49 Best Sights in San Antonio, Texas

The southernmost mission, Acequia was named for St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the monastic order of Franciscans. The mission's full name is Mission San Francisco de la Espada. It includes an Arab-inspired aqueduct that was part of the missions' famous acequia water management system.

On a visit to Mission San Juan, you'll find a white exterior and Romanesque arches on on the outside while the inside has a serene chapel and a small museum. This mission once supplied all its own needs, from cloth to crops. The shaded Yanaguana Trail behind the mission winds along the low river-bottom land and provides a look at many indigenous plants along with wildlife like turtles, owls, and snakes. The San Antonio Food Bank has a partnership with the Farm at Mission San Juan to create a living demonstration farm fed by a historic acequia (community-operated water canal).

Consisting of some of the oldest roads in Texas, the Old Spanish Trail (OST) links cities of Spanish-conquest settlement from St. Augustine, Florida, to San Diego, California, and is commemorated by the 0-mile marker stone on the lawn of San Antonio's city hall. As the trail meanders through the city, a decorative stone bench recognizing the trail is at 3400 Fredericksburg Road. The Old Spanish Trail Centennial Celebration Association (OST100) was organized to promote and preserve the sights along the OST. They plan to end their decade-long celebration with a motorcade grand finale from St. Augustine to San Diego in 2029. 

Step into 38 acres of formal gardens, wildflower-spangled meadows, native Texas vegetation, fascinating historical structures, and diverse sections designed to educate and delight nature lovers at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Here you can walk on 11 acres of Texas native trails with more than 250 plant species representing three distinct regions of Texas. The stunning centerpiece of the garden is the Lucile Halsell Conservatory, a unique collection of five exhibit rooms. A self-guided tour of the climate-controlled conservatory takes visitors through plants and flowers found in different worldwide environments from the desert to the tropics.

Other highlights include the Zachry Foundation Culinary Garden, which promotes healthy food choices and encourages visitors to participate in planting, harvesting, and preparing fresh fruits and vegetables. The Kumamoto En, a gift from San Antonio sister-city Kumamoto, is a serene, authentic Japanese garden with stone walks and water features. The Family Adventure Garden encourages kids to experience more than a dozen fun spaces to run, climb, and splash.  

All are welcome at the oldest standing church building in Texas and the first church in San Antonio. Still an active parish (mass is held daily), San Fernando Cathedral was built in 1731 by the city's Canary Island colonists. Mexican general Santa Anna raised a blood-red flag of "no quarter" here before he stormed the Alamo in 1836, signifying to the Texans that he would take no prisoners. In 1873, following a fire after the Civil War, the chapel was replaced with the present-day construction. A small sarcophagus on display holds the ashes of unknown soldiers, presented as the remains of the defenders of the Alamo. However, some modern historians are skeptical because evidence of military uniforms was discovered, which the Texan army never wore. Special events are held here, including symphonies, singers, musicians, and televised specials.

A fun and educational adventure for all ages, this aquarium boasts more than 250 species and 3,000 sea creatures in 160,000 gallons of water. It also has the city's only walk-through underwater ocean tunnel, where you can safely get up-close and personal with about 500 sea creatures. Stingray Bay has five different species of stingrays, while in the freshwater habitat, you'll see native-to-Texas creatures. One of the best features of Sea Life is the way the exhibits are constructed low enough to the ground so that even small kids can get a good look (and it saves family members from having to hoist them up). The interactive rock-pool is a kid-friendly favorite, with a Sea Life expert giving fun facts about the touchable creatures. The aquarium holds educational talks and feeding demonstrations throughout the day; be sure to ask about them as their timing may vary.

The largest marine park in the United States, SeaWorld San Antonio consists of more than 250 acres where you can see shows and animal habitats and experience thrilling coasters and family-friendly rides. Shows include orcas, belugas, sea lions, otters, and Pacific white-sided dolphins, and there's also an immersive experience where you can get up close to belugas. The Aquatica water park (admission is separate from SeaWorld) offers a range of water rides and pools. The pricing structures for both parks vary seasonally and depend on if you purchase tickets in advance or at the entrance. Check the website or call for the latest prices.

The only independent college of art in Texas, Southwest School of Art offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA) as well as classes and studio programs for thousands of adults and children. The school is housed in the former Ursuline Academy, which in 1851 became the first girls' school in the city. The long halls of the once busy dormitory are now filled with photography, jewelry, fibers, paper making, painting, and the like. The very popular annual Fiesta Arts Fair is held on the grounds each year during Fiesta Week. The Gallery Shop sells handcrafted items, including silver Southwestern jewelry, hand-painted plates, and wooden Christmas ornaments. Grab a sandwich, homemade soup, a salad, or homemade dessert at the school's Copper Kitchen Café, which was once the dining room for the old Ursuline Academy and is now a favorite of staff, students, and the public. 

Notice the expertly carved wooden doors at the entrance here: they tell the story of Spanish explorers in the New World, with the "baby face" representing America. San Antonio, then known as Presidio San Antonio de Béxar, was under Spanish rule from 1722 to 1821. This National Historic Landmark started as a one-room house built for the captain of the garrison in 1722. Walk through the self-guided tour with a map available at the entrance to see how and when the residence grew to 10 rooms, with period furnishings throughout and plaques that describe additions, such as the captain's office, an education room, dining room, kitchen, children's bedroom, and more. Relax on the cobblestone patio, enjoy the lovely courtyard, and make a wish at the wishing well.

This 1876 Victorian home is one of the few in the King William Historic District open for touring. Not only was its eclectic architecture—a blend of French Second Empire and Italian Villa styles—copied by other well-to-do San Antonians, but the estate was the city's first to have a telephone (1881) and among the first to install electric lights (1894). Completed in 1876, the house, occupied by lumber magnate Edward Steves, also has a slate mansard roof and delicate floral stenciling on the ceilings. The home is set up as it would have looked at the time it was occupied, with the same fixtures. Admission includes a self-guided tour.

These are two museums for the price of one, and both add up to a 40,000-square-foot Texas history lesson and fun for the whole family. In 1881 the Buckhorn Saloon opened as a Texan watering hole, and future president Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders are said to have been among its patrons, as were writer O. Henry and Mexican Revolution leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa. Primary customers after it opened were hunters and trappers, eager for a cold brew and to trade furs and horns. Saloon owner Albert Friedrich collected the horns, some of which his father made into horn chairs. Today the museum features a huge collection of taxidermy and animal displays, including, of course, tons of antlers. Famous artifacts (and they number in the thousands) include one of Gene Autry's saddles.

In 2006, the Former Texas Rangers Association teamed up with the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum to open the Texas Ranger Museum, with exhibits that recount the stories of law enforcement in the Lone Star State from Stephen Austin on as well as displays of artifacts covering more than 100 years of Texas Ranger history. The café/saloon, with its original marble and cherry wood back-bar, serves brewed draft beer and a full menu of mostly American fare.

If your kids are bored of the Alamo, head to the DoSeum, where they can explore 60,000 square feet of interactive space in galleries connected to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) learning and discovery, along with the arts and literacy. Exhibits are geared to ages under 11, but even grown-ups will get a kick out of the Semmes Foundation Spy Academy and the beautiful Big Outdoors section, with Art Yard, Solar Tree, and WaterWorks. Visitors 18 or older without children are welcome, but will be asked at entry to present a valid driver's license and to submit to a brief automated background check. The DoSeum Store features apparel, books, gifts, and educational toys and games.

You don't have to stay here to enjoy the ambience of San Antonio's most historic lodging. After you visit the Alamo, stop by this stunning 1859 property next door that offers a history book full of "who's whos" who have slept here. Famous guests include Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and William Sherman, Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum (who had a studio at the hotel), playwright Oscar Wilde, and author O. Henry, who mentioned the hotel in several of his short stories. As legend has it, William Menger built the Victorian hotel to accommodate the many carousers who frequented his brewery, which stood on the same site. Step inside the very cool Menger Bar to see its mahogany bar, a precise replica of one from a pub in London's House of Lords. Here cattlemen closed deals with a handshake over three fingers of rye, and Teddy Roosevelt supposedly recruited his Rough Riders—hard-living cowboys fresh from the Chisholm Trail. Note that the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum also makes the same claim; either someone's been playing too much poker and can't stop bluffing, or Teddy had to go recruiting more than once. Throughout the spacious lobby, hallways, and public areas, check out the fascinating historical mini-exhibits. The on-site Colonial Restaurant is also open to the public.

At 750 feet tall, here you can take a glass-elevator ride traveling at 800 feet per minute, straight up, a very intense 43 seconds. Once the symbol of HemisFair '68, the 1968 World's Fair in San Antonio, locals now just call it "The Tower." Three elevators can carry almost 2,000 passengers an hour. There are also two observation decks, a café, a gift shop, a 4D movie theater, and the revolving Chart House, a steak-and-seafood restaurant at the top. One admission ticket covers the elevator ride, admission to the on-site Skies Over Texas 4D Theater (a multisensory movie experience), and access to the Flags Over Texas Observation Deck.

Since 1870, Travis Park has welcomed the community for gatherings, celebrations, concerts, holidays, and other special events. As one of the oldest municipal parks in the United States, this 2.6-acre green space is a destination all its own, especially for such popular events as Jazz'SAlive and the H-E-B Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony held the day after Thanksgiving. Other activities throughout the year include an ice rink, free movies, food trucks, fitness classes, Ballet in the Park, and live music. 

Situated to the west of Brackenridge Park, this nationally recognized private institution of higher education is known for its lush campus dotted with redbrick buildings and sparkling fountains, along with sweeping views of downtown. Trinity's curriculum is rooted in the liberal arts and sciences, with more than 110 majors and minors, more than 115 clubs and organizations, and 18 varsity athletic teams. If the timing is right, attend a show at the Ruth Taylor Theater or attend the Distinguished Lecture Series at Laurie Auditorium. 

Located between the Alamodome and the Tower of the Americas, this fascinating museum features 65,000 square feet of exhibits that focus on the major cultural groups who made Texas what it is today. Exhibits explore the customs, traditions, food, music, and ways of life of the many people who came to define the Texan identity. Highlights include a re-created sharecropper's house, a cowboys and cattle drives exhibit, large-scale murals depicting Native American cultures, and an in-depth Tejano exhibit on the intersection of Spanish and Indigenous peoples that birthed a new culture.

Combat artist Austin Deuel created Hill-881 South, the sculpture in front of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts that graces Veterans Memorial Plaza, dedicated to the memory of those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The plaza was dedicated in 1986.

This former home of San Antonio preservationist and collector Walter Mathis (who is widely recognized as the catalyst for the revitalization of the King William neighborhood in the late 1960s) is not only a National Trust for Historic Preservation site but also a San Antonio treasure. Villa Finale is home to more than 13,000 pieces of fine and decorative art, including what is believed to be one of the most complete collections of Napoleonic materials. Museum admission includes a self-guided tour, and staff are available to answer questions. There is no fee to see the gardens.