17 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions & Things to Do in San Antonio

The Best Tourist Attractions in San Antonio

San Antonio is the center of the most popular historic locations and a magnificent city for Tourist Attractions. If you are fond of fun activities and minor adventures come to San Antonio.

Go for a walk or a boat ride along the River Walk and search for some Alamo trees and historic monuments. In order to enjoy good meals in San Antonio, try foods of the Pearl District or join a cooking class.

If you roam around the city center, you may find it a little bit boring. From caving and lodging, you will give up your inner cowboy near the Hill Country. Depending on the time you travel there, you will get the chance to enjoy their carnivals.

Find out what you can discover in San Antonio with the help of our list.

Walking, Dine, or sailing in San Antonio river walk

River Walk is the center of attraction in San Antonio. You can see stone walkways and many restaurants near the river floating from the city center. This is a hideaway with calm water, attractive bridges, and many kinds of birds.

Lots of people come here for outings, and enjoy some meal in the outdoors. The most suitable way to relax is to go on a canal boat while having dinner.

These canal boats have the possibility to carry 40 passengers. For dinner cruise, a large table is placed in the center and can lodge 20 guests. These slow Botas take you out of the busy lifestyle in the city and are a great way to relax your legs after a daytime journey.

A great way to travel is a combo San Antonio River Walk Cruise & Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour, in which you can visit the Tower of America.

Tour the Alamo in San Antonio

The Alamo takes a major position among historical monuments in the United States therefore you must visit there if you are going to San Antonio. The Alamo was established in 1718 and its church was built by Franciscans in 1744.

In 1836, the  Battle of the Alamo took place here, one of the famous battles in US history. A small troop established the Alamo againt  the Mexican Army of 3,000. All the defenders were killed, the legends such as  Davy Crockett and James Bowie. It is estimated that the battle has lasted only 20 muntes.

The Alamo became the center of Texan Independence, and the quote “Remember the Alamo” became the battle title. Now this place has become a National Monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Address: 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park & Mission Trail

In 2015, San Antonio  Missions were named as a UNESCO World Heritage, This became the first choice in the state of Texas. The Famous Alamo was built in the early 1700s, established by the Franciscan Order, and tried to colonize the region.

Today, it has become the greatest tourist attraction place. It’s lucky of you to see even the Alamo Mission San Jose and Mission Concepcion.

If you are considering traveling between the missions be sure to travel by motorbike. Within a one-day ride, you can travel all the places from the Alamo downtown to the other four missions.

This Mission Hike and Bike Journey are both nice experiences to have in life.  This is a lovely way to spend your vacation. Better you have a Junior Ranger activity book with your kids.

San Fernando Cathedral & San Antonio|The Saga

This place is most popular as a burial site for the heroes of the Alamo.  This is one of the oldest cathedrals in the US that is mentioned in the National Register of Historic monuments.  The walls are beautifully build up in 1750 by the Canary islanders.

The cathedral is very attractive to visit in the dark, at night San Antonio creates a visually attractive vibe. There you can see a video art installation, which is a 24-minute video on the right side of San Fernando Cathedral.

You can watch the history and the development of San Antonio by a large and amazing display with sounds. This is your night sightseeing place and should be included on your list.

Natural Bridge Caverns

These are the biggest caves in Texas displayed. It takes less than 30 minutes from San Antonio to this place. These picturesque caves are famous for their huge open rooms and attractive formations.

There are lots of tasks you can do more than touring the caves. If you are searching for a stimulation task there is the Canopy Challenge for you.  This is done by using platforms and ladders above the ground. There is an opportunity for the younger children as well.

Another task you can enjoy in the  Caverns is the gem and fossil mining experience. It is available for both kids and adults. There are stores you can buy souvenirs, foods, and different types of toffees.

Visting the Pearl District and the Farmers Market.

The Pearl is a  stylish historic district located in San Antonio. There are beautiful buildings, shops, and there are good food and hip restaurants. On the weekends the farmers come to the Pearl market in order to gather to the streets and sell fresh products, baked foods, and all the varieties they have.

The Pearl district has become popular for its great cuisine and amazing dining experiences.  When we come to the term dining all the restaurants are not expensive.

This area has nice weather and delicious foods.  The Culinary Institute of America has a connection to this area, and the significant restaurant “Nao Latin Gastro Bar” is located here.

Shopping and Dining at Historic Market Square (El Mercado)

This is the best place to find unique items and souvenirs. These stores and restaurants are considered the largest Mexican market in the US.  The indoor stores sell all the items from straw hats to pottery items.

These local shops have crafted artworks, and all kinds of paintings, accessories, costumes, musical instruments, and much more items.

When you end up shopping, go to the Mi Tierra Café Y Panadería for lunch or dinner. Or else have something from the bakery. This restaurant is a San Antonio institution owned by the Cortez family since 1941.

This restaurant is 24 hours opened and serves Mexican foods, and a beautifull place decorated with Christmas lights with a bakery counter on the right side.

Musicians are walking inside the restaurant and you must see the dining room walls of famous people and their family members.

Japanese Tea Garden

This is an attractive and relaxing place in San Antonio. Previously this is a rock quarry and now turned into a tranquil garden environment with exotic plants, ponds, waterfalls and lovely stone lines.  The walkways bend inside the garden. The restaurant Jingu House is an amazing dining area.

It takes about 10 minutes to the Japanese Tea Garden from the River Walk. You can visit the both Tea Garden and the nearby San Antonio zoo on the same day.

Botanical gardens in San Antonio

San Antonio is a spring in the green city. Have a walk around the garden and get amazed by the colors within the silent nature. There is the Mays Family display which is the native plants, the Water Saver display showing the drought-resistant plants. And one more side that attracts the kids 2.5-acre Family Adventure Garden.

Viisting to New Braunfels for Country Music and Small-Town

It takes about 40 minutes to the northeast from San Antonio, filled with adorable historic monuments and some unique music that belonged to the culture. The Gruene Historic District is the main site in San Antonio. Do you believe that an old Grist Mill is turned into this kind of beautiful riverside restaurant? And the famous Gruene Hall, which was the oldest dance hall in America.

Still, this building is been used for musical shows every day. Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, and George Strait are the three main performers who have been magnifying the stage for long years. And also the General store increases the beauty and the value in this place.

If you intend to visit New Braunfels during the summer, you will find it interesting to have a bath in the Guadalupe River. Frequently there are lots of people swimming and enjoying on hot days. You can also put Natural Bridge Caverns on your list to visit.

Fiesta San Antonio

The Fiesta is a 10-day festival held in the spring. Parades and functions with the popular Battle of Flowers parade are a common sight in San Antonio at this time. This gives the city a dramatic sense.

All the stores, restaurants, and houses are decorated because of this festival. The people collect money and wear metal pins, and they select “Fiesta King and Queen” according to their charity services in the area. If you have planned to spend this time in the city check for the “royal” motorcade drives through the city. It’s soo uncommon that the traffic stops as the parade goes.

Culinary Boot Camps & Cooking Classes

If you ever needed to improve your cooking skills, however, San Antonio will be the turning point for you. It is lucky of us that this city belongs one Culinary Institute of America among three of them.  This Campus has brought out the topic of foods into this beautiful city.

The CIA offers lessons and its own programs for food lovers who need to improve their cuisine e skills. Moreover, the institute organizes many camps for different types of food interests people and holds individual classes for them. The topic lessons depend on your favorites, and you can learn from baking to cooking.

While there is no necessity to register, you can join a Basic Boot Camp to know the basic things before the complex classes. If you are not fit with that join individual cooking classes. You can have some fun while learning the best cooking tips.

Art Museum in San Antonio

If you are willing to visit some museums, try the San Antonio museum and the McNay Art Museum for two different reasons.

The San Antonio Museum of Art has a collection of Greek and Roman antiques and also Asian, European, American arts. They also have rare Chinese ceramics and other Asian arts.

The McNay Art Museum has a collection of modern art and modern-day Indian Arts. The museum shows features of the medieval and Renaissance periods.

We recommend that visiting the Witte Museum is also valuable as you can see natural history, science, and cultural collections.

Zoos and Theme Parks

There are no facilities reserved for kids to have some fun in San Antonio. The best thing to do is spending a day in San Antonio Zoo and Aquarium with family members. It’s a 35 acre land with 3,500 animals of 750 species.

The zoo has a narrow railroad than the animal, and there is a merry-go-round for the kids. The animal will find the natural Bridge very interesting.

Six Flags Fiesta  Texas

This is a most popular attraction by the kids as there is a  water park made from an old rock quarry. You can have thrilling rides on the roller coaster and have a break and relax from the heat of the day. And you may sit back and enjoy the nice scenery.

The Picnics in Bandera

It takes an hour to reach Bandera from San Antonio, which calls the “cowboy capital of the world” .This is the place where the cowboy culture belongs and you can see them proofs by the consequences.

Golf Resorts in Sam Antonio

Though golf is not the main thing in the spring, there are beautiful golf resorts in San Antonio.  La Cantera Resort & Spa is the most famous place to play and enjoy.

 Lodgings in San Antonio for sightseeing.

To experience the dazzling and unique atmosphere in San Antonio, the River Walk or the Pearl District are the best places to stay.You can find luxurious and midrange hotels in this area, and you can find a cheap hotel in a 10 minutes walk away. You can see some of the best hotels in San Antonio

Luxury Hotels:

• One of the latest luxurious hotels is Hotel Emma in the Pearl Disrict. This is replaced in a building made in  1894. They provide well decorated rooms for thei customers.
• Mokara Hotel  and Spa is the only 4 star hotel in San Antonio. Above all the hotel is located in the right of the River Walk.
• The Hotel  Valencia is a cute place with decortated rooms, diniing rooms. Rooms are made with balconies which you can see the River walk and the yard.

Mid-Range Hotels:

• The recently refurbished Holiday Inn San Antonio Riverwalk is a good place with beautiful decorations.