San Antonio, Texas, is one of the most visited places in Texas, and I understand why. There is so much to do and see in San Antonio for all ages and walks of life. If you are planning a trip, here are ten unique things to experience in San Antonio, Texas. You don’t want to miss any of them.
San Antonio River Walk
The San Antonio River Walk is a 15 mile stretch of restaurants, shopping, and hotels along the San Antonio River. The dining and shopping attract millions of people to River Walk every year, making it the second most visited tourist attraction in Texas. There is every kind of cuisine you can imagine along with shopping for every budget. While we were there, we took a boat cruise down the river and learned a lot about River Walk and the buildings in the downtown area of San Antonio. The tour was well worth it, and I highly recommend it. While 15 miles of riverfront sounds like a lot of walking, you can navigate sections of River Walk easily. The Restaurants, Shopping, and Venues are located in the same areas so you can easily access them from the main roads where you have to park. There are also guides maps and GPS that can help you get to where you want to go easily.
We decided to go back to River Walk after dark, and it was a whole other experience. It was amazing and just as beautiful as it was in the daytime. We took the boat tour during the day, but we plan to do a boat tour after dark on our next visit.
The Alamo
The Alamo is the number one tourist attraction in all of Texas. We knew we wanted to see The Alamo, but people we talked to said it wasn’t much to see. We went anyway, and I am so glad we did. It was definitely my favorite place to visit. To tour The Alamo is free, but we chose to do the self-guided tour. We were handed phones, and as we walked through The Alamo, we would stop at numbered marker, where we pressed a button on the phone, and it told us the history or significance of what we were looking at. It was an excellent option for us, and we learned so much. The Alamo is one of 5 Missions that was in San Antonio. The Alamo was made famous because of the battle fought there and then defended what happened at The Alamo.
While The Alamo is the most famous of all the missions, there are actually five missions total, and the other ones are worth visiting as well. They tell the history of the Spanish settlers and give a glimpse into the history of the beginning of San Antonio, Texas.
Tower Of The Americas
The Tower Of The Americas was built for the 1968 World’s Fair. It stands in the middle of downtown San Antonio and is 750 feet tall, with a restaurant and an observation deck at the top. From the top, you can see all of San Antonio.
At the base of the tower, there is a gift shop and a movie theatre that plays three different 4-D films about 20 minutes long. It was a nice break from walking all day, and the movies were really good. While we were there, the film playing Ice Age: No Time For Nuts, Skies Over Texas 4D, and a modified version of Wonder Woman in 4D.
The Pearl San Antonio
The Pearl is a food and shopping district in downtown San Antonio. The Pearl was once home to Pearl Beer Brewery and has been transformed into a laidback paradise for residents and visitors to enjoy. While we were there, we saw lots of people with their dogs enjoying the bright Texas sunshine.
The Pearl District is a foodies destination and has access to River Walk. We ate at the famous Hotel Emma for breakfast, where they offered outdoor dining right on the San Antonio River.
The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and The Texas Ranger Museum
The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum and The Texas Ranger Museum were recommended to us by a friend from Texas. I am so glad she suggested it. It is two museums in one building. The first half of the museum is The Buckhorn Saloon Museum. The Buckhorn Saloon is the oldest in San Antonio and has an interesting history. Back in its heyday, the saloon owner would trade beer or whisky for antlers the patrons would bring in, eventually leading The Buckhorn to have the most extensive antler collection in the world. The antlers were used in decoration and making furniture. Some of the furniture that the owner created especially for Teddy Rosevelt is on display. There is a massive collection of taxidermied animals. The Texas Ranger Museum tells how the famous Texas Rangers started by defending their land and people and how they have kept tradition over the years as lawmen.
SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld is one of my favorite places to visit. It has some of the best rollercoasters ever, and I love their work with helping preserve our world and the sea life. SeaWorld San Antonio is a great day trip. You can easily see all of the attractions, shows, and rides. When we went, it was close to Halloween, and we were able to stay after dark for Howl-O-Scream. SeaWorld has special events throughout the year. SeaWorld is perfect for young children with a play area and splash pad area that is themed to Sesame Street characters. On the same property as SeaWorld, you can purchase a ticket and visit Aquatica, a waterpark, and Discovery Cove, a dolphin experience. It is a great experience for animal lovers or thrill-seekers.
Cool Crest Miniature Golf
While you can find miniature golf in almost every town you visit, Cool Crest Miniature Golf is truly unique. It has won awards for being one of the best courses. It was immaculate and laid out beautifully. When we paid to play, the cashier asked if we wanted to do the competitive course or the original course. We are not very good at mini-golf, and it had been a long day, so we opted for what we thought was the more laid-back course. Boy, were we wrong! This less challenging course was still incredibly tough. I fear that if we had chosen the other more competitive course, we would still be out there today trying to complete it. However, this was an enjoyable and unique course that challenged us and made us think outside the box on how to play. It was so much fun. There were kids ahead of us, and watching them with the course was so much fun. We even learned a few tricks from them.
Los Barrios Mexican Cuisine
Being in San Antonio, we ate a lot of Mexican Cuisine (which I was completely fine with). Los Barrios restaurant, however, is unique in the way that they have puffed tacos. The famous Puffed Tacos were featured on the Food Network on Throwdown with Bobby Flay and even served at the White House. If a taco gets that much attention, I just had to try it. It did not disappoint, and everything at Los Barrios was delicious.
Mary Ann’s Pig Stand World’s First Drive-In
The world’s first drive-in is pretty amazing. Although the carhops no longer serve you in your car, the food is still delicious, and you are dining at a historical place. You feel like you are stepping back into a moment in history when the world seemed a little more simple.
El Paraiso’s Ice Cream
El Paraiso is a family-owned business that started in 1984 and makes their ice cream bars and fruit bars in-house and sells them for 50 cents. While this isn’t a big attraction or restaurant like the other places on this list, they are definitely worth mentioning. We made several stops on our trip to get an ice cream bar. They have a large variety of flavors they offer and are delicious.
What are your “must-dos” in San Antonio? Leave your favorite in the comments and let us know.
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Sounds like s super fun time. My stepson and family just returned and loved it. They took our 3 year old grandson and had a blast. I can’t wait to visit one day. I have never been to Texas but for some reason it always calls to me.
I feel the same way. I had only been through the top portion of Texas on my way to New Mexico one time, but I feel like it was calling me.
Pinning this for later! I’ve had the riverwalk on my list, but didn’t know about the museum. These are some great ideas!
I went there for a conference a few years back- the Riverwalk area was amazing! Looks like I need to go back and see more of the city 🙂
Yes! You won’t regret it.
San Antonio is on my bucket list!! This makes me want to go even more!!!
I have already booked my 2nd trip for January. I would move there if I could.
I loved visiting Riverwalk.
Ok, those pancakes look amazing!
Ohhhh, they were! And the view at the restaurant was amazing.
I have been to San Antonio several times, so I was surprised to find some new things on your list. Thanks for giving us some new places to explore on our next visit!
I haven’t been to San Antonio since I was a kid. It would be fun to go back and check out some of your highlights. I think I would start at the River Walk
River Walk was amazing. I loved the atmosphere.
I have never been to Texas and would love to visit in the winter I live in Utah and we can have long winters. Thanks for sharing!
We have a trip planned for January and I can’t wait to see what winter is like there. While we were there the temperature was cool one morning, and all the local people were bundled up. I was comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt.
It’s been years since I’ve been to San Antonio and I definitely want to get back there! This sounds like the perfect mix of things to do!
I fell in love with San Antonio. There is so much to do and it is family friendly.