The ninth-largest metropolitan centre in the United States, the Texan city is a conurbation of six million inhabitants. Having made its fortune from oil, it now boasts a new form of unbridled urban development combined with a busy artistic and commercial life.

Dallas, in the heart of Texas, is the very epitome of American-style monumental urban development. The soaring skyscrapers in the downtown district of this city built for the car speaks volumes about the financial muscle of the companies based here. The Bank of America (281 m), Chase Center (240 m) and JP Morgan Chase Tower (225 m) are just a few examples of buildings that proclaim the supremacy of their business model. But Dallas is not only a city for wheeler-dealers. Having made its fortune from oil since the 1930s, the city has been hit hard by various economic crises yet has still managed to draw on its more artistic resources to attract visitors. For proof, look no further than some recent exceptional architectural projects, including the Meyerson Symphonic Centre (architect Ieoh Ming Pei, 1989), the Winspear Opera House (Norman Foster), the Wyly Theater (Rem Koolhaas) or the Nasher Sculpture Center (Renzo Piano), all located in the aptly named Art District. Department stores, restaurants and night clubs complete the new street scene, where customers are treated almost with reverence, for example in East Dallas, in the Lakewood or Deep Ellum entertainment districts.

Visitors to Dallas can also sample some of the city’s cultural riches and enjoy a moment of tranquillity too. The Dallas Museum of Art has some fine permanent collections; the Dallas Arboretum and its floral collections are a visual delight; whilst south Dallas and the Oak Cliff district have retained their astonishingly steep roads lined with old houses.