Since most hotels here cater to the business traveler, rates often are significantly lower on the weekends. Our hotel search began with the Hotel Reservations Network, an online service that touts discounts up to 65 percent off regular hotel rates. One HRN bargain was Le Meridien, a downtown hotel located in the Plaza of the Americas with its upscale shops and indoor ice skating rink. A good place to spend a day in Dallas is at Fair Park, a 277-acre complex that is home to many of the city's best cultural attractions including eight museums, an IMAX theater and a planetarium. Its art-deco structures were built for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition.
Parking is free and it's easy to find a picnic spot.
A favorite Fair Park stop is the Dallas Museum of Natural History, which takes pride in its extensive dinosaur exhibits. You can watch scientists prepare fossils in the museum's paleontology lab or just marvel at the museum's huge Acrocanthosaurus, a fierce meat-eater that lived in North Texas more than 100 million years ago. Rounding out the Fair Park scene are the Dallas Firefighters Museum, the African American Museum, the Dallas Horticulture Center and the new Women's Museum. History is the focus of the Sixth Floor Museum, a must-see attraction. Operated by the Dallas County Historical Foundation, the museum provides an intense experience and is best suited for mature children.