My Six Favorite Activities in San Antonio
A few years back we took a Texas road trip with Ryan’s Brother and his girlfriend. One of our main stops was the city of San Antonio, Texas. Ryan and his brother stayed the first night then went on to their hog hunt and his brother’s girlfriend and I stayed on a few more days. We explored this beautiful city with ease by walking and using their bus system. You can never see it all so because time is short, I have narrowed down my six favorite activities in San Antonio to incorporate in your trip. They are in no particular order.
6. Visiting the Alamo
One of San Antonio’s most well known sites is the Alamo. It is a commendable example of architecture with an iconic story that you will learn about in it’s inner exhibits. There are also some related artifacts displayed inside. It’s not a large site so it won’t take you long to see it all but you just can’t visit San Antonio without checking it out at least once. Remember the Alamo and all that jazz.
5. Shopping at River Center
Have you ever seen a view like this in a shopping mall? This San Antonio mall is right on the end of the river walk. It has a pretty standard offering of American shopping mall stores but it served us particularly well on a day we were rained out. When you are done shopping there are numerous restaurants just outside with views of the river walk. Or book one of the dinner cruises that load at this end of the riverwalk.
4.Going up the Tower of the Americas
For a price, you can go up the Tower of the Americas in one of the three elevators to the observation deck. Once up there you have the best views of the San Antonio skyline. You can also book to eat at the restaurant they have up at the top. Both Daytime and Nighttime viewing times are available. I recommend goin right at sunset to get the best of both. The tower is located in Hemisfair park which I wish we had more time to better explore as it seems like a fun space in it’s own right.
3. Walking the River Walk
San Antonio’s Riverwalk is a network of walkways along the San Antonio River. We savored our time strolling along it’s paths. At certain spots along the route there are stairs back up to the street if you need to get out to another location. Additionally, along the walkways are tourist shops, restaurants and hotels. We tried out a Mexican and an Italian restaurant on the riverwalk, with the river view of course, and enjoyed them both thoroughly. It has the potential to be very romantic if you go with your partner and either way is quite beautiful.
2. Exploring Missions National Historical Park
These beautiful 1700’s christian missions are remnants of the Spanish attempts to convert the native community to christianity. It’s a pretty somber story that they explain in a short video in the visitor center. Given that they pre-date the United States, they are very old in comparison to most sites in America. One tip, be aware of your surroundings if taking public transportation like we did. The San Jose Mission, pictured above, is across from a pretty sketchy area and we met some interesting characters waiting for the bus. I actually preferred it over the Alamo for both it’s historical significance, beautiful buildings and natural spaces.
1. Two-Steppin
Two Step is a classic, southern style dance, and it’s a perfect taste of Texas. There is nothing like checking out a southern dance hall where everyone seems to know all the moves. Watching them is captivating. We checked out the Cowboys Dance Hall, a huge venue that also hosts a mechanical bull. Although we have no idea how to two step, we went out there and gave it a go and had a blast. Not to mention, you get to listen to some live country music. This particular hall requires a vehicle to get to as it is off the usual tourist beat.
San Antonio may be lesser known in comparison to it’s counterparts in Dallas and Austin but it is a city that stands on it’s own in history, culture and natural beauty. We highly recommend a visit to enjoy the top activities it has to offer. Any other sites you think deserve to be on the list? Would love to hear from you in the comments below.
Want to hear more about our road trip? Follow the link Here.
4 Comments
MIchelle
One of my favorite cities! We love visiting San Antonio and find ourselves down there so often since we are from Texas! Looks like you had a great trip!
Rebecca
We visited San Antonio a few years ago, before we lived in Texas. High time we got back here! I’ve never visited the missions, but i LOVE the Riverwalk.
Sylvia
San Antonio’s looking good! I’d totally do the River walk and check out the dancing hall.
Dawn
San Antonio looks interesting place to visit. The view up the tower of Americas is really amazing. Great post, thanks for sharing.