No city wants the distinction of being the site of an assassination – especially if the victim happens to be President John F Kennedy. But rather than downplay the events that sent the city reeling in 1963, Dallas gives visitors a unique opportunity to delve into the world-altering events unleashed by an assassin in the former Texas School Book Depository. Fascinating multimedia exhibits (plus the included audioguide) give an excellent historical context of JFK's time, as well as his life and legacy.
And while any museum dedicated to the subject could have reconstructed the historical event using footage, audio clips and eyewitness accounts, this museum offers you a goosebump-raising view through the exact window from which Lee Harvey Oswald fired upon the motorcade. (If that last statement raises your hackles, not to worry: the displays don't shy away from conspiracy theories, either.)
The museum also offers an interesting self-guided Cell Phone Walking Tour (one hour; $2.50) of Dealey Plaza and other JFK assassination sites.
