Where to stay in Dallas: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

Downtown Dallas is compact enough to explore on foot. At its western edge, the Sixth Floor Museum looks down on Dealey Plaza and tells the story of the Kennedy assassination with real care; Reunion Tower, the dandelion-shaped observation deck, rises nearby. Main Street has the flagship Neiman Marcus and a growing run of restaurants, and just east of the centre Deep Ellum, once the haunt of 1920s blues musicians, is now the city's live-music and street-art district.

The Joule is the star, a 1920s neo-Gothic tower with a museum-quality art collection, a spa and a rooftop pool that juts out over the street. The Statler, a 1956 landmark where the big names once played the ballroom, has been revived with mid-century style. The Hyatt Regency is attached to Reunion Tower, steps from the Sixth Floor Museum, and the Kimpton Pittman sits in a century-old Beaux Arts building in the heart of Deep Ellum.

The Dallas Arts District is one of the largest in the country: block after block of museums and performance halls by big-name architects, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the symphony hall and the opera house. Klyde Warren Park, laid on a deck over a sunken motorway, links it to Uptown with lawns, food trucks and a children's play area, and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a short walk away.

HALL Arts Hotel is in the middle of it all, a sleek hotel with its own art collection. The Fairmont is the district's long-standing grand hotel, less than a mile from Dealey Plaza, and the vast Sheraton is a few minutes from both the arts venues and the American Airlines Center.

Uptown is the Dallas that surprises people who expect nothing but motorways. Vintage trams trundle along McKinney Avenue for free, restaurant patios fill up at the first hint of sunshine, and the Katy Trail, a tree-shaded path on an old railway line, is busy with runners from dawn. Victory Park, at its southern end, wraps around the American Airlines Center, home to the Mavericks and the Stars. Turtle Creek, to the north, is all old money and oak trees.

The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, once a cotton magnate's home, is the most celebrated hotel in Texas and worth a splurge for the restaurant alone. Hotel Crescent Court is its grand, polished rival in the heart of Uptown. W Dallas Victory has a spa and a seasonal pool beside the arena, and the Canopy is a friendly, good-value way to live like a local.

A few miles north of Downtown, Highland Park and University Park are Dallas's wealthiest enclaves, all clipped hedges and enormous houses. Southern Methodist University sits in the middle, with the George W. Bush Presidential Center on its campus, and NorthPark Center, a mall with sculpture in its corridors, is just up the expressway. The light rail runs into the centre from Mockingbird Station.

The Graduate, across the street from the university, is full of collegiate in-jokes and has an outdoor pool. Hotel Mockingbird, a block from the station, is a pet-friendly boutique option, and the Highland and the Hilton Park Cities are smart, quiet bases for shoppers.

North Dallas is where the city shops. The Galleria, a glass-vaulted mall built around an ice rink, is the centrepiece, and neighbouring Addison packs a remarkable number of restaurants and bars into a few square miles. It is a 15-minute drive from the centre when the traffic behaves, and rooms are usually cheaper than Downtown.

The Westin Galleria is attached to the mall and has an outdoor pool. In Addison, Hotel Dax is a lively newcomer with a boutique feel despite its 426 rooms, the Renaissance has an outdoor pool and sauna, and the Marriott Quorum is a dependable big hotel close to the shops.

Dallas/Fort Worth International is one of the biggest airports in the world, and Irving sits right beside it. The smart part is Las Colinas, a planned district of office towers around Lake Carolyn, with canals, a concert venue at the Toyota Music Factory and more restaurants than you would expect. Downtown Dallas is about 15 miles away.

The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas is a full resort, with golf, tennis and a spa. The Omni overlooks Lake Carolyn from every room, the Westin is next to the convention centre, and the Hyatt Regency DFW is inside the airport itself, with a heated pool for the hours between flights.

Arlington exists to entertain. Its Entertainment District holds AT&T Stadium, the colossal home of the Dallas Cowboys, Globe Life Field, where the Texas Rangers play baseball, and Six Flags Over Texas with its water-park sibling. Fort Worth, with its stockyards and cowboy heritage, is an easy drive west, and Dallas the same distance east.

Live! by Loews is the place to be on game day, a resort-style hotel with a pool between the two stadiums. The Arlin, at the gateway to Six Flags, is a boutique all-suite hotel, the Hilton is about two and a half miles from both stadiums, and the DoubleTree is a newer option in the same district.

Plano and Frisco, north of the city, are among the fastest-growing places in America: corporate headquarters, glossy shopping districts such as Legacy West, and the Dallas Cowboys' training base. They suit business travellers and anyone visiting family, and prices are gentle.

The Hilton Plano Granite Park has 13 restaurants within walking distance, some on a waterside boardwalk. The Clara is a boutique hotel in the Legacy business district with a heated outdoor pool. In Frisco, the Westin Stonebriar is a golf and spa resort, and the Embassy Suites is close to the ballpark and the Stonebriar mall.