Things to do in Dallas

With this year's return of US prime-time soap opera Dallas, I thought perhaps it was time to take a look around the Texan city, known for pockets of lavishness - mostly founded on cotton and oil.

First-time visitors familiar with the original television show - launched in 1978 and shelved in 1991 - might wonder whether the city is as opulent as the show depicted it.

There is no shortage of "old money" haunts in town, but today's Dallas has some modern, relaxed places in which to unwind, too.

Some of the area's wealth has been channelled into the arts. At the AT&T Performing Arts Centre, you can catch a top US or touring performance; the Royal National Theatre performed War Horse there last month. This coincided with the opening of City Performance Hall, a new venue for small and mid-sized productions. Nine other buildings in the Dallas Cultural District also stage performances or visual art exhibits.

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek is the place to get a sense of the established Dallas high life. This former estate of cotton and oil magnate Sheppard King dates back to 1925. It was later expanded and converted to a small hotel.

Larry Hagman - who, after 21 years, has returned to the Dallas set as J.R. Ewing - and the entire cast stayed here in the 1980s and '90s. Other high-profile guests have included supermodel Cindy Crawford, actors Kirstie Alley and Hugh Jackman, and rapper Jay-Z.