Fort Worth Tours

Fort Worth is known as the Cowtown. Fort Worth was found as an army outpost on the Trinity River, in 1849. It is the fifth largest city in Texas (behind Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin) and among the top 20 in the United States (US). It is the county seat for Tarrant County. It promotes itself as an unpretentious town with both high and low culture. Many activities exist within and close to Fort Worth.

The travel distance between Houston and Fort Worth is 262 miles/422 kilometers. Most of the drive is on interstate highways, but slower US highways are also used. Nonstop, the trip is 5 hours. With a couple of stops for lunch, bathroom, and sweets, the drive is approximately 7 hours.

We offer Fort Worth tours ranging from 4 to 8 days. They are divided by themes. Please see the list of activities each day and select what options you like.

Day 1

We depart Houston at 9:00 AM. We drive 185 miles/298 kilometers to Corsicana for a break and or to eat lunch at about 12:00 PM. We also stop in Corsicana to visit the

  1. Collin Street Bakery - one of the best bakeries in the US for fruit cakes as well as other sweets for 1 hour. We normally have lunch here.
  2. Russell Stover/Pangburn/Whitman Chocolates factory warehouse. You do not have to purchase any boxes of heavily discounted chocolates, but almost everyone does for 45 minutes.

We drive approximately 69 miles/111 kilometers to Grand Prarie, where we visit:

  1. The combination of Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, and the Mirror Maze for 2.5 hours. If you prefer, the American Airlines C. R. Smith Museum in east Fort Worth can be substituted for the other museums. The Smith Museum is closed on Sundays (except during summer) and Mondays.

We arrive in Fort Worth at approximately 6:00 PM. We check in to the hotel, go to the rooms, relax, and go out for dinner at 7:00 PM to Joe T. Garcia’s, one of the best Mexican restaurants in the state. We are back at the hotel by 9:30 PM.

Last Day

We depart Fort Worth at 9:00 AM. If returning on a Tuesday through a Saturday, we will stop to tour the American Airlines C. R. Smith Museum. The Smith Museum is closed on Sundays (except during summer from 1:00 to 5:00 PM) and Mondays. This is on the east side of Fort Worth. If not, we drive 167 miles/269 kilometers to Madisonville to have lunch at the 1904 Woodbine Hotel and Restaurant (open between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM) between 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM. Drive another approximately 96 miles/155 kilometers to Houston. We arrive in Houston at about 2:30 PM. If we stop at the American Airlines C. R. Smith Museum, and the Woodbine Restaurant is closed, we stop at Buc-cee's for snacks in Madisonville and we arrive in Houston at about 4:30 PM

The tours in Fort Worth begin between 9:00 and 9:45 AM each day as some places only open at 10:00 AM. The tours to the theme parks depart at 10:00 AM each day.

The tours in Fort Worth begin between 9:00 and 9:45 AM each day as some places only open at 10:00 AM. The tours to the theme parks depart at 10:00 AM each day.

In some cases, different options can be mixed and matched. For example, if someone wanted to go to the museums on Option C on a Saturday when the houses are closed, we could substitute the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame from Option D for approximately 1.5 hours. If someone wanted to go on Option B on a Monday when the Log Cabin Village is closed, we could substitute going to either downtown or the Fort Worth Stockyards from Option A for approximately 1.5 hours.

In between the first day and the last day:

Option A: Downtown 9:20 AM - 1:30 PM and the Fort Worth Stockyards 1:45 - 11:45 PM

  1. Driving Tour including seeing the downtown movie theater, the Bass Performance Hall with its two Marton Varo 48-foot-tall angels on the outside from 1998, the Maddox-Muse Center from 2001, the Fort Worth Convention Center.
  2. Fort Worth Water Gardens by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee from 1974, used in the movie Logan’s Run. This is a 4.3-acre area of a variety of quiet and active waterfalls and ponds.
  3. Hell’s Half Acre, an area that was full of saloons and rowdy cowboys and criminals in the late 1800s.
  4. President John Kennedy Memorial.
  5. Sundance Square where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid used to carouse.
  6. Sid Richardson Museum of western art. It has a fine collection of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell paintings and sculptures.
  7. Thomas Kinkade Gallery. Kinkade was famed as the painter of light.
  8. Worthington National Bank’s art collection. This building was Fort Worth’s first skyscraper when built in 1914. Open Monday through Friday.
  9. Old stone St. Patrick Cathedral constructed between 1888 and 1892. This is the oldest continually used church building in Fort Worth.
  10. Old stone Tarrant County Courthouse that was built between 1893 and 1895. It was frequently used in the television show “Walker, Texas Ranger.
  11. Have lunch at one of the many cafes or restaurants in Sundance Square.
  12. Drive to the famed Fort Worth Stockyards.
  13. Shopping and photos.
  14. Trinity River Fun Train. Saturday and Sunday only.
  15. Cattle Drive.
  16. Stockyards Museum. Closed on Sundays from September to May.
  17. Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum.
  18. Dinner at Riscky’s Barbeque. It also has good steak.
  19. Rodeo, only on Friday and Saturday nights from 7:45 to approximately 10:15 PM.
  20. Optional visit to Billy Bob’s, the largest honky tonk in the US.

Option B: Outside Culture 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM, Sunday and Tuesday through Saturday

  1. Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and Japanese Gardens.
  2. Lunch at The Gardens Restaurant at the Botanic Gardens or in the Fort Worth Zoo.
  3. Fort Worth Zoo, one of the five best zoos in the US.
  4. Log Cabin Village, approximately 10 historic structures furnished with period pieces from the 1840s to the 1890s with interpreters who tell about the lives of pioneers. Closed on Mondays.

Option C: Inside Culture - Art and Architecture 9:45 AM - 5:30 PM, Sunday, and Wednesday through Friday

  1. Kimball Art Museum, has fine impressionist and classical European art. Closed on Mondays.
  2. Lunch at the Kimball Art Museum.
  3. Ball-Eddleman-McFarland House. Only open on Sunday and Wednesday through Friday.
  4. Thistle Hall. Only open on Sunday and Wednesday through Friday.
  5. Amon Carter Museum, has fine western art. Closed on Mondays.

Option D: Major Museums 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM, Sunday, and Tuesday through Saturday

  1. National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. Closed on Mondays.
  2. Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry. Closed on Mondays.
  3. Ranchers’ Museum (located in the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History). Closed on Mondays.
  4. Texas Civil War Museum. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Option E: Six Flags Over Texas - Arlington -
Seasonal 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Option F: Hurricane Harbor Water Park - Arlington - Seasonal 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM