Now Is the Perfect Time to Visit Fort Worth, Texas

Bella Hadid recently traded New York for Fort Worth, Texas. It raised some eyebrows. But whether or not the city’s new celebrity resident moves the needle for you, there’s no denying that Fort Worth is having a moment — or, more accurately, it’s been having a continuous series of moments for the past few years. Its population growth is outpacing nearly every large city in the country, bringing in creatives, entrepreneurs and others from both coasts and many places in-between. New luxury hotels have popped up, big-name chefs are opening new restaurants and seemingly everywhere you look, there’s something happening in town, from the Texas heritage-y allure of the Stockyards to gleaming art museums and modern fine-dining menus.

To see what all the fuss is about, I made the long trek (okay, it’s only like 35 miles) from my home in Dallas three weekends in a row to eat, drink, spend the night and otherwise experience all that’s happening in Fort Worth right now. Short story: there’s a lot. Here’s how to make the most of your time in the city.

Where to Stay

Downtown Fort Worth still holds the highest concentration of hotels, but you no longer have to stay in that neighborhood to score a quality room. The Cultural District recently welcomed two new hotels — The Crescent Hotel, Fort Worth in November and Bowie House a few weeks later — both located on the same street.

“Fort Worth is flourishing, and the desire for luxury experiences and hoteliers is as well,” says Roberto van Geenen, general manager of The Crescent. He notes the influx of talented chefs and bartenders and says consumers are increasingly interested in immersive dining experiences, local heritage and holistic wellness and self-care. Add it all up, and it’s a good time to open a hotel offering all those things.

The Crescent Hotel sports bright, art-filled common spaces, 200 elegant guest rooms and multiple dining concepts. It’s also home to Texas’s first Canyon Ranch Wellness Club, which operates luxe resort spas in a handful of destinations, including Tucson, Arizona and Las Vegas. The 26,000-square-foot facility has a fitness center with all the trappings of a modern gym, plus high-tech equipment to measure your body composition, analyze your gait and help you recover via red-light therapy, neurostimulation and lymphatic massage rollers. There’s also a spa featuring treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room and steam showers.

Bowie House leans into Fort Worth’s western bonafides and feels like staying in your eccentric but stylish friend’s very large home, complete with 106 guest rooms and a 400-piece art collection. Rooms are stocked with hat racks, boot benches and woven rugs, and there’s a cozy library where you can sip drinks with or without a book in hand. And even the Texas heat doesn’t feel quite so oppressive when you’re lounging in the terrace pool.

Both properties follow on the heels of Hotel Drover, which opened in 2021 and immediately infused the Stockyards and Mule Alley with a dose of western luxury, evident in the leather-clad lobby, steak-heavy restaurant and Lucchese boot shop located on the property.

Where to Eat and Drink

Some of the best new restaurants are located inside those new hotels, including The Blue Room at the Crescent — an extra-luxe concept tucked inside the property’s all-day restaurant, Emilia’s — and Bricks and Horses at Bowie House. Otherwise, get out there and explore. The city is teeming with great places to eat and drink, including a handful of new restaurants tied to celebrity chef Graham Elliot, who left Chicago and moved to Fort Worth to team up with Felipe Armenta’s Far Out Hospitality group.

Elliot spent time in Fort Worth more than 20 years ago when he moved to Texas for his culinary school externship and says that he immediately connected with the town. He calls coming back to work with Armenta the best decision he could’ve ever made.

“Fort Worth is the perfect mix of cosmopolitan energy and small town homeyness that makes for a great place to live and work,” Elliot says. “The fact that everyone seems to be a genuine foodie and wholeheartedly supports their own makes it that much more attractive for up-and-coming entrepreneurs and hospitality folks who want to set up shop here.” Together, Elliot and Armenta are behind some of the hottest openings in town, including the modern French bistro Le Margot and their upscale spin on traditional Texas barbecue at F1 Smokehouse.

Other restaurants that should be firmly atop your to-do list include award-winning Mexican spot Don Artemio and Walloon’s, a handsome hangout for raw oysters, lobster rolls and Martinis. More smoked meats are available at lauded barbecue joints Panther City, Goldee’s and the latter’s rib-focused offshoot, Ribbee’s. And if all that meat starts slowing you down, there’s always Maiden, the vegan tasting menu concept that would’ve seemed out of place in steakhouse-heavy Fort Worth a decade ago.

When it’s time for drinks, Nickel City is a reliable, fun-loving standby for cocktails and boilermakers. Tarantula Tiki Lounge across the street serves tropical drinks in an island-inspired setting. And Tanahill’s Tavern has quickly become a hotspot for live music and cold beers.

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What to See and Do

If you’re staying in the Cultural District, you’re right next to world-class museums, including Kimbell Art Museum, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The best part: each has complimentary admission, either daily or on select days. If the weather’s nice — i.e., you’re not visiting during the summer — you can combine that influx of art with a stroll through the nearby Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

The city’s western reputation (and its nickname “Cowtown”) is on full display at the Stockyards, the spruced-up vestige of Fort Worth’s history as an epicenter of the cattle trade. Today, the old brick buildings and wooden corrals house dozens of restaurants, bars and shops, but there are still twice-daily ceremonial cattle drives down East Exchange Avenue. Wave at some Longhorns, then pop into Second Rodeo Brewing for local beers. Or visit one of the many Stockyards restaurants from chef Tim Love, whose empire spans a casual burger shack, a saloon and chili parlor, a Mexican spot, and a steakhouse.

If you want an over-the-top country-western immersion with the added bonus of free line dance lessons, spend an evening at Billy Bob’s, the world’s largest honkey tonk. Or head for the John Wayne museum to brush up on your history of the Duke. Both are good reminders of Fort Worth’s singular place among Texas cities, even as you run into Bella Hadid at Whole Foods.