Fort Worth Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

To travelers unfamiliar with the city, Fort Worth, Texas, may seem like a secondary travel destination—a place to visit only after taking in all the sights of its bigger, glitzier neighbor, Dallas. (It does have to live with second billing in the "Dallas-Fort Worth" phrase used to describe everything from the shared airport to the general urban area).

But Fort Worth has an identity all its own as a travel destination. Fort Worth boasts rich western heritage (lending it the nickname "Cowtown"), a world-class arts scene, beautiful parks, casual sophistication, great sightseeing and small-town charm despite its big-city population.

A significant downtown renovation has filled the Fort Worth city center, known as Sundance Square, with such attractions as shops, cafes and inviting pedestrian areas that appeal to travelers. Residents and travelers alike enjoy Fort Worth's top-ranked museums, which have earned the city the title "Museum Capital of the Southwest." Add to this the prestigious Van Cliburn Piano Competition and the stunning Bass Performance Hall, and it's clear why Fort Worth's devotion to the arts has earned even Dallas' grudging respect.

Even though it has its share of high-tech businesses and contemporary culture, Fort Worth keeps one boot in its frontier past. The restored historic stockyards—once the world's largest—remind visitors of the city's authentic cowboy heritage.

Must See or Do

Sights—The Wild West flavor of the Stockyards National Historic District; the daily cattle drive along Exchange Avenue; the charm of Sundance Square downtown; the stunning Bass Performance Hall; the beauty of the Fort Worth Water Gardens; the opulence of Thistle Hill.

Museums—The Kimbell Art Museum; the breathtaking architecture of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and its Omni Theater; the spirit of women of the west at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame; aviation antiques at the Vintage Flying Museum.

Memorable Meals—Seared seven-spice quail at Lonesome Dove Western Bistro; enchiladas at Joe T. Garcia's; old-fashioned steak and potatoes at the Cattleman's Steak House; barbecue at Angelo's; the five-course tasting menu at Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana.

Late Night—Country-western music and dancing at Billy Bob's Texas; a ride through Sundance Square in a horse-drawn carriage; loud music and laughter at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar.

Walks—A stroll through the Fort Worth Botanic Garden; the miles/kilometers of foot and bike paths along the Trinity River; wandering Grapevine's Main Street, where turn-of-the-century storefronts invite visitors to shop for antiques, enjoy a wine tasting or dine at unique restaurants.

Especially for Kids—The Grapevine Vintage Railroad, a restored steam engine; rides and more at Six Flags Over Texas in neighboring Arlington; wave pools and waterslides at NRH2O; the Fort Worth Zoo with its children's petting zoo and miniature train; the six authentic homes built in the 1850s by pioneers at Log Cabin Village; the old-fashioned and ever-popular Burger's Lake.

Geography

Fort Worth sits at the western edge of a sprawling urban area known as either the Metroplex or the D-FW area. On the eastern edge is Dallas. The 33-mi/53-km stretch in between is filled with densely populated cities and towns that blend together along two east-west interstate highways, Interstate 20 and I-30. Among other suburbs, Grapevine skirts the northwest side of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and Irving (where the NFL's Dallas Cowboys play football) occupies the land between the airport and Dallas. In the middle of the Metroplex lies Arlington, a sizable city in its own right and the home of the NFL Cowboys.

Most sites of interest to visitors are close to Fort Worth's downtown, scattered across a number of districts. Although this is car, truck and SUV country, where a pickup is considered a "cowboy Cadillac," you can park your vehicle and walk in the districts. A second choice is to park your vehicle in a garage and take city transit between districts.

Across the Trinity River and 2 mi/3 km north of downtown is the Stockyards National Historic District, a major tourist attraction and reminder of Fort Worth's cowtown past. The city's celebrated cultural district (with fabulous museums) and Trinity Park (with its lovely botanic garden) lie about the same distance to the west, sandwiched between I-30 and Camp Bowie Boulevard. Loop I-820 circles the city, passing through such suburbs as Benbrook to the southwest, Lake Worth and Saginaw to the northwest, and Richland Hills and North Richland Hills to the northeast.

The natural geography around Fort Worth consists of generally flat or gently rolling plains and former prairies dotted with live oaks.

History

Fort Worth was settled in 1849 as a small Army outpost off the Trinity River. Named after Maj. Gen. William Jenkins Worth, it was one of eight forts built in Texas to protect settlers from attacks by Native Americans. When the frontier moved west, the fort was abandoned in 1853. But more settlers arrived and helped create a town, largely because it was the last stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail cattle drive.

The arrival of the railroad in the 1870s helped Fort Worth become a major shipping center for cattle, and the meatpacking industry that developed stoked the local economy. The boom continued as oil drilling supplies were manufactured and sold in Fort Worth. By the 1930s, cattle was no longer king.

Entrepreneurs such as Amon Carter, John Peter Smith and the Bass family helped make Fort Worth the last large business center on the edge of the prairie. Today it retains the spirit of the Old West while embracing high-tech industry, medical centers and international business operations. The city is home to American Airlines, Radio Shack and Pier 1 Imports. Thanks to the downtown renovation efforts begun in the mid-1980s by the Bass family, the city's unofficial first family, Sundance Square along Main Street is now a vibrant area.

Potpourri

In two decades, more than 25,000 bulls (real, not mechanical) have bucked in the arena at Billy Bob's Texas.

The annual Stock Show Parade is the biggest western-themed parade on Earth. It's also the largest nonmotorized parade in the world—all entrants must walk, ride a horse or cow, or ride in a wagon pulled by a horse or cow.

In February 1887, the last great gunfight of the Old West took place in Fort Worth. A marshal was killed in a real Main Street shootout and is buried in the same cemetery as the man who shot him.

Fort Worth is one of only two cities (Washington, D.C., is the other) that produces the nation's currency in the form of banknotes (at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western Currency Facility).

The world's first indoor rodeo took place in 1918 in the Historic Stockyards' Cowtown Coliseum, built in 1908.

Fort Worth's sister cities include Reggio Emilia, Italy; Nagaoka, Japan; Trier, Germany; Bandung, Indonesia; Budapest, Hungary; Toluca, Mexico; and Mbabane, Swaziland.

Actor Larry Hagman, who will always be remembered as mean ol' J.R. Ewing, was born not in Dallas, but Fort Worth.

You'll recognize members of the Fort Worth Police Department's Mounted Patrol, seen riding horses in downtown Fort Worth and in the Stockyards, by their black uniforms and cowboy hats. The unit also rides with the grand entry at every one of 30 rodeo performances during the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo in January and February.