With a name like Grapevine, how could we not stop to see what it is all about? Is it worth a stop if you are near the town? You decide.

Historic Downtown Area

The small historic city was established in 1844 and is located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The main historical area is in the downtown area…about 5 or so block of Main Street. One can easily walk and explore the dozens of wood and brick buildings, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Peer inside a two-room 1845 cabin that was the second building built in the town.

Stroll by the formerly grand (for the town) mansion dating from 1870 and is now a funeral home.

Check out the original 1888 railroad station that juiced the town’s growth by providing fast, inexpensive access to distant markets for its produce.

Glockenspiel Clock Tower

Grapevine is also the home of a Glockenspiel clock. These clocks use moving figures that reenact a piece of history. The Grapevine clock tells the story of two would-be train robbers who meet up in a saloon and discovered they both have the same plan to rob the train and end up in a gunfight. While the clock is supposed to show the gunfight several times a day, it was broken during our 2023 visit. And we were told that it had been broken for quite some time. Nonetheless, it was a good story.

Grapevine Main

The new place in the historic town area is the large, impressive Grapevine Main. It has become a focal point with its commuter train terminal, food hall, entertainment venue and boutique Hotel Vin hotel. It also contains one of the tourist information centers in the town.

Yes, Grapevine Also Has Wine

Speaking of wine (or vin), Grapevine sort of lives up to its name. It has eight wineries, as well as a craft brewery and cindery. But don’t let the name grapevine fool you. While the town was named for the indigenous Wild Mustang grapevines that crawled up several of the town’s trees, no wine grapes are grown in or around Grapevine. Half the town’s wineries import all their grapes from California. The other half source their grapes from Texas’s High Plains and Hill Country AVAs.

And if wine tasting is not your thing, the town also has several art studio and galleries that you can explore.

Is Grapevine a Destination?

For us, we found Grapevine to be a cute town more than worth a short detour. The people seem very friendly and the information centers are very helpful. But it hardly stands out as a destination.