Swiss Avenue & the Mansions of Old East Dallas

Swiss Avenue is the boulevard where wealthy Dallas first decided to live grandly. Named in the 1850s by a Swiss immigrant who farmed nearby, the muddy lane was paved and lengthened in 1905 as the spine of Munger Place, an exclusive new neighborhood whose developer set strict rules — minimum cost, two stories — but let owners pick their own styles. The result is a parade of Prairie, Tudor, Georgian, and Beaux-Arts mansions that became Texas's first planned mansion district and one of the country's first protected historic districts. This route walks the heart of the boulevard, taking in the marker for the avenue itself and several of its showpiece homes, then ranges a little farther to a Prairie-style mayor's house and a couple of grand old residences nearby. The core blocks are a lovely flat stroll; a few stops are far enough apart that you may want wheels between them.