Built to host the 1936 Texas Centennial Exhibition, these 277-acre grounds, a short distance east of downtown, host the largest state fair in the US. Running for 24 days of September and October, the fair attracts the lion's share of 7 million annual visitors to Fair Park. But breathtaking even in its "off-season," it bustles as a cultural center with its Cotton Bowl stadium; the Music Hall at Fair Park, home of the Dallas Opera; the Starplex Amphitheater for open-air concerts; and 115 annual events. Also here are numerous museums, many of them-including the Hall of State, aquarium and natural-history museum-built in a spectacular 1930s Art Deco style.