Well I may no longer be traveling Europe, and COVID-19 may be restricting new, adventurous travel plans, but local weekend getaway trips are a must! When most people think of Dallas-Fort Worth, they forget about the really neat towns in the metroplex that aren’t the big cities. Well, ok… McKinney has almost 200,000 people, so it’s not exactly a town (Unlike the *Ghost* Town of Thurber with its 48 residents…). Mckinney, Texas is located 32 miles North of Dallas. There are so many fun things to do in Mckinney, and lucky for you, I’m writing down my top favorite ones!
Visit the Croatian Village
Wait, did I say I’m no longer traveling Europe? I lied, I definitely went to Croatia… Ok, I didn’t, but I did go to Adriatica Village in McKinney. This nifty development makes you feel like you’ve been transported to a small fishing village on the coast of Croatia. Jeff Blackard is the real estate developer behind this amazing development, and he has even more developments like this in the works. Neoretroism is the design philosophy behind Adriatica Village, which is essentially making old, new again! There are several nice restaurants and stores in the development, but the bell tower and chapel are the crown jewels of Adriatica Village in Mckinney. A word of warning though, it can be incredibly hot if you go during the summer. There wasn’t a ton of shade.
Exploring Downtown Mckinney
If you know me, you know I am a sucker for a vibrant town square (Thank you Ghost Whisperer & Gilmore Girls for instilling me with my love of town squares). Mckinney’s Historic Downtown definitely takes the cake for one of the best squares I’ve been to (I think Savannah, GA wins, purely due to the number of squares haha). From cute antique shops to nice coffee shops, you can spend hours roaming downtown Mckinney finding things to do. Of course, this wouldn’t be a Botanical Texan post if I didn’t share my top picks for where you should stop at:
Downtown Mckinney: Eating
Unfortunately, I’ve hardly even scratched the surface of all the places to eat at the Downtown McKinney Square. Nonetheless, every place I have been to thus far has been top shelf! You can find a comprehensive list of all of the restaurants here, but here are my recommendations:
- Mellow Mushroom: This place may be a chain pizza place, but it’s so good! There are only 8 in Texas, and McKinney happens to be home to one of those 8! Now, it may known for its pizza, but their hoagies are out of this world delicious! I’ll put it this way, once I tried a hoagie, I stopped ordering their pizza.
- Emporium Pies: Do you like pie? Oh who am I kidding, if you don’t like pie you’re an alien! Then again, even aliens probably like pie! Emporium Pies are the best pies in DFW! They always have an abundant amount of flavours available, and even seasonal pies. My top Pie recommendations are the Smooth Operator(Silk Chocolate Pie), The Lord of the Pies (Apple Strusal Pie), and In the Limelight (Key Lime Pie).
- Wattage Coffee Company: Located inside of Cadance Cyclery, this coffee shop is too neat. Now I’m a big bike rider in genral (Although, I currently don’t own a bike… so much sadness), and adding delicious, European style coffee to the cycling aestic is a major plus. 10/10 would recommend grabbing an iced coffee!
Downtown Mckinney: Shops
If you’re a long time reader you know I’m a sucker for eclectic & vintage shops. The Mckinney Square certainly doesn’t disappoint when it comes to shops in those categories! My wallet cries any time I go shopping in Downtown Mckinney, because it knows I’m going to be spending money. Here are my must stop at stores:
- Doozey’s Corner: This shop as a mixture of boutique items and vintage!
- Fair & Square: I’ve got one word: ALPACAS
- Jasper and Pearls: If my whole wardrobe could come form this store, it would! Very Boho chic style clothing.
- Antique Company Mall: I’ve never spent less than an hour wandering around this store. If you want to find the neatest antiques at a VERY reasonable price, this is the place. I even found my dad an old boy scouts cookbook that he used when he was a scout!
- Ambrosia: This store has a lot of home decor & the best smelling perfume!
- Sharla’s: Ok, I can’t afford anything in this store because its all luxury, but it literally feels like you’ve been transported to Paris when you enter, so I always have a blast walking around and looking.
Downtown Mckinney: Seasonal
Like all classic town squares, McKinney has it’s fair share of festivals! They have Octoberfest at the end of September, a wine and art festival in April, an Independence day parade, and a Christmas festival! I’ve only been to the Christmas one, and let me tell you, I felt like I was back at the Christmas markets in Germany! There was a carousel to ride, candied apples to eat, and best of all, a Christmas tree park! If you are making a trip to Mckinney, I recommend scheduling it around one of their festivals for extra fun!
As far as exploring DFW goes, there are a lot of things to do in Mckinney! You will be transported across Europe and yet never leave Texas. Amazing, right?! Hopefully, I’ve convinced you to go check out the things to do in Mckinney! Are there any towns in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that you just love to visit? If so, let me know in the comments!