San Antonio is easily one of the coolest cities we have ever visited. It is full of beauty and charm. This city is full of vibrant color, incredible food, plenty of activity (both day and night), beautiful architecture, and exciting history. This is an awesome city to get lost in, it has so much to offer. And, bonus, for such a large city (7th largest in the U.S. based on population), it is impeccably clean. If you are planning a trip to San Antonio for a couple of days, make sure you check out our must-dos from when we had a weekend in San Antonio.
The San Antonio Missions
The city of San Antonio was founded over 300 years ago and the Spanish missions followed shortly after. These missions are spread out along the Camino Real de Tejas. This road went from Mexico City to Louisiana originally. There are four missions run by the National Park Service located along the Camino Real in and around San Antonio (The Alamo is run by the state of Texas). These sites are still active churches where worship services occur on Sundays and other religious holidays. Today, the missions are all connected by the Mission Trail.
The Mission Trail is an incredible road that runs from Mission Espada in the south all the way to the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. We recommend driving because there are plenty of places to stop along the San Antonio River, but if you fly in there is a bus service that stops at all of the missions.
The best way to visit the missions is to start in the south and move north towards downtown. The missions get larger as you go this route, so it just gets better and better. Mission Espada is the farthest south. This is the first mission built in all of Texas, all the way back in 1690. These are beautiful grounds here and a wonderful little chapel. The next one up is Mission San Juan. This one was probably our least favorite, but still beautiful.
Mission San Jose is next and this one is definitely a can’t miss. Before you get there though, make sure you stop between San Juan and San Jose along the river, so pretty! Mission San Jose is the main mission. This is where you will find the visitor center for the National Parks, get your stamps, do the Junior Ranger activities, and learn most of the history. It is crazy how big the grounds are here, and the architecture is amazing. Mission Concepcion is the final mission before the Alamo. It is simply stunning. Definitely take some time to go down the Mission Trail.
Japanese Tea Garden
We love a good Japanese Tea Garden, who doesn’t? We fell in love with Japanese Tea Gardens during our time in San Francisco a couple of years ago. When we heard that San Antonio had one we knew we had to check it out!
These gardens are run by the city and have been open to the public since 1901. The park used to be a rock quarry but was transformed into a beautiful garden. There are some incredible bridges, winding walkways through beautiful gardens, a pretty impressive waterfall feature, ponds, and an immense pavilion at the entrance overlooking the whole park.
The tea garden does have a restaurant but it wasn’t the most authentic place to grab some tea. Meg is a true tea drinker so she was a little disappointed in the selection there. But, it is a good place to grab a bite to eat and a drink.
An interesting part of the garden is the main entrance actually says Chinese Tea Garden. The reason for that is because during World War II they changed the name and never changed that sign. It stands as a pretty somber reminder of that time in history.
The gardens get very crowded during the day, so try and go early or late (which helps beat the heat too). The park is open 7 am to 5 pm 365 days a year. Admission is free. This is not the best tea garden we have been to but is definitely worth a visit.
Remember The Alamo
If you are going to San Antonio you have to visit the Alamo. This is the symbol not only of the city but the state of Texas. This is one of the most important historical landmarks in the United States and it is special to be on the grounds there.
The Alamo is owned by the State of Texas and is run by the Alamo Trust. They do a fantastic job of telling the story of the brave men and women of the Alamo leading up to the battle but also the history before it.
As weird as it sounds, our least favorite part of our visit at the Alamo was actually going inside the Alamo. You can’t take pictures in there which is understandable, and it is pretty dark and plain in there. The rest of the grounds are the highlight in our opinion. They have a great gift shop there as well.
The Alamo opens every day at 9 and closes at 5:30 or 7 pm depending on the time of year you visit. There is no admission charge to enter the Alamo, though there are some guided tours that come highly recommended that have a charge.
Explore The Riverwalk
The crown jewel of the whole city is the San Antonio Riverwalk. Overall the Riverwalk is 15 miles long with 5 miles going through downtown. This is one of the most beautiful places you will find in any city in the U.S. There are incredible walkways on both sides of the river, world-famous bridges, incredible restaurants, fantastic shopping, and stunning gardens. It is a perfect place to go for a peaceful stroll in the morning and get out in crowds for some exciting nightlife.
The Riverwalk is free to walk down but for a relatively small fee you can book a trip on one of the many boats that go up and down the river. Go Rio Cruises offers different types of cruises depending on the time of year you visit. If you can go around Christmas, try and go at night so you can get the Christmas light cruise. We were able to do that and had so much fun. The lights go on the day after Thanksgiving and stay up a couple of days after the New Year.
Historic Market Square
Market Square is an incredibly colorful open air market where you can find just about anything you need. It is a place that is simply full of life. There is great live music, street performers, food vendors, and so much more. You have to get over to this historic shopping area when you are in San Antonio.
We had so much fun shopping and finding some pretty cool stuff from San Antonio. You can get lost for hours shopping in this area. However, the best thing about the open air market might be the churros! The churros we bought here were easily the best ones we have ever eaten – and we have had Disneyland churros. Crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Just fantastic!
Tower of the Americas
The Tower of the Americas soars 750-feet above the San Antonio skyline. It is a great place to get some epic views of the city. The tower was built for the World’s Fair in 1968 and celebrated San Antonio turning 250 years old. In addition to the observation deck at the top the site offers an immersive 4D theater and a gift shop. There is a cafe at the foot of the tower with reasonably priced food and Chart House Restaurant at the top. You typically will need to make a reservation for this place and expect to pay over $100 for a date night.
The cost for a ticket is $14.50 for adults, $11.50 for kids 3-12, and under 3 there is no charge. There are military and senior discounts as well. The ticket covers the observation deck, the 4D Theater, and Flags Over Texas. They do charge for parking, so expect another $8-15 depending on the day. The tower is open 4-10 pm Monday – Thursday, 12-11 pm Friday and Saturday, and 12-10 pm Sunday.
San Antonio: The Saga
This was a super unexpected highlight of our time in San Antonio. We absolutely loved this! San Antonio: The Saga is a laser light show that plays on the historic San Fernando Cathedral. This is the oldest operating sanctuary in North America, and it is located right in the middle of San Antonio. This show tells the story of San Antonio and it really is amazing, you can’t miss this.
San Antonio: The Saga is a 24-minute, 7,000 square foot projection show that plays every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This show is completely free to the public. There are usually three showings every night, but the hours change depending on the night you go so make sure you check their website in advance. This show is scheduled to go on until 2024, so get there soon!
Mi Tierra Cafe & Bakery
We ate a ton of really great food in San Antonio but our favorite experience was at Mi Tierra Cafe & Bakery. This place is kind of touristy but in a really good way. It is located in Historic Market Square and there is always a line to get in. This place has a tasty bakery, an awesome food menu, and a pretty large bar area.
Everything we had was really great. All of us enjoyed our meals. Megan was especially a fan of the Tres Leches cake. Highly recommended.
So, that is it! Our must-dos for a weekend in San Antonio. We know that there are some great theme parks and San Antonio has a great zoo, but we just didn’t have time for those this time around. Just another reason to head back there again soon! Have you ever been to San Antonio? What are some places we should check out next time? Let us know in the comments and have fun Going The Adventure Way!
Looking for some other fun guides to cities in the U.S.? Check out our guide to Richmond, Baltimore, or New Orleans.
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