Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas (must see)

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) provides the heart for downtown's vibrant Arts District, and its large new "home" since 1984 is a work of art as well. Designed by famed architect Edward Larabee Barnes and heralded as a masterpiece, the building has 159,000 square-feet (14,800 square-meters) of exhibition spaces, ranking among the largest art museums in the United States.

The sheer size of the facility allows for a variety of comprehensive collections: its European collection includes ancient Mediterranean gold, Renaissance, and Baroque paintings alongside a strong collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist work by Monet, Degas, Renoir, Pissaro, van Gogh, Gauguin, and Toulouse-Lautrec; the African collection shows works from numerous sub-Saharan tribes and the Egyptian section displays important sculptural pieces. One of the strongest collections – the "Art of the Americas" – includes pieces from many of the world's vanished civilizations, among which Olmec and Maya stone sculpture, Chavin and Nasca ceramics, and Paracas and Chimu textiles.

Students of art should stop by the breathtaking Mayer Library, which, in addition to the thousands of volumes on hand, also provides a wide selection of rare periodicals (including catalogs from Christie's and Sotheby's).

Thursdays are special days with live music, talks and extended hours; also, one Friday a month, the DMA is open until 11pm (Late Night tickets are required after 5pm). A variety of lectures, films and presentations round out the calendar.