My husband and I are going to San Antonio in mid-Feb. for 3&1/2 days. We plan on spending two days in the downtown area (we are staying at the Hilton Palacio del Rio), then renting a car to check out the Missions on the third day. I've done some research on tourist attractions and restaurants, but I wanted hear your opinions on these. Thanks in advance!

A nice place in San Antonio to have breakfast is Mi Tierra, a Mexican bakery and restaurant. I believe it has been there for about 50 years.

do a dinner cruise on the water if you can-we loved it.

Your Hilton is right on the Riverwalk and you'll be able to stroll to nice restaurants from there. The dinner cruise may be a bit chilly - mid Feb is unpredictable. The food on these is OK, (except the one by Casa Rio, which truly sucks) but you'll do better at a restaurant. Just take the cruise separately from dinner. Budro's is great food, do reserve. Paesano's serves good Italian, as does Cafe Michelino; Presidio does a nice job, too. Biga on the Banks is upscale, a bit pricy but usually quite good. Mi Tierra is a basic tourist trap, food is OK but not terrific. Aldaco's in the Sunset Station area is much better for breakfast. For good Mexican in a nice atmosphere try Paloma Blanca on Broadway or La Fonda on Main - both a short drive from the downtown Riverwalk but well worth it.
The missions are nice a one day jaunt. Be sure you have good directions before you start.
Enjoy SA!

Paco..basically all the restaurants ( the good ones and the not so good ones)along the Riverwalk could be called tourist traps if it is the tourists who stay in the hotels along the Riverwalk who are helping to fill up the restaurants... isn't that why the restaurants are located along the Riverwalk in the first place?

Earning the tourist trap title involves more than location. Of course most are in places with high volume of tourists, but to garner that distinction the establishment must serve poor quality and/or overpriced food. Budro's is a geat example of a place smack dab in the thick of a high tourist volume area (the Paseo del Rio, or Riverwalk) but their food is consistently terrific and prices very reasonable for the quality received. Even Paesano's, originally locate in a dumpy building in a prettty run down part of town but now on the River, delivers food and service that pleases. Casa Rio, on the other hand, is a popular dump with mediocre (at best) food.
Entiendes?

Por supuesto entiendo.

Any advice on the sights/attractions? Anything that is a must-see vs. a "don't-waste-your-time?" Also, I read that Boudro's has a dinner barge. I thought it would be nice to have Valentine's Day dinner on it. Has anyone done this? Thanks!

Still seeking advice on attractions and Boudro's dinner barge. Anyone ever stay at the Hilton? If so, how was it? Any advice is appreciated!

If it's your cup of tea, the Livestock Show and Rodeo runs Feb 1-16.

Sights--Alamo, we loved touring the lesser known missions. Broadway is a fun street. Riverwalk is fun. If you leave SA, San Marcos has a ton of outlets. Fredricksburg is a cute German town. Austin is an hour or so.

There is no better one dish than Shrimp Paesano.Don't miss it.Also I recommend as an excellent experience having lunch at the Taco Taco Cafe around Hildebrand & McCullough. Get there before 11:30 OR the wait gets to long--it is very small but you won't forget it.You won't find this one in the writeups--it is no.1 w/locals

If you are driving to the Missions, you might want to drive into the King James Historic District. It is several blocks of old Victorian style homes, similar to Cape May's old colorful homes. Very bizarre that it is in that area of San Antonio, it just pops up out of nowhere.

emd- think you mean the King William district, the neighborhood built by German merchants inb a800's and early 1900's, just south of downtown. Most folks are unaware of the strong German heritage in SA/South Texas. At the turn of the 20th century street signs in SA were in English, Spanish and German!
Sheryl - if Boudro's is doing a barge dinner, it's probably good.

I was there last March--we really enjoyed the Alamo, even though it was a little touristy.

One of the best meals I've ever had, if you are looking for something more upscale, was at Las Canarias (112 College St; Phone: (210) 225-2581). We also liked Mi Tierra, although the service was a little grouchy.