Fort Worth, Texas, is known for its “Big Texan” attitude and connection to the Old West. With cowboys and girls making names for themselves in the historic city, each year people from all over the world visit the city for shows and events that exist because of the western folk. Whether you’re here for a first-time vacation or a quaint staycation from work, you’ll have tons of attractions to choose from, including gardens, art museums, science centers, and nature preserves. All these come together to make Fort Worth an exciting vacation destination. Plenty of amazing lodging options can also be found here - from the best RV rentals to the top Airbnb vacation rentals. With accommodation sorted, you can now embark on an exploration trip of this epic city. Check out these best things to do in Fort Worth, Texas, for an amazing holiday.
1. Mafia escape room adventure at The Secret Chambers (from USD 32.0)
One great way of getting into the “dangerous outlaw” spirit is by embarking on a thrilling escape room experience such as this one. With themes and influences stemming from the 1930s, during a time when organized crimes, jazz, and prohibition-era speakeasies took place, you and your friends are tasked to solve the whereabouts of Bonnie and Clyde, one of history’s most infamous pairs yet.
The jazz club-type setting is all yours to explore, as you try to find and peruse through clues that could make or break your task in a race against time. This escape room was designed by acclaimed game designers, artists, and writers, which is no wonder why it received glowing reviews from previous guests. If you’re a problem-solver seeking fun activities in Fort Worth, then this is it!
The Mafia Adventure Escape Room
Duration: 1 hour
2. Murder mystery dinner theater at Billy Bob's Texas (from USD 66.0)
For foodies who like to be entertained, Billy Bob’s Texas offers a one-of-a-kind experience that treats you with a fun-filled theater showcase as you chow down on several beloved Southern dishes. The murder mystery dinner show is set in the Wild Wild West and features a slew of interactive experiences, most of which involve sharpening up your investigative skills.
While savoring the tastes of classic meals such as catfish, pork loin, and mac-and-cheese, you and the rest of the crowds get to determine who the culprit is behind an alluring murder case. This extraordinary activity in Fort Worth is a must-try for families, friend groups, and even solo goers.
Fort Worth Murder Mystery Dinner Show
Duration: 2 hours
3. Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
As the oldest botanical garden in Texas, the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens is a land of beauty in its own, miniaturized environments. With 22 different gardens to explore, you’ll want to spend more than an afternoon in the lush facility. See koi fish, cherry trees, bridges, and bamboo in the traditional Japanese garden. Look at native plants and hardy imports in the cactus garden and water conservation garden. The rose garden is not only full of lovely roses but stone architecture and a fountain.
If you’re looking for ideas to plant in your own garden, check out the perennial garden, a year-round garden with both sunny and shade-covered areas, that gardeners have carefully labeled for visitors. With new gardens and plants added regularly, you’re sure to find something new, each time you visit this top tourist attraction in Fort Worth.
Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
Address: 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Website: Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
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4. Fort Worth Stockyards
Take a step back in time at the Fort Worth Stockyards. In this historic district, you will find country stores selling everything from Texas souvenirs, to cowboy-style clothing, to spices and tea. Multiple restaurants are throughout the yards, featuring traditional Texas steak dinners, delicious burgers, and barbeque. Wooden corrals and original brick roads are a staple of the stockyards, taking you back to when the Old West truly began. Twice a day, a real-life cattle herd is led through the stockyards, giving visitors an up-close and personal view into the lives of cowboys and livestock alike. Concerts, master riders, and rodeos are shown at the stockyards, year-round, making it one of the most popular Fort Worth attractions.
Fort Worth Stockyards
Address: Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, Fort Worth, Texas
Website: Fort Worth Stockyards
5. Water Gardens
For over thirty years, the Fort Worth Water Gardens has been a refuge for all from the Texas heat. Designed by Phillip Johnson (Amon Carter Museum of American Art), as a beautiful and refreshing oasis, the Water Gardens are built with waterfalls, pools, lights, and streams, all a wonder to explore. Three pools, the aerating, the quiet, and the active, come together in this architectural and engineering marvel.
While the Gardens are open during the day year-round, at night they truly come alive. Johnson’s use of lights blends perfectly with the fountains and pools to make magic happen in these Texas gardens. Its gorgeous scenery makes the Water Gardens a must-add to the list of relaxing things to do in Fort Worth. Plus, admission is free!
Water Gardens
Address: Fort Worth Water Gardens, 1502 Commerce Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
Website: Water Gardens
6. Nature Center & Refuge
Posted by Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge on Monday, 8 May 2017
Without traveling too far out of Fort Worth, you can experience the diverse North Texas wilderness, at the Nature Center & Refuge. Comprised of forests, prairies, and wetlands, take a step back in time to see what Fort Worth and Dallas looked like in the early 20th century. The refuge was originally designed to protect the city’s local watershed and to preserve some natural land from being developed. In 1964, that dream became a reality and the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge was born.
Covering 3,621 acres (1,465.4 hectares), the preserve includes over 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) of hiking trails, making the park the perfect place for the ever-growing population of Fort Worth, to explore nature, basically untouched. In addition to trails ready for exploration, canoeing up and down the creeks and lakes is a great way to spend the afternoon.
Nature Center & Refuge
Address: 9601 Fossil Ridge Road, Fort Worth, TX 76135
Website: Nature Center & Refuge
7. Log Cabin Village
Posted by Log Cabin Village on Thursday, 11 October 2012
One of the fun things to do in Fort Worth is to visit Log Cabin Village. Since the 1950s, the Log Cabin Village has been a growing project to preserve both the architecture and history of the 1800s. Bringing together multiple log cabins, a smoke house, and a school from various locations around Texas, the Log Cabin Village is like stepping back in time. Each structure is furnished with authentic artifacts, creating multiple home settings. In the village, you’ll also find a water-powered gristmill, a one-room schoolhouse, an herb garden, and a blacksmith shop.
Fort Worth volunteers are stationed throughout the grounds to interpret and explain what the structures and tools were used for, during their heyday. Where history and interactive exhibits collide, the Log Cabin Village is both a fun and informative tour.
Log Cabin Village
Address: 2100 Log Cabin Village Lane, Fort Worth, TX 76109
Website: Log Cabin Village
8. Museum of Science and History
Did you know that membership usually pays for itself in two visits? Discover, wonder, imagine and dream year-round at the Museum with a membership. http://www.fwmsh.org/membership
Posted by Fort Worth Museum of Science and History on Monday, 17 April 2017
If you’re traveling with children and wondering what to do in Fort Worth, then this museum might interest you. Combining fun and learning, the Museum of Science and History is perfect for an afternoon of discovery. With exhibits ranging from geological to biological to zoological collections, the Museum of Science and History is more than a traditional display of history. Interactive exhibits are on display for children and adults alike. Artifacts and antiques show the history of Texas and the earth, encompassing everything from the Jurassic period to space travel. The museum is also home to an IMAX theater, with changing shows that explore the oceans, rolling plains, space, and more. Among the permanent exhibits, changing exhibits ensure that each of your visits is unique and worth another trip.
Museum of Science and History
Address: Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, 1600 Gendy St. Fort Worth, TX 76107
Website: Museum of Science and History
9. National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
Bringing the history of women to the people of Fort Worth, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame presents exhibits laced with the artifacts, history, and memorabilia of the women who shaped Texas. At the only museum in the world dedicated to American Western Women, you will find interactive exhibits with the cowgirls’ personal artifacts and attire, two theaters, gift shop, and a research library and archives. Over 750 women are represented at the museum, proving that that history doesn’t just belong to men.
Among the women are pioneers, artists, entertainers, humanitarians, writers, business women, educators, and of course, ranchers and rodeo cowgirls. Exhibits about Sacagawea, Georgia O’Keeffe, Annie Oakley, Dale Evans, Sandra Day O’Connor, and more are ready and waiting for your discovery, at this revolutionary museum in the heart of Fort Worth.
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
Address: 1720 Gendy Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76107
10. Kimbell Art Museum
Since 1965, the Kimbell Art Museum has been growing, collecting art from around the world for all to enjoy. Multiple mediums are on display, ranging in paint, sketch, sculpture, and naturalistic designs, the art on display shows a range of human creativity and ingenuity. While the art itself is beautiful, the museum’s home in the Piano Pavilion and Kahn Building, augment the displays. Using natural lighting to display the art from Ancient, European, Asian, Oceanic, American, and other cultures, the building will awe visitors both inside and out.
Kimbell Art Museum
Address: 3333 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, Texas 76107-2792
Website: Kimbell Art Museum
11. Amon Carter Museum of American Art
For a more focused art experience, check out the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Admission is free, bringing master artists’ works to the public. Thus, it is one of the best free things to do in Fort Worth. Ranging from traditional to modern, artists like Darryl Lauster, Helen Frankenthaler, Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, and more, are all on display at the museum. And don’t worry about seeing the same works over and over. The museum brings in new exhibitions regularly, ensuring you a unique and fun visit, every time you return.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Address: 3501 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107
Website: Amon Carter Museum of American Art
12. National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum
National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum has many items donated by Hall of Fame Rodeo Champions. Come for a visit...
Posted by National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum on Wednesday, 5 November 2014
While men like Billy the Kid and Buffalo Bill Cody helped make the Old West an iconic image of the United States, the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum shows the more detailed, and often overlooked history of non-white pioneers, cowboys, and natives that shaped the West. At this museum, you will learn about people like Isador “Lolo” Munoz, the last of the true Spanish Vaqueros, Glynn Turman, Tommie Haw, a Chinese pioneer, Myrtis Dightman, the first Black cowboy to ride in the National Finals Rodeo, and more. Every exhibit tells the story of amazing men and women, who throughout history have been largely ignored. Now, you can learn about their lives, passions, and influence at this amazing museum.
National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum
Address: 3400 Mt Vernon Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76103
13. Fort Worth Zoo
For a fun day out with the family, head over to Fort Worth Zoo. More than 110 years old, this zoo houses a wide variety of animals from across the globe and gives visitors a chance to see them in natural surroundings. From among the 540 animal species residing here, the most notable ones to check out are African lions, Asian elephants, tigers, gorillas, jaguar, zebra, crocodiles, snakes, birds, and more. There are various interesting exhibits, shows, interactive sessions, and other attractions for visitors of all ages at Fort Worth Zoo.
Fort Worth Zoo
Address: 1989 Colonial Pkwy, Fort Worth, TX 76110, United States
Website: Fort Worth Zoo
Opening hours: Mon - Fri: 9am - 5pm; Sat - Sun: 9am - 6pm
Price: 16 USD
14. SeaQuest Fort Worth
More than an ordinary aquarium, SeaQuest Fort Worth is renowned for being an interactive aquarium. Besides being able to see amazing marine wildlife, visitors will also be delighted with one-on-one encounters with friendly aquatic, land and amphibious creatures. You can go for enjoyable experiences like snorkeling with stingrays, meeting the cute animals at a petting zoo, feeding friendly animals, and more.
SeaQuest Fort Worth
Address: 1974 Green Oaks Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76116, United States
Website: SeaQuest Fort Worth
Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 11am - 7pm; Sun: 12pm - 6pm
Price: 14.88 USD
15. Noble Planetarium
Reach for the stars by visiting Noble Planetarium in Fort Worth, Texas. This planetarium offers daily shows that will inform, educate and mesmerize you about stars, planets, galaxies, asteroids, and many other wonders of space. It also has themed exhibitions on space, ecosystems, animals, anthropological studies, and even classic car displays! A laser light show is also held here and will surely be a treat for the little ones.
Noble Planetarium
Address: 1600 Gendy St, Fort Worth, TX 76107, United States
Website: Noble Planetarium
16. Fort Worth Panic Room: Cabin Fever (from USD 27.0)
For an immersive escape room experience in the city, check out Fort Worth Panic Room: Cabin Fever. This is said to be one of the first escape room experiences in Texas. Ideal for a small group of friends, colleagues or family, all you need to enjoy this experience are your wits and some teamwork. Look for clues around the room, solve mysteries and puzzles, and try to escape from a themed room within one hour. This is surely one of the most enjoyable activities to do in Fort Worth.
Fort Worth Panic Room: Cabin Fever
Duration: 1 hour
17. Christian Arts Museum (from USD 8.0)
Art lovers will definitely find many attractions to visit in Fort Worth. And Christian Arts Museum is definitely one of the most popular spots for arts and culture buffs. This musuem is unique for it showcases inspired Christian art in the form of canvas displays and sculptures. The most famous exhibit here is a lifesize wax recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’. The museum also puts up seasonal exhibits like Ark of the Covenant during Easter and Nativity scenes from across the world during Christmas.
Fort Worth Christian Arts Museum Admission
Duration: 1 to 2 hours
Experience the Old West in Fort Worth!
From museums to the Stockyards, Fort Worth helps you learn about and live the Old West, but with a modern twist. With beautiful gardens of both plants and water, nature preserves, art museums, and more, Fort Worth the perfect vacation spot that will keep you entertained every step of the way.
Frequently asked questions about the best things to do in Fort Worth, Texas
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