Don’t let that deter you, though-it’s still a lot of fun! Across the street is the legendary Round-Up Saloon with its’ square dancing, country music and karaoke. The biggest gay club in the city is Station 4 (or S4 for short)-a mega club with three floors, regular weekend drag shows and a mixed crowd of young gay boys and middle-aged bachelorrete parties. On just about any night of the week, though, the gay nightlife takes place in the Oak Lawn neighborhood along Cedar Springs Road. A longtime local favorite is the craft cocktail bar The Cedars Social-recently under new management but still serviing some of Dallas’ favorite handcrafted cocktails. Probably not a surprise, but food and drink are a big deal in Texas-especially in Dallas, the city that’s famously adopted the slogan of BIG.
#GAY BARS DALLAS NEW YEARS FREE#
Across the street is the free Dallas Museum of Art-much bigger and with a more diverse collection.Īcross from the museums is the newly renovated Klyde Warren Park-an outdoor green space on top of the freeway with cafés, food trucks, free wifi and even an outdoor free library of local newspapers and magazines.
It’s a small museum and sculpture garden but has some nice permanent pieces and usually a good topical exhibit. But take a short walk from the city center and you’ll find yourself in the Arts District. First stop in the Dallas Arts District should be to one of the city’s best collections: the Nasher Sculpture Center. Their menswear department is well-stocked and features a lot of the newest designers and styles.ĭowntown Dallas, with its tall skyscrapers and quiet sidewalks, is generally a hotspot for business travelers. One of America’s biggest and best department stores, the flagship store in downtown Dallas offers pretty good retail deals in a luxurious setting. The Joule is located right next to the flagship Neiman Marcus department store. The swimming pool actually juts out over the edge of the building, hanging out above the sidewalk. At the heart of the city is the luxury hotel, The Joule-complete with an industrial western design, in-house hipster coffee shop ( Weekend Coffee) and a rooftop swimming pool. Walking between places isn’t quite as common in Dallas as in other cities-probably because of the 100✯+ weather in the summers and the relative distance between cool and hip areas of the city. Getting around can be done with the city’s public transportation, but Uber, taxis or a car are going to be the simplest way to explore the city. There are a handful of different neighborhoods-each with their own unique flair. (Tallywackers-a bar and restaurant where the hunky waiters only worse short shorts-closed down earlier this year.)ĭallas as a city is relatively straightforward. The city was even home to the first Hooters-style restaurant for gay men.
Dallas Pride has been running consistently for nearly 30 years, and the gayborhood of Oak Lawn is consistently ranked among the most gay-friendly places in the USA (despite some recent anti-gay attacks in 20). But, over the years, Dallas has had an increasingly visible presence for its LGBTQ locals. Growing up, I never heard much about the gay scene in Dallas (but then again, I wasn’t really looking for it either). So, on a most recent trip home, I decided to finally dive into the deep end of Dallas. Can you blame a guy? A $2 brownie fudge sundae is hard to resist! The suburban life can be so hard… My wasted youth was spent mostly beside a swimming pool, in an heavily air-conditioned mall or in the local ice cream shop. I don’t know about you, but my hometown city is a place I saw surprisingly little of despite living there for 18 years.