort Worth has minor league baseball and professional hockey teams, and several golf courses. The Colonial Golf Tournament takes place annually in May at the Colonial Country Club. Fort Worth also has a white-water course on the Trinity River for kayaking, the first man-made park of this kind in Texas. It is located near downtown in Trinity Park.