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Top Attractions in San Antonio

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a National Historical Park and World Heritage Site preserving four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio, Texas, USA. These outposts were established by Catholic religious orders to spread Christianity among the local natives. These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. In geographic order from north to south the missions are located as follows: Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. The Espada Aqueduct, also part of the Park, is due east of Mission San Juan, across the river. The fifth mission in San Antonio, the Alamo, is not part of the Park, rather it is owned by the State of Texas, and operated by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas; it is upstream from Mission Concepcion in Downtown San Antonio.

Six Flags Over Texas

Six Flags Over Texas is a 212-acre theme park located in Arlington, Texas, east of Fort Worth and about 15 miles west of Dallas. It was the first Six Flags Theme Park, but because of later acquisitions it is not the oldest park of the Six Flags chain . The park opened on August 5, 1961, following just a year of construction and an initial investment of US$10 million by real estate developer Angus G. Wynne, Jr. Since its opening, Six Flags Over Texas has consistently performed well in terms of attendance and revenue, despite its history of ever-changing owners and expansions. The park currently has several amusement rides and attractions, bringing in thousands of visitors daily. The park is managed, but not owned, by the Six Flags Entertainment Corp., in an arrangement similar to that for Six Flags Over Georgia. Six Flags Over Texas is owned by a group of approximately 120 limited partners—some the heirs of Angus G. Wynne. Starting in 1991, the park was managed by Time Warner Entertainment. In 1998, Time Warner sold its interests in the Six Flags parks to Premier Parks of Oklahoma City, which later changed its name to Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc.

University of Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio is a state research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. With over 28,000 students, it is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest in the state of Texas. Its three campuses span over 747 acres of land, with its main campus being the largest in the University of Texas System. UTSA offers a wide array of academic studies, with 133 undergraduate, 51 graduate and 24 doctoral programs. In 2012 and 2013, it was selected by Times Higher Education as one of the best universities in the world under 50 years old. UTSA is a member of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, a consortium of the nation's major doctorate-level universities dedicated to collaboration and scientific advancement. It is an institutional member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, recognizing its influence and role as a Hispanic-serving institution. UTSA is also a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, an organization of public institutions that seek to both offer educational excellence and opportunities to historically under-served populations. Established in 1969, UTSA has evolved to become the fourth largest institution within the UT System. Through an aggressive expansion of its academic funding, the university devoted over $56 million to research in 2011. Its football team has competed in Conference USA since 2013, previously playing a stint in the WAC and as an FCS independent. Alongside seven other emerging research institutions, The University of Texas at San Antonio is currently in competition to become Texas' third flagship university.

Alamo Mission in San Antonio

The Alamo Mission in San Antonio, commonly called the Alamo, and originally known as the Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in the eighteenth century as a Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, it was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. The Alamo is now a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District. The compound was one of the early Spanish missions in Texas, built for the education of area Native Americans after their conversion to Christianity. In 1793, the mission was secularized and then abandoned. Ten years later, it became a fortress housing a military unit, the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras, who likely gave the mission the name Alamo. During the Texas Revolution, Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos surrendered the fort to the Texian Army in December 1835, following the siege of Bexar. A relatively small number of Texian soldiers then occupied the compound for several months. They were soundly defeated at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. When the Mexican army retreated from Texas several months later, they tore down many of the Alamo walls and burned some of the buildings. For the next five years, the Alamo was periodically used to garrison soldiers, both Texian and Mexican, but was ultimately abandoned. In 1849, several years after Texas was annexed to the United States, the U.S. Army began renting the facility for use as a quartermasters depot. The U.S. Army abandoned the mission in 1876 after nearby Fort Sam Houston was established. The Alamo chapel was sold to the state of Texas, which conducted occasional tours but made no effort to restore it. The remaining buildings were sold to a mercantile company which operated them as a wholesale grocery store. After forming in 1892, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas began trying to preserve the Alamo. In 1905, Adina Emilia De Zavala and Clara Driscoll successfully convinced the state legislature to purchase the remaining buildings and to name the DRT as the permanent custodian of the site. Over the next century, periodic attempts were made to transfer control of the Alamo from the DRT. In early 2015, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush officially removed control of the Alamo to the Texas General Land Office. On July 5, 2015, the Alamo was designated a UN World Heritage site.

Bracken Cave

Bracken Cave is the summer home to the largest colony of bats in the world. An estimated 20 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats roost in the cave from March to October making it the largest known concentration of mammals. The cave is located in southern Comal County, Texas, outside the city of San Antonio. The 100-foot-wide crescent shaped opening to the cave lies at the bottom of a sinkhole, formed when the roof of the cave collapsed. The cave and 1,521 undeveloped acres around it are owned by Austin, Texas-based Bat Conservation International, which restores the land to support native vegetation and an abundant variety of wildlife. Bat Conservation International bought the initial 697 acres from the Marbach family, and has been assisted in preservation efforts by The Nature Conservancy. Access to the cave is restricted to protect the habitat of the resident bats. Bat Conservation International offers evening guided tours to the cave to watch the bats emerge from the cave.

Natural Bridge Caverns

The Natural Bridge Caverns are the largest known commercial caverns in the U.S. state of Texas.The name was derived from the 60 ft natural limestone slab bridge that spans the amphitheater setting of the caverns entrance. The span was left suspended when a sinkhole collapsed below it. The caverns are located near the city of San Antonio, Texas in the Texas Hill Country next to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, a drive-through wildlife safari park. The caverns feature several unique speleothems and other geological formations. The temperature inside the cave is 21 degrees Celsius year-round and the humidity rate is a constant 99 percent. The deepest part of the public tour is 180 feet below the surface, although undeveloped areas of the cavern reach depths of 230 feet. The caverns are still very active and considered living. Due to the porosity of the limestone, rainwater travels downwards through the layers of rock, where it dissolves out calcite, a weak mineral that makes up all of the speleothems at Natural Bridge Caverns. After exiting the limestone, water enters the caverns where it flows and drips constantly throughout, causing the formations to retain a waxy luster that can be seen in few caverns.

Mission Concepcion

Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña was established in 1716 as Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais in East Texas. It was originally meant to be a base for converting the Hasinai. The mission was moved in 1731 to San Antonio. After its relocation most of the people in the mission were Pajalats who spoke a Coahuiltecan language. Founded by Franciscan friars, this is the best preserved of the Texas missions. The Battle of Concepción was fought here on October 28, 1835 between Mexican troops under Colonel Domingo Ugartechea and Texian insurgents led by James Bowie and James Fannin. The 30-minute engagement, is described as "the first major engagement of the Texas Revolution" by historian J.R. Edmondson. Located at 807 Mission Road, Concepcion was designated a National Historic Landmark on April 15, 1970 and is part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Restoration of the missions interior was completed in March 2010 after six months of work. Catholic Mass is still held every Sunday.

Mission San José (Texas)

Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo is a historic Catholic mission in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The mission was named in part for the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, José de Azlor y Virto de Vera. Many buildings on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, borrow architectural elements from those found at Mission San José. The mission was founded on February 23, 1720, because Mission San Antonio de Valero had become overcrowded shortly after its founding with refugees from the closed East Texas missions. Father Antonio Margil received permission from the governor of Coahuila and Texas, the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, to build a new mission 5 miles south of San Antonio de Valero. Like San Antonio de Valero, Mission San José served the Coahuiltecan Indians. The first buildings, made of brush, straw, and mud, were quickly replaced by large stone structures, including guest rooms, offices, a dining room, and a pantry. A heavy outer wall was built around the main part of the mission, and rooms for 350 Indians were built into the walls. A new church, which is still standing, was constructed in 1768 from local limestone. The mission lands were given to its Indians in 1794, and mission activities officially ended in 1824. After that, the buildings were home to soldiers, the homeless, and bandits. Starting in 1933, the Civil Works Administration and then the Works Progress Administration provided the labor to rebuild and restore the grounds of the mission. Some of the funding for the restoration came from money allotted by the United States for the Texas Centennial Exposition held in Dallas in 1936. The mission walls and Indian quarters were re-built, and the granary was restored. The church facade features from the top: a cross, representing Jesus Christ, St. Joseph holding the infant Jesus, St. Dominic and St. Francis, Our Lady of Guadalupe , and St. Joachim and St. Anne holding the infant Mary. Mission San José is now part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. In 2015, along with The Alamo and Mission Concepcion, it became one of five missions in San Antonio designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Splashtown San Antonio

Splashtown San Antonio is a water park located in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Its most recent name was "Splashtown USA," and it was affiliated with Six Flags SplashTown in Houston at some point. Splashtown San Antonio opened in 1985 as Water Park USA. It was sold to Wave Management, its second owner, in 1989. Its third owner since it opened was Chrismari Inc. of San Antonio. Chrismari Inc. bought the park in 1991 and formed Surf San Antonio Inc. to manage the property, with Keith D. Kinney serving as president and general manager. International Theme Park Services Inc. announced in 2005 that it was looking for a buyer for Splashtown San Antonio. During 2006, Mr. Kinney bought out the other shareholders interest in the property and became the sole owner. Located on the citys inner northeast side, Splashtown features a half-million-gallon wave pool, a quarter-mile-long lazy river, 40 water slides and tube rides tall), an activity pool with lily pads and balance logs, water and beach volleyball, and basketball.

Tower of the Americas

The Tower of the Americas is a 750-foot observation tower/restaurant located at HemisFair Park on the southeastern portion of Downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. The tower was designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford and was built as the theme structure of the 1968 World's Fair, HemisFair '68. The Tower was the tallest observation tower in the United States from 1968 until 1996, when the Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower was completed. It is the tallest building in San Antonio, the 27th tallest building in Texas, and the tallest building in Texas outside of Dallas or Houston. The Tower is located in the middle of HemisFair Park and has an observation deck that is accessible by elevator for a fee. In addition, there is also a lounge and revolving restaurant at the top of the tower that provides panoramic views of the city. The fastest recorded time up the tower's 952 steps is 5 minutes 18 seconds on January 29, 1981.

La Villita

La Villita Historic Arts Village is an art community in downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. There are art galleries, stores selling souvenirs, gifts, custom jewelry, pottery, and imported Mexican folk art, as well as several restaurants in the district. La Villita connects to the San Antonio River Walk and its outdoor venue, the Arneson River Theatre. It is close to the Alamo, the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Rivercenter Mall, and HemisFair Park. It is within walking distance of most downtown hotels. Located on the south bank of the San Antonio River, La Villita was one of San Antonio's first neighborhoods. In 1939, as ground broke on the San Antonio River Walk development, city officials led by Mayor Maury Maverick acted to preserve this part of San Antonio's history. It was an Native American settlement and then a collection of primitive brush huts, called jacales, for the Spanish soldiers stationed nearby at the Mission San Antonio de Valero (an active mission from about 1718 to 1793, now better known as the Alamo). After a flood in 1819 washed away most of the huts, more substantial adobe houses replaced them. Late in the 19th century, European immigrants from Germany, France, and Italy moved into the area and soon became active in business and trades: retailers, bankers, educators, and craftsmen. The variety of architectural styles seen in La Villita's buildings reflects the cultural mix, from the one-room homes of the poor to the larger houses of the prosperous. La Villita deteriorated into a slum in the early part of the 20th century. During the Great Depression, work began on the River Walk, a make-work project funded by the Works Progress Administration which came close to La Villita. The project, led by Mayor Maury Maverick, sponsored a companion effort in 1939 by the National Youth Administration to restore and preserve this colorful part of San Antonio's history. The NYA offered classes in arts and crafts as part of its program. Today La Villita is an arts community, and is included in the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bexar County, Texas. The galleries and shops found in one city block offer art by local and regional artists featuring oil paintings, sculptures, watercolors, metal art, rock art, textiles, copperwares, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, and regional folk art. During four nights of the Fiesta San Antonio each April, La Villita is host to a Night in Old San Antonio with dozens of booths grouped to offer fifteen areas for various kinds of food, such as Sauerkraut Bend, China Town, Irish Flat, and the Mexican Market. The outdoor festival, with its narrow streets decorated with paper flowers and papel picado (cut paper banners), typically attracts 85,000 celebrants, many wearing costumes and unusual hats. The event is a major fundraiser for the San Antonio Conservation Society.

San Antonio River Walk

The San Antonio River Walk is a network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath the streets of Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. Lined by bars, shops and restaurants, the River Walk is an important part of the city's urban fabric and a tourist attraction in its own right. Today, the River Walk is an enormously successful special-case pedestrian street, one level down from the automobile street. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shops, connecting the major tourist draws from the Alamo to Rivercenter Mall, to the Arneson River Theatre, to Marriage Island, to La Villita, to HemisFair Park, to the Tower Life Building, to the San Antonio Museum of Art, and the Pearl Brewery. During the annual springtime Fiesta San Antonio, the River Parade features flowery floats that float down the river.

United States Army Medical Department Museum

The U.S. Army Medical Department Museum — or AMEDD Museum — at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, originated as part of the Armys Field Service School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. It moved to Fort Sam Houston in 1946. It is currently a component of the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School. The museum features the history of the Army Medical Department from 1775 to the present, as well as medical contributions of the Army during times of peace and war. General areas covered are significant historical events, scientific and technological advances, development of the medical field service and contributions of key officers and enlisted personnel. Audio-visual presentations introduce the history of the Department. Two large galleries house the medical equipment, uniforms, medals, insignia and artwork that make up the museums exhibits. Museum holdings include material on medical personnel, POWs in World War IIs Pacific Theater, unit insignia and archival documents and photographs. The museum has been chosen to preserve historic artifacts from Navy Hospital Corps School Great Lakes. BRAC 2005 resulted in transferred of Corps School from Chicago to the Medical Education and Training Campus, also located on Fort Sam Houston.

Casa Navarro State Historic Site

Casa Navarro is a historic site in San Antonio, Bexar County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The original house complex was the residence of Texas patriot José Antonio Navarro, a rancher, merchant, leading advocate for Tejano rights, and one of only two native-born Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence. Navarro first bought the property, about 1.5 acres, in 1832. The limestone, caliche block, and adobe structures were built circa 1832–1855, and Navarro moved onto the property soon after. The site is situated in the heart of old San Antonio, in what used to be a thriving Tejano neighborhood known as Laredito. The structures were acquired and restored by the San Antonio Conservation Society between 1960 and 1964, and the site was opened to the public in October 1964. The site was designated a Texas State Historic Landmark in 1962, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. On January 1, 2008, the house was transferred from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission. Today, visitors can tour Navarro’s one-story limestone house — a fine example of early-statehood domestic architecture — read copies of his writing and discuss questions of history with informed staff. There is also a two-story square store and office building, noted for its bold quoins, which anchor the edges of the building’s walls. The detached adobe and caliche block kitchen is typical of early Texas architecture with front and rear porches.

Norton-Polk-Mathis House

The Norton-Polk-Mathis House, also known Villa Finale, is a historic house in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Local merchant Russel C. Norton began construction on the house in 1876. The house was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1971. It is a contributing property to the King William Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a National Trust Historic Site, the only one in Texas. The house was remodeled with additions of a second story, rear gallery, and Italian Renaissance Revival Tower. Other owners included rancher Edwin Polk and cattleman Ike T. Pryor. The house was then turned into a boarding house until 1967, when it was purchased by local civic leader Walter Nold Mathis. Mathis spent two years restoring the house and named it Villa Finale as he planned on it being his last home. He then purchased fourteen other homes in the King William neighborhood, restored them and sold them to others whom he hoped would continue to preserve them. The home was donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2004 which operates it as a museum.
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