San Antonio - Attractions

Attractions

San Antonio is a popular tourist destination.

The River Walk meanders through the Downtown area. It was one of the first restorations of an urban river. Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater, this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio. Also based along the River Walk is the newly restored Aztec On The River, the only surviving exotic-themed movie palace in Texas.

San Antonio has claims on being the birthplace of the spicey stew known as chili. It was introduced to the nation when the city sent a 'San Antonio Chili stand' to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Chili is still widely available. In passing, San Antonio is also the home of the Frito, the Cheeto and David Pace's Pace picante sauce.

The Alamo, located in Downtown, is Texas' top tourist attraction. Because of the mission, San Antonio is often called the "Alamo City." The River Walk is the second most visited attraction. SeaWorld, located 16 miles (26 km) west of Downtown in the city's Westover Hills district, is the number 3 attraction. Also, there is the very popular Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Morgan's Wonderland is a theme park for special needs children.

The Downtown Area also features Cathedral of San Fernando, The Majestic Theatre, HemisFair Park (home of the Tower of the Americas and UTSA's Institute of Texan Cultures), La Villita, El Mercado, the Spanish Governor's Palace, and the historic Menger Hotel. On the northern side of the Alamo complex, beside the Emily Morgan Hotel, is the San Antonio Cavalry Museum, which features cavalry artifacts and exhibits and is frequented by local re-enactors.

The Fairmount Hotel, built in 1906 and San Antonio's second oldest hotel, is in the Guinness World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever moved intact. It was placed in its new location, three blocks south of the Alamo, over four days in 1985, and cost $650,000 to move.

  • The Alamo, San Antonio's most famous attraction

  • The River Walk around Christmastime

  • San Antonio's historic River Walk extends some 2½ miles, attracting several million visitors every year.

  • Boat with sightseers on the San Antonio River

  • Another view of the city's downtown area

  • Central Library of The San Antonio Public Library

  • The Tower of the Americas characterizes the city's skyline

  • The historic Bexar County Courthouse

  • The San Antonio Convention Center

  • Rivercenter Mall in downtown San Antonio

  • The Buckhorn Museum with a plethora of western exhibits, is located in downtown San Antonio.

  • Pat O'Brien's Bar and Restaurant, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, has an outlet in downtown San Antonio.

  • San Antonio Children's Museum sign

  • Airplane exhibit at the San Antonio Children's Museum

  • Carriage rides in downtown San Antonio

  • The Shops at La Cantera is a non-enclosed shopping mall located near the University of Texas at San Antonio in the northwestern portion of the city.

  • The San Antonio Botanical Garden

  • San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

  • SeaWorld San Antonio

  • Aztec On The River Theater

  • IMAX Theater

  • C.H. Guenther and Sons flour mill and grain elevator

  • Emily Morgan Hotel

  • Tower Life Building

  • Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

  • Hot Wells, San Antonio, Texas (postcard, circa 1907)

San Antonio is home to the first museum of modern art in Texas, the McNay Art Museum. Other places of interest include The Southwest School of Art, The Woodlawn Theatre, the San Antonio Zoo, the Japanese Tea Gardens, Kumamoto, Brackenridge Park, the missions of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the Museo Alameda, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Witte Museum, the Texas Rangers Museum, the Buckhorm Museum, ArtPace, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Texas Transportation Museum, and Splashtown San Antonio. Visitors can also experience something of the cowboy culture year round, they can see the 40-foot (12 m) tall cowboy boots at North Star Mall.

Beyond taking in the sights and sounds of San Antonio, tourists can sample some of its world famous Tex-Mex cuisine at the many fine restaurants located throughout the city. Mexican restaurants are abundant in virtually the entire city, and most are relatively inexpensive. Some outstanding examples of Tex-Mex eateries include Jacala, on West Avenue on the inner Northwest Side, La Hacienda de Los Barrios, on the Northeast Side, Tommy's, a chain with three locations in San Antonio (the first one located on Nogalitos at I-35 near Downtown), and Los Barrios, on the near North Side of town.

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