Guide to Dallas

The foot-friendly West End makes cramming lots of sights (and drinks) into one day a snap. Street vendors sell art on the sidewalks, and the area gets crowded at night with tourists and locals wandering from place to place.

To get there from SMU, take the downtown exit from Central Expwy. and follow the brown signs to the West End, or if you don’t feel like driving, take DART to the West End stop.

For those craving history and crime, the various museums and landmarks will satisfy.

The John F. Kennedy Memorial on Main Street resembles an empty tomb, symbolizing that the late president’s body lies elsewhere. Site visitors will find a black marble marker inscribed “John F. Kennedy” inside.

For more detail or a history project on the former president, the Sixth Floor Museum at 411 Elm St. chronicles the “life, times, death and legacy of JFK,” not just the assassination. Items of interest include a re-created sniper’s nest and the camera used to shoot Abraham Zapruder’s graphic assassination film footage.

Though the Sixth Floor Museum doesn’t offer any real dirt on the assassin, the Conspiracy Museum at 110 S. Market St. provides ideas on who shot JFK, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and many more.

Animal lovers will appreciate the Dallas World Aquarium & Zoological Garden’s residents. From Antillean manatees to three-toed sloths, the garden puts visitors in another world.

A wide array of restaurants guarantee that no stomachs will growl in the West End.

Joe’s Crab Shack provides seafood and singing, dancing, fun-loving service.

For Italian, try Lombardi’s or Spaghetti Warehouse.

Tony Roma’s is great for finger-lickin’ ribs, or visit the Y. O. Ranch Steakhouse for a slab of meat.

For attitude a la carte, visit Dick’s Last Resort, where the staff does its best to live up to the proprietor’s name.

For drinks and dancing, favorite SMU hangouts include BAR Dallas at 2020 N. Lamar St. and Have a Nice Day Café#233;, where Wednesday night is college night.

Dallas Alley has six clubs in one, guaranteeing plenty of music venues and even karaoke.

So whatever your mood, whatever your groove, dart down to the West End for a full day of play.