The votes are in — more than 661,000 this year — and Travel + Leisure’s annual World’s Best Awards have ranked Fort Worth No. 6 among America’s best cities. Cowtown also rode away as the highest-ranked city in the Lone Star State, while both Hotel Drover and Bowie House earned top rankings from the annual awards. Local business and civic leaders have played the long game when it comes to preserving historic buildings and the city’s distinctive Western heritage, and that approach is paying dividends.
In recent years, significant investment in that vision has yielded Dickies Arena, Mule Alley, and other destinations that have elevated Fort Worth’s profile while strengthening its appeal to discerning shoppers, diners, and travelers. To celebrate this prestigious accolade, we’re revisiting the best hotels, events, restaurants, and developments that have shaped our lifestyle coverage this year.
A Banner Year for a Now Top-Ranked City
Travel + Leisure’s editors did their research when highlighting what makes our city great. Luxury hotels, world-class art museums, diverse dining options, and events like the Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival define life in this city. With the World Cup just now receding in our collective memories, Fort Worth proved that it could host an inundation of visitors and local soccer fans throughout the city, providing an authentic Western experience and warm hospitality.
Visit Fort Worth launched its “Howdy, World” campaign to spotlight our city’s cowboy heritage, and we even welcomed a princess — Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan — to the Stockyards and Botanic Garden. Fort Worth’s Sundance Square swelled with soccer fans on game days, while the Stockyards buzzed with excitement and heavy crowds of tourists throughout June and July.
PaperCity Fort Worth was recently invited to a three-day Range Rover House that highlighted the city’s growing influence in the luxury automaker market. Hosted at Chef Tim Love’s estate, the exclusive event brought together celebrated locals like Susan Maddox, restauranteurs, and loyal Range Rover owners for the first Range Rover House event ever organized by an independent dealership…