Fort Worth Tourist Information and Tourism

(Fort Worth, Texas - TX, USA)



The Texan city of Fort Worth is closely associated with neighboring Dallas, especially as these two giant cities share an extremely busy international airport and are well connected by Interstate I-30.

Fort Worth has earned itself a few descriptive nicknames over the decades, being most commonly referred to as 'Cowtown' after its once booming livestock industry. It is also known to many as simply The Fort, Funky Town or Panther City (after a mountain lion was spotted in the streets in the 1870s), with its present-day motto being 'Where the West Begins'.

Tourism is now an integral part of life in Fort Worth. This city certainly manages to stand on its own two feet and should not be thought of as being a suburb of Dallas, as this is where the Southwestern Stock Show and Rodeo takes place each year - usually towards the end of January or at the beginning of February. The Stock Show and Rodeo is held within the Cultural District's Will Rogers Coliseum and now attracts close to one million visitors to the city each year, being originally held in 1896. When you first arrive, the Cultural District is a good place to initially explore, particularly since you will find plenty of tourist information here at the official Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, situated on West Lancaster Avenue.





Fort Worth Tourist Information and Tourism: Top Sights

Many of the official tourist attractions in Fort Worth live within the boundaries of the northerly Stockyards National Historic District, being cowboy or Cowtown themed. Tourists regularly hang out in this part of the city, enjoying the plentiful steakhouses, saloons and gift shops, as well as the costumed cowboys who are paid to roam around the area. If you hang around, you may even get the chance to photograph the herd of Texas longhorn cattle paraded past the tourist information center each morning and afternoon.

Apart from these themed Stockyards attractions, Fort Worth offers various parks, a landscaped botanical garden, convention centers and sports stadiums, such as the enormous Amon G. Carter Stadium, where up to 45,000 spectators come to watch popular American football games. On the southern side of the city, Fort Worth Zoo dates from the early 1900s and is now called home by more than 5000 creatures, both exotic and native. The zoological gardens are always popular with families and children particularly enjoy seeing the penguins, primates and 'Texas Wild' exhibits, such as bobcats, coyotes, jaguars and mountain lions. More information about Fort Worth Tourist Attractions.

Keen historians and photographers may like to search out some of the oldest and most important buildings still standing within Fort Worth, such as the late Victorian Ball-Eddleman-McFarland House, built in 1899. The Sundance Square Plaza is not only a good place to dine and shop, but it is known for its abundance of Art Deco themed buildings, while the grandiose facade of the Tarrant County Courthouse is just a five-minute stroll away. Its close proximity to Dallas does also mean that Fort Worth is called home by some unusual related attractions, such as its President John F. Kennedy Tribute Memorial and rather unexpectedly, the gravesite of his convicted assassinator, Lee Harvey Oswald. More information about Fort Worth Landmarks and Monuments.

Towards the end of the 19th century, literally millions of cattle were passing through Fort Worth, heading along the famous Chisholm Trail on their way to Kansas. This was a time of much disorder and crime, with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid famously hiding out here, followed by the legendary Bonnie and Clyde a few decades later. After the discovery of oil in the 1920s, a significant petroleum oil industry was born in the area and this 'black gold' brought continued wealth to Fort Worth. The various museums of Fort Worth are on hand to provide in-depth information about the city's past, with the best including the likes of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Stockyards Museum and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. Families are well catered for at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and if you prefer art to historic artifacts, then both the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the city's Modern Art Museum are likely to please. More information about Fort Worth Museums.

Tourists who are planing to holiday in Fort Worth will probably think about heading outside of the city after a few days, especially as Dallas is just a short drive away. Those with a rental car will be able to drive to Dallas in roughly 45 minutes, although there are more than a handful of other tempting towns, cities, national parks and official tourist attractions within driving distance of Fort Worth. These include the city of Irving, where the truly spectacular sculptures of galloping horses entitled 'Mustangs of Las Colinas' will likely take your breath away - do be sure than you pack your camera for this trip. Other possible destinations for excursions include the wineries and vineyards of Grapevine, the small town of Glen Rose (home of the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and the Dinosaur Valley State Park), and the town of Weatherford, with its beautiful Clark Gardens Botanical Park and significant annual Parker County Peach Festival each summer. More information about Fort Worth Attractions Nearby.

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