Dallas is a city that will surprise you. You might expect cowboy hats and dusty streets, but instead you get modern skyscrapers, polished sidewalks, American flags on every corner, and an atmosphere that gets under your skin. I went there twice—first in spring 2025, then again in summer—and honestly, Dallas has become one of my favorite places.
For me, downtown Dallas is still one of the most beautiful downtowns I have seen in America. And I have seen plenty. To be fair, I still think Chicago has the most beautiful downtown, but Dallas comes right after it. And in some ways, it even surpasses it—for example, in how relatively clean and easy to navigate it is, and how easy it is to explore on foot.
Two stays, two completely different versions of Dallas
Since I visited downtown during two different seasons, I have a chance to compare them—and the difference is truly noticeable.
In spring, I was actually quite lucky despite the circumstances. I was caught off guard by an unexpected cold spell, and there was not a soul in downtown. Literally. I walked alone through the empty streets as if I had the entire city center to myself. A major sporting event happened to be taking place, and everyone was inside pubs and bars. Even my Uber driver told me that no one was out that day because everyone was watching the game, and as a bonus, it was quite cold, so nobody felt like going outside anyway. So I walked through downtown alone, in peace and quiet—and honestly, it had its own charm.
In summer, it was a completely different story. Sunshine, greenery, people in the streets, life. The streets looked entirely different—everything was greener, brighter, simply more vibrant. The contrast between the emptiness of spring and the bustle of summer is truly interesting, and you can see it quite clearly in the photos.
Reunion Tower—the icon of the Dallas skyline
I began my walk through downtown at Reunion Tower. I parked nearby, bought a ticket, and took the elevator up. The elevator is quite fast—the ride to the top takes roughly 68 seconds—and your ears pop slightly, but it is nothing terrible. Certainly nothing compared to the elevator in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
And then a breathtaking view opens up before you. The whole of downtown Dallas laid out below you—skyscrapers, enormous highway interchanges, ramps, entrance ramps, those crazy highway “spaghetti” junctions that look completely unreal. It is truly impressive.
Reunion Tower is one of Dallas’s best-known landmarks and stands an impressive 171 meters tall. Its distinctive geodesic sphere at the top earned it the nickname “The Ball.” The tower was completed in 1978 as part of an extensive urban renewal project that also included the renovation of the historic Union Station building and the construction of the Hyatt Regency Dallas hotel.
Interestingly, the original design did not include a round dome at the top at all. The rotating restaurant was originally supposed to sit directly on the hotel roof, but developer Ray Hunt did not like the idea, so he decided that the restaurant would have its own structure—and the result is the iconic tower now known around the world. Hunt bought the land on which it stands in the 1970s for just $2.92 per square foot—today, prices in downtown Dallas exceed $100.
At the top is the GeO-Deck observation deck, roughly 143 meters above the ground, where you will find interactive touchscreens with information about Dallas landmarks, as well as an outdoor terrace with telescopes. Of course, there is also a café, so you can enjoy a drink with a view of the entire city.
At night, the sphere at the top comes alive thanks to 259 LED lights capable of producing virtually any color and animation. The original bulbs consumed five times as much energy—the modern LED system is not only more efficient but also much more economical.
Incidentally, Reunion Tower also became famous thanks to the TV series Dallas, where it appears in the opening credits. You can also spot it in films such as The Tree of Life and RoboCop, as well as in the competition show The Amazing Race. The name “Reunion” does not refer to people reuniting, but to the utopian community of La Réunion—a settlement of French, Belgian, and Swiss immigrants who established themselves here in the 1850s.
If you are planning a visit, tickets can be purchased online, and I definitely recommend arriving about an hour before sunset—you will see downtown both in daylight and illuminated at night.
AT&T Discovery District—where technology meets culture
From Reunion Tower, I walked toward the center of downtown, and one of the first places I came across was the AT&T Discovery District. It is a modern public space right in the heart of Dallas’s Central Business District—a kind of plaza where technology, culture, and food come together.
The AT&T Discovery District was created in 2021 as the result of a five-year collaboration between AT&T, architectural firm Gensler, and the City of Dallas. It transformed what had originally been an unused corporate campus into a vibrant public space that now serves both AT&T employees and visitors from around the world.
And why AT&T? Because this is the global headquarters of the telecommunications company. Dallas has been home to AT&T since 2008, when the company moved its headquarters here from San Antonio. The entire District therefore serves as a kind of showcase for the company—but also as a pleasant place for the public.
The centerpiece of the space is the enormous Media Wall—a 104-foot-tall wall covered with more than 9,000 square feet of HD displays showing visually striking animations. Another attraction is The Globe—a thirty-foot three-dimensional sphere covered with 30,000 LEDs that you can enter to experience an interactive light and sound show.
The plaza is also home to the Golden Boy statue, officially known as the Spirit of Communication. This iconic golden statue once stood atop the AT&T building on Broadway in New York and is now one of the most photogenic spots in the entire District.
The complex also features the Exchange Food Hall, with more than 17 restaurants and two bars serving everything from steaks and seafood to tacos and falafel. And, of course, ultra-fast 5G and free Wi-Fi—after all, this is AT&T.
Giant Eye—the enormous eye watching you
As I continued through the AT&T Discovery District toward the city center, wandering through the streets a little, I completely unexpectedly came across something I had not anticipated at all—a giant, hyperrealistic human eye in the middle of the city. It stands on the corner of Main Street and Stone Place, directly opposite the luxurious The Joule hotel, and it is a truly bizarre and fascinating sight.
The sculpture is simply called Eye and was created by Chicago artist Tony Tasset. It is 9 meters tall, made of fiberglass, resin, and steel—and it is an exact replica of Tasset’s own eye, complete with red veins. Honestly, when you see it for the first time, you do not know whether it is cool or a little creepy. Probably both.
The sculpture was originally created in 2007 and first displayed in 2010 in Chicago’s Pritzker Park as part of the Art Loop program. After several years in storage and a brief stay in St. Louis, it moved to Dallas in 2013, where Headington Companies purchased it as part of The Joule hotel’s art collection.
Interesting fact: the sculpture stands on the site formerly occupied by the Praetorian Building—Dallas’s first skyscraper, built in 1909. The building was demolished the same year the eye arrived here.
Today, Eye is one of the most photographed places in all of Dallas. It also serves as a venue for private events—weddings and yoga classes are held here, as is the annual closing party of the Dallas Art Fair. Artist Tony Tasset says the meaning of his work refers to everything from the Eye of the Pharaoh and the Masonic eye to “Big Brother”—but ultimately, he says, everyone can find their own meaning in it.
The Sixth Floor Museum—a place where time stood still
Another stop I definitely recommend is The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. And honestly, this is a place that will leave a deep impression on you, whether you are a history fan or not.
The museum is located on the sixth floor of a building that formerly served as the Texas School Book Depository—a textbook warehouse. And it was from a window on this sixth floor, on November 22, 1963, that Lee Harvey Oswald fired at the presidential motorcade and fatally shot U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Kennedy had come to Dallas that day as part of a political tour of Texas. The city was politically tense at the time, and some of his advisers had warned him against the trip. The presidential motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza in an open limousine—and at 12:30 p.m. local time, shots rang out. Kennedy was struck in the back and head. He was immediately taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead half an hour later. He was only 46 years old.
Oswald was arrested less than two hours later in a nearby movie theater, but he never lived to stand trial. Two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot him in front of television cameras inside Dallas police headquarters. Millions of viewers around the world watched this shocking moment live.
The museum opened its doors in 1989 and is now one of the most visited historic sites in all of Texas—more than six million people have visited it since it opened. The main exhibition uses period films, photographs, artifacts, and interactive displays to document the events of the assassination and its aftermath. Behind a glass partition, you can see a reconstruction of the “sniper's perch”—the spot where Oswald sat among boxes of textbooks and fired the shots.
What is fascinating about the museum is its neutrality. It sides neither with the conclusions of the Warren Commission (that Oswald acted alone) nor with conspiracy theories—it simply presents the facts and allows visitors to form their own opinions.
Outside on Elm Street, directly below the window, a white cross on the road marks the exact spot where Kennedy was struck by the fatal shot. Standing on the sixth floor and looking down at the intersection where one of the most pivotal moments in American history took place is an experience that is difficult to describe in words.
In my opinion, Kennedy was a good president. He led the country through one of the most difficult periods of the Cold War, handled the Cuban Missile Crisis, and laid the foundations for the space program that landed on the Moon six years later. His legacy in Dallas lives on to this day.
Admission is around $24 online, and I recommend booking tickets in advance—the museum tends to be very busy.
Dallas Museum of Art
Unfortunately, I did not get to go inside the Dallas Museum of Art, but it is definitely one of the places worth visiting. It is one of the ten largest art museums in the United States, and its collections contain more than 24,000 objects spanning 5,000 years of human history.
The museum was founded back in 1903 and is now housed in an impressive building in the Dallas Arts District designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. Admission to the permanent exhibitions has been free since 2013, which is exceptional by American standards. If you enjoy art—from ancient works and Impressionism to contemporary art—definitely make time to go inside.
The streets of Dallas—American flags, police, and a man with a cross
Besides the specific attractions, I also enjoyed simply walking through the streets of downtown. Dallas has a distinctive atmosphere—American flags everywhere, taverns advertising happy hour specials and wings, skyscrapers overhead, and that quintessential American feeling that you simply cannot experience anywhere in Europe.
What surprised me a little was the number of police officers. They are simply everywhere. They drive around in cars, stand on corners, and patrol the streets. On the one hand, it creates a sense of safety; on the other, it makes you wonder whether they are really needed here. But Dallas is a large American city, so I suppose it comes with the territory.
And then I encountered something on the street that I truly did not expect. A group of people carrying an enormous wooden cross. One man was hauling it on his back while the others walked around him shouting religious slogans. Right in the middle of modern downtown, among skyscrapers and corporate buildings. It is the kind of contrast that stops you in your tracks and makes you think. This simply happens in America—religion is visible and present here in a way that we are not accustomed to in the Czech Republic.
5 tips for visiting Downtown Dallas
If you are planning a trip to Dallas, here are a few things I would recommend:
Start at Reunion Tower. Ideally, arrive an hour before sunset. You will see the city in daylight and illuminated at night, and it will be worth it. Buy tickets online to save time.
Explore Downtown on foot. Dallas is surprisingly walkable by American standards. From Reunion Tower, you can walk to the AT&T Discovery District, the Giant Eye, and Dealey Plaza. Most attractions are within a 10–15-minute walk of one another.
Do not miss The Sixth Floor Museum. Even if you are not a history fan, this place will stay with you. Book tickets online in advance—the museum is often full, and admission is for a specific time slot.
Visit Pioneer Plaza. If you have time, go see Pioneer Plaza, where you will find one of the largest bronze sculptural groups in the world—a herd of 49 longhorn cattle driven by three life-size cowboys. It is free and great for photos.
Try the local cuisine. Texas is synonymous with BBQ and steaks. You will find plenty of excellent restaurants around downtown. And if you want an authentic Texan experience, try brisket—smoked beef brisket so tender it melts in your mouth.
Final thoughts on Dallas
Dallas is a city that has captured my heart. It is beautiful, relatively clean, has great bars and restaurants, and offers plenty of things to do. Whether you are interested in history, architecture, art, or simply want to soak up the American atmosphere, downtown Dallas definitely will not disappoint.
If you are in Texas—whether in Dallas itself, in Fort Worth, or just passing through—definitely make time to visit downtown. It is worth it.
