21 Places in Dallas to Take Someone You Hate

We all have our favorite places in Dallas to show friends and family from out of town — especially the spots for a true cowboy experience. But what if those friends and family aren’t exactly your favorite people in the world? Let's say a cousin you don’t like that much or a friend from college you don’t have anything in common with anymore.

You could do the mature thing and decline to spend time with them, letting them down easy with a fib about working too much. Or you could go with malicious compliance and take them to places you know they’ll hate.

We love every place on this list and fully believe anyone who doesn’t is the problem in the equation. Regardless, here are our recommendations for places to take someone you hate in Dallas, broken down by why you hate them.

For your friend with a short attention span: Dallas Museum of Art and Dallas Symphony Orchestra

1717 N. Harwood St.
2301 Flora St.

The DMA and DSO are beloved institutions in Dallas, showcasing the loftiest culture our city has to offer. They provide rich and meaningful experiences to most of us but are torture to those with the attention span of a goldfish. Take this friend to the DMA and torment them by analyzing every piece individually for an absurd amount of time. Then, to twist the knife, treat your friend to an evening at the symphony, where not even their phone can distract them. They’ll be squirming the whole day.

For your friend who’s afraid of heights: Reunion Tower and The Monarch

300 Reunion Blvd.
1401 Elm St., 49th Floor

Is this one a little mean? Yes, but we promise your friend will live. Reunion Tower warrants a mention as the Tall Place of Note in Dallas, but that’s also the very reason it won’t work in some cases. Your friend could simply refuse. The Monarch is by far the safer bet. You can just tell your friend you’re going to a swanky Italian restaurant. It won’t be a lie. You’ll just be omitting the part about it being 49 stories in the air. It’s a dream experience for many, but a nightmare for your garbage friend.

For your friend who hates children: Klyde Warren Park

2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway

We all know that person who has a weird hatred toward children. They’re not just proudly childfree, which is totally acceptable. They use phrases like “fuck them kids” and “crotch goblins” so liberally that you’re beginning to wonder who hurt them in kindergarten. Klyde Warren Park is a great place for families, with plenty of space to play or have a picnic. The wholesome merriment will surely drive your friend nuts.

For your friend who has kids and refuses to leave them at home: New Fine Arts

Multiple Locations

On the other end of the spectrum, we have that friend with kids who can’t go anywhere without them. They’re perfectly capable of leaving them with a sitter or the other parent for a couple of hours — they just won’t for some reason. Despite having a name that sounds like a grant a PBS show might receive, New Fine Arts is actually an adult video store. We think it’s a fun and quirky shop to peruse, and it’s definitely a step above those roadside shacks for lonely truckers. Nevertheless, it’s still not suitable for children. Your friend’s kids will have to wait in the car, hence so will your friend.

For your friend who hates millennials: Bishop Arts District

North Oak Cliff

We love Bishop Arts District, but we’ll admit that it is the platonic ideal of millennial style. It’s all quirky thrift stores and brunch and Instagrammable murals and typography. It’s the perfect place to take your boomer parents who will say the very-employed baristas with septum piercings will never get a “real job,” or your dumb niece with TikTok brain rot who thinks everything is “cringe” and says things like, “I hope I don’t look like you when I’m 28.”

For your friend who was mean in high school: Frontiers of Flight Museum

6911 Lemmon Ave.

This museum is dedicated to the history of air and space travel and has several eye-catching displays of historic airplanes to look at. It’s all fascinating, but that person you knew in high school whose idea of a good time is going to “kickbacks” with other people they also knew in high school would probably be embarrassed to be there and say things like, “It’s weird that you care so much about this stuff.”

For your friend who listens to “everything but country”: Longhorn Ballroom

216 Corinth St.

The Longhorn Ballroom hosts more than just country shows, but the building is a shrine to the history of the genre’s presence in Dallas. We all know that person who says they listen to “everything but country.” We also know that when they say “everything,” they mean “the same 10-song playlist I’ve had on repeat since college.” They would hate Longhorn Ballroom, and its owners should take that as a compliment.

For your friend who hates liberals: Round-Up Saloon

3912 Cedar Springs Road

If you are tasked with babysitting a grown conservative man for the weekend, this is the spot to take them: a Western-style gay bar that will have them clutching their pearls and praying to the ghost of John Wayne for deliverance.

For your friend who hates conservatives: George W. Bush Presidential Library

2943 SMU Blvd.

In the words of Fox News, “Fair And Balanced.” The George W. Bush Presidential Library is a monument to the man hated most by anyone who falls left of center. A word of caution, though: It’s entirely possible that your friend will have a blast making jokes about how they didn’t know President Bush could read.

For your friend who hates vegans: Kalachandjis

5430 Gurley Ave.

If you’re trying to shake the red-blooded carnivore in your life, this Indian and vegetarian buffet inside a Hare Krishna temple will do just the trick. Your friend will complain that there’s nothing to eat there, after which you will gesture vaguely toward the buffet and tell them there’s plenty. It’ll be a jolly green time.

For your friend who loves Marvel Movies: Texas Theatre

231 Jefferson Blvd.

Are you stuck hanging out with someone who genuinely believes that Avengers: Endgame should’ve won an Academy Award? Tell them you want to take them to the movies, then deliver them to the historic Texas Theatre, known for its selection of indie, horror and classic films. This is the kindest and most thoughtful entry on this list. These people severely need to branch out, and it would be so good of you to help them.

For your friend with allergies: Dallas Arboretum

8525 Garland Road

We need to clarify that we’re not talking about deadly allergies here, and that we would never suggest that you poison your friend. We just want to give them the sniffles, that’s all. Let their eyes run a little. Ruin their makeup.

For your awkward friend: Charlie’s Star Lounge and Double Wide

4319 Main St.
3510 Commerce St.

These are both the kind of places where, in the spirit of Cheers, everybody knows your name. You’re bound to run into a couple of people you know. That is, unless you’re not from Dallas. Take your bad friend here and let them stand by awkwardly as you chat with friends you’ve just happened to bump into for a couple of hours.

For your friend who hates modern art: Arts District

Downtown Dallas

The downtown Arts District is not only home to several museums and galleries, it's also a fun and beautiful place to walk around in general. That is, unless you’re the type of person who says “I could do that” every time they see a piece of art they don’t understand. Then this district might give you an aneurysm.

For your friend who’s always on an obnoxious diet: Olmo Market

2111 S. Edgefield Ave.

While we support our friends’ journeys toward living a healthy lifestyle, we don’t necessarily support them talking about it 24/7. Olmo Market in Oak Cliff is home to the famed CocoAndre chocolates, a local institution your friend just has to at least look at, stupid diet notwithstanding.

For your friend who sleeps late: Sunrise at White Rock Lake

8300 E. Lawther Drive

White Rock Lake tops several lists of best places to watch the sunrise in Dallas, and for good reason. The lake is beautiful and the skyline is visible from several angles. It’s a gorgeous view that would go wholly unappreciated by that friend of yours who can’t ever manage to be up before noon. That won’t stop you from dragging them out there anyway.

For your friend who’s “not like other girls”: Sweet Tooth Hotel

1511 Elm St., No. 100

Do you know someone who is constantly saying things like, “I only hang out with guys because girls are too much drama”? Bring them to the Sweet Tooth Hotel, a pink, girly dream world for would-be influencers. Show them what “too much drama” really looks like. Give them an appreciation for the women in their lives who aren’t as petty as you.

For the friend you hate most of all: Dealey Plaza and Nothing Else

Downtown Dallas

Locals are well aware of everything Dallas has to offer, but much of the country mostly associates the city with the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. If you want to make sure that someone never wants to come back, you can let them keep thinking that. Show them Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, where they are sure to be accosted by conspiracy theorists who know "the truth." That’ll barely eat up an afternoon. When your friend asks what’s next, say “I don’t know. Do you want to go walk around Target or something?” You’ll never see them again.