DARTable Gems: Fitness, Food, and Art in Dallas

I’ve lived in Dallas all my life and it’s amazing to see how much my city has changed. One of my favorite things to do is explore the city. I love stumbling upon cute little parks, cafes, or spotting graffiti art or structures around the city. I guess you could say getting lost in my city is a very fun hobby of mine. So when DART approached me to create a themed tour of my beloved city to encourage people to use public transportation to explore, I was all for it.  All throughout high school, the DART bus and train were my main forms of transportation, so it was really cool to take a walk down memory lane.

Because Dallas is very much a driving city, it’s easy to forget that the train can take you to more places than just the State Fair or the airport.  DART has certainly expanded over the years and there are tons of accessible gems along the way. The theme of my tour is exploring downtown and mixing in my love for fitness, food, and art. I love being outside and there are wonderful fall days ahead of us. The destination would be Klyde Warren Park where the parking is the bane of my existence.

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To start, my boyfriend and I woke up early on a Sunday and headed to Cityplace to begin our tour. I particularly love this station because it’s been there forever and it’s underground. We parked in West Village, bought our tickets using the GOPass ℠ app and took the long stairs down and hopped on the train.

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Seeing as it was the weekend, there wasn’t the usual hustle and bustle. The place is pretty empty and slightly eery, but I say that’s what adds to the charm. The long stairs are perfect for cardio drills. We spotted other fit couples getting in a workout. Instead of riding the escalators, we got in some cardio using the stairs for sure.

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The DART system is pretty simple. Since all lines run through downtown, we hopped on the very next one and got off at Pearl Station.

At Pearl Station

At Pearl Station

After we got off, we took a short walk along Pearl Street toward Flora Street to visit the Arts District. Along the way, it was really cool to take a moment and admire the buildings we so often drive by.

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In the Arts District, you’ll find a few museums and arts centers sitting nicely on one row. To visit more of the places, I took a right on Flora and headed toward the AT&T Performing Arts Center (previously known as the Winspear Opera House). We stumbled upon this beautiful wall.

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We also learned that the wall art changes every year. How cool is that? Next, we crossed the street, passed the Dallas Symphony and had some fun at the AT&T arts center.

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A few weeks ago, I missed a really cool yoga event that took place on the water so I thought I’d strike a pose and snap some shots. Did you know the arts center hosts free Local Motion fitness events?  For September, there will be free Pilates on Saturdays. We are also looking forward to Aurora, a free public exhibition showcasing local artwork and light installations at night on October 16th. We got that marked in our calendar for a date night!

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After the AT&T performing arts center, we headed back to Pearl Street and toward Harwood. Along the way we passed the Nasher Sculpture Center, Crow Collection of Asian Art and the Dallas Museum of Art.

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All three museums offer free events throughout the month. You can find free tai chi and yoga events at the Crow Museum, free late nights to tour the DMA  (next one is Sept 18th), and free live concerts at the Nasher where you could also purchase a picnic dinner. Great date night ideas just FYI.

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Once we passed the museums, we took this beautiful walk toward Klyde Warren Park. As much as I love Klyde Warren Park and for all the cool events that are hosted here, the parking sucks. It’s non-existent. In the past I’ve either paid for parking or had to valet and (once again) realizing how easy it was to get here using the DART was a game changer.

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Klyde Warren Park sits atop Woodall Rodgers freeway and it’s a pretty cool place to hang out with friends, your significant other or family. There are always free fitness, music, and family events you can find on their calendar. We were starving by the time we got here, however none of the food trucks had menus that really stood out. So we went to Lark on the Park, a popular brunch spot. It was a nice break from the heat.

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With our bellies full, we were happy to take the walk back to the train and head back home.

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If you really liked my tour and want to learn about other DARTable gems, you can visit their site and find out where other Dallasites are headed.

This blog is sponsored by DART. All content, photography, and opinions are all my own.

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