Beautiful San Antonio is a city with over 300 years of tradition and culture that embraces both its Texan and Mexican heritage with equal vigour. Its famous River Walk remains the beating heart of the city, but it is also a designated Creative City of Gastronomy and home to the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas.
Click through the gallery for the must-visit places and authentic experiences that will show you the true character of this amazing Texan city...
Mi Tierra opened as a tiny three-table cafe for early-rising farmers and workers at the local mercado (market) in 1941 and has gone on to become a San Antonio Tex-Mex institution. The food is hearty and authentic – you’ll find the city’s best huevos rancheros here. And the decor is suitably over-the-top and dazzling. If it’s quiet, head waiter Gerry Sepulveda will take you on a tour of the premises, including the extraordinary mural celebrating Hispanic leaders in the community.
The missions in San Antonio date back to the 1700s and are the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas. They are a reminder of a time when drought forced the native people of South Texas to give up their traditional life to become Spanish, accepting a new religion and agrarian lifestyle in order to survive. Mission San Jose, known as the “Queen of the Missions”, is the largest too and was restored to its original design in the 1930s. Take a ranger-guided tour for unique insights into this fascinating period of Texan history.
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The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) takes you around the world and through 5,000 years of art in a collection of buildings that once housed the Lone Star Brewery. Visitors will particularly want to explore the museum’s extraordinary collection of Latin American art, including a number of pieces related to the city’s own colonial past. SAMA also houses special exhibitions, most recently American Made, an exhibition spanning over 250 years of American art.
Towering over a branch of Saks Fifth Avenue, right beside the busy Interstate 410, these stylish 36-foot-high (11m) boots have been marking the entrance of the North Star Mall for over 40 years. Made from tubular steel sprayed with polyurethane foam, they were designed and built by Austin-born artist Bob “Daddy O” Wade, who claims they could hold 300,000 gallons (1.13 million litres) of beer. They remain all the proof you need that everything really is bigger in Texas.
Chef Johnny Hernandez is a stalwart in the San Antonio foodie scene and a mentor to many of the city’s most exciting up-and-coming chefs. His dishes showcase the flavours of Mexico and the Southwest and La Gloria, in the hip Pearl district is the purest expression of what he does. It focuses on ocean fresh ceviche, tiraditos and enchiladas with a colourful new raw bar bringing fresh excitement to dining at La Gloria. All enjoyed alfresco, overlooking a lush section of the city’s River Walk.
San Antonio is famous for its authentic Day of the Dead celebrations, regarded by many as the grandest in the entire United States. As the end of October approaches you’ll notice ofrenda – altars – popping up all over the city – in hotels, shops, restaurants and other places of business – remembering and celebrating the lives of loved ones who have passed. The ofrenda are colourfully decorated with photos, candles, sugar skulls and paper papel picado – and fresh orange marigolds essential in guiding the spirits with their vibrant shade.
The official celebration begins with the Day of the Dead San Antonio River Parade. Visitors and locals alike line either side of River Walk in downtown San Antonio to cheer 26 colourfully decorated barges as they parade down the river. Each barge represents a different figure or tradition associated with the Day of the Dead, often with an accompanying Mariachi band to supply the soundtrack. Quite simply, it is one of the most colourful and joyous water parades you’ll ever see.
The focal point of San Antonio’s Day of the Dead celebrations is Muertos Fest, a huge cultural event held in Hemisfair, the city’s newly redeveloped central outdoor space. The paths are lined by authentic altars, created by local citizens, and there is live music, delicious street food and stalls selling all kinds of colourful produce as well. The event culminates in a spectacular procession, but most of the enjoyment comes from watching San Antonians parade through the park in their finest Day of the Dead costumes. The amount of work that goes into them is astounding.
On the same weekend as Muertos Fest, Tasting Texas is a four-day festival celebrating the unique culinary delights of this part of Texas. Visitors get to sample delicious menu items from the city’s best restaurants and sip on specialty drinks made right in front of you. There are seminars presented by chefs and beverage experts so you can sharpen your own skills. And each session has a different theme like ‘Burgers, Bourbon and Beer’ and ‘Bubbles, Booze and Bites’. Choose which one takes your fancy. Or attend them all.
Arguably San Antonio’s most famous landmark, The Alamo is a honey-stoned historic Spanish mission and fortress that holds a special place in the Texan psyche. The battle here in 1836, although lost, became a rallying point for the fight for Texan independence. The knowledgeable guides here explain the story as well as characters like Davy Crockett, who played their part in creating the legend. Make sure you check out the Phil Collins Collection. The former Genesis drummer accumulated the biggest collection of Alamo memorabilia in the world, and recently gifted it to the State of Texas.
Almost directly opposite the Alamo, in a handsome building that used to house the Lockwood National Bank, you’ll find the Maverick Whiskey Distillery. The distillery takes its name from Sam Maverick, a Texas land baron, cheater of death (he survived combat at the Alamo and being captured by the Mexican Army, among other feats) and one of the signatories of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He is also the man from which all other mavericks are named. The distillery is run by his great (x3) grandson Kenneth Maverick, and their distillery and tasting tour is a highlight of any visit to San Antonio.
The San Antonio Botanical Garden serves as a 38-acre living museum of plants and offers a tranquil escape from the Texas heat. The focus here is on Texas natives that thrive in arid conditions, as well as endangered plants not found anywhere else. Whether you take a guided tour or wander freely along its winding paths, each corner reveals another soothing vista. Or a terrifying mythical creature, sculpted from plants, part of the Imaginary Worlds: Once Upon a Time exhibition. Lunch at Jardin, the park’s elegant restaurant, is highly recommended too.
No trip to Texas is complete without a visit to a Honky Tonk Bar. And it doesn’t get much more Honky Tonk than The Lonesome Rose out in Tobin Hill on San Antonio’s St Mary’s strip. The lights are kept suitably low and the walls are covered in neon beer signs and country and western memorabilia. And on any given night you’ll find a red-hot band playing mournful tunes, country karaoke or, if you’re really lucky, hosting a Dolly Parton look-alike competition. Just pull up a stool, order a beer and take it all in.
Historic Market Square is where the culture of San Antonio comes alive. Here you can immerse yourself in the sights and flavours of old Mexico as well as pick up a truly unique souvenir from the hundreds of vendors selling authentic Mexican curios and artefacts, hand-crafted leather goods and a diverse collection of other cultural apparel. On the weekends there is live entertainment too, with Mariachi bands turning the whole square into a mini fiesta.
Located on the banks of the San Antonio River, the stunning Witte Museum is where nature, science and culture meet. Here you’ll find massive exhibits on dinosaurs, the people of the Pecos and wild Texas in a cavernous, recently renovated space that feels like a cathedral to learning. You’ll find recreations of traditional Texas buildings in the beautifully maintained grounds and, tucked away in the South Texas Heritage Center, a real treat: Davy Crockett’s fiddle, which he may or may not have played as the Alamo lay under siege.
Family owned and operated since 1917, Paris Hatters at 119 Broadway is the place to go if you want to buy a Stetson the proper way. Not only does the company have the largest inventory of the iconic cowboy hat in the country, it has the expertise to crease and style a Stetson to fit your head perfectly and bring out your hat’s unique personality. Satisfied customers include American presidents Bush, Eisenhower, Truman and Johnson, country music royalty Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam and more unlikely souls like Pope John Paul II and Luciano Pavarotti.
Brothers José and David Cáceres opened bakery-cafe La Panadería in 2014 to share their Mexican heritage and love for baking with the people of their adopted hometown of San Antonio. San Antonio locals promptly responded by making it the most popular breakfast spot in the city. You might have to queue on the weekends but the super-fresh Mexican pastries, hearty breakfasts and great coffee are well worth the wait.
Located just north of downtown San Antonio, Pearl is a hip new mixed-use neighbourhood, set in the grounds of a brewery that operated between 1883 and 2000. Now it is a bustling mix of picturesque green spaces, riverside paseos (walks), quirky boutique shops and some of the best new cafes and restaurants in the city. Start your visit with coffee and macarons at Bakery Lorraine and then just wander. You’re sure to find something that takes your fancy.
The real pearl of Pearl is the stunning Hotel Emma. Set in the main building of the old Pearl Brewing Company, it combines the extravagance of the iconic 19th century Brew House with the shirtsleeve industrial aesthetic of the brewery’s back rooms. Stay in one of the boutique rooms, enjoy world-class cuisine at the Supper restaurant or simply pay homage to the building’s heritage by enjoying a beer (or a cocktail) at the Sternewirth bar. Perhaps in one of the old vats, refashioned into hip little hidey-holes for modern day drinkers.
Life in San Antonio has always revolved around the San Antonio River. Downtown, the city’s famous River Walk sits below street level, lined with lively bars and restaurants, shaded by venerable bald cypresses and crossed over quaint stone arched bridges. It is a focal point when the city celebrates – the boat parade during the Day of the Dead, illuminations at various points of the year, boats full of carollers at Christmas. It is best enjoyed from the river itself, on a Go Rio cruise, where entertaining guides reveal the city’s history with great knowledge and humour.
In the late 1800s San Antonio’s plazas were famous for their ‘Chilli Queens’, local Mexican women doling out huge bowls of steaming chilli con carne. The original inhabitants had always eaten a chilli stew of sorts. But when the Spanish arrived with cattle, ‘chilli’ had a ‘con carne’ (with meat) for the first time. For real authentic chilli con carne, head to the Four Brothers restaurant at the Omni La Mansion del Rio hotel. Made following a traditional recipe, it also comes with a huge serving of cornbread, baked in the shape of Texas.
Briscoe Western Art Museum is San Antonio’s newest museum, named in honour of the late Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe Jr. Set in the former San Antonio Public Library building, overlooking River Walk, it features nine galleries, each celebrating the art, history and culture of the American West. Highlights include Pancho Villa’s saddle, a diorama of the Alamo, an authentic Chuck Wagon and works by Frederic Remington and Taos Society of Artists.
Shilo’s has been proudly serving up Texan-German fare for over 100 years and is San Antonio’s oldest restaurant. You feel that history as soon as you walk in the door, in the patina of the serving counters and booths and in the unashamedly old-fashioned menu items like meatloaf, wiener schnitzel and a sausage platter, served with two sides and a choice of breads. Its signature Rueben sandwich on a dark rye will keep you going all day. The iced coffees are divine too.
Head to San Antonio’s Main Plaza on any night other than Monday and you’ll be treated to The Saga, a breathtaking light show that depicts the discovery, settlement and development of the city. The unique video art presentation is projected onto the majestic facade of San Fernando Cathedral – the oldest cathedral in the United States – and is the brainchild of French artist Xavier de Richemont. The Saga debuted in 2014 and has become a must-see when visiting San Antonio. And a truly memorable introduction to the events and people that make it the city it is today.
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