San Antonio Itinerary Review
 

Hi, all.

I'll be in San Antonio next Saturday morning through Monday (Labor Day) evening. I'm interested in art museums/galleries mainly. I plan to definitely do the following:

RiverWalk - Maybe Monday?
San Fernando Cathedral (Saturday or Sunday)
RiverCenter Mall - Saturday
The Alamo (Monday)
San Antonio Museum of Art (perhaps Sunday morning since is free)
Briscoe Museum (maybe Sunday)
McNay Art Museum (uber, probably Saturday)
Tower of the Americas - probably just a cocktail

Although I usually love gardens and parks, I'd plan to avoid them due to the heat. I'd also probably not have time for the other missions.

Any other must-dos? Restaurant suggestions ( I like Tex-Mex/Mexican, American, French, Seafood, and Italian) on or near Rivercenter/Riverwalk? I'll be staying at Marriott Rivercenter.

Thanks.

So for restaurants I am thinking Boudros and Biga for dinner and Esquire for lunch on the Monday.

On the Riverwalk . . Excellent Seafood at Landry's . . no French or Italian that I recall.

the choices for Tex Mex are endless . . we often just walk around the river looking at what folks are eating and stop in when we see something good

My only issue with Landry's is that it's something I can get in Dallas. But, it's a good option!

Joe -
You can knock out San Fernando cathedral, Alamo and a stroll on the Riverwalk in a couple hours, max. Rivercenter mall is a mall - nothing special at all, no stores you would not see in every other urban mall in the US. Tower of the Americas main attraction is the view. You can get that without even an overpriced cocktail. www.toweroftheamericas.com/visitor-info.asp

McNay closes at 5 on Sat and Sun, and is closed Monday, so plan accordingly.
SAMA - Matisse exhibit will still be on for your visit in addition to the collections. Open until 6 Sunday, will also be open on Monday Labor Day.
Briscoe - haven't been, gets good press, easy walk from your hotel

If you have time and are so inclined the San Antonio Botanical Garden is a nice visit. www.sabot.org is in the same general area as the SAMA though not really walking distance in the heat.

As for dining -
Boudro's - a great dinner choice. Biga - OK but IMO offers little to distinguish itself from adequate white tablecloth restos in any given city. Suggest you consider instead a visit to the Pearl http://atpearl.com/food where my favorites are Sandbar for seafood (and an excellent wine list) and Arcade Midtown Kitchen for a varied American with some Latin flavors menu demonstrating the prowess of the chef. I am enamored of the lobster soft taco appetizer, and if you like beef, the rib eye is not to be missed (and I do not often eat beef.) Since you like Italian, also consider Il Sogno Osteria at The Pearl.
While you are at the SAMA there is a pop up resto for the Matisse exhibit, check out the SAMA site www.samuseum.org/dine for details. Alternatively, right nearby is The Luxury, an offbeat place by local legend Michelin starred chef Andrew Weissman (who also owns Sandbar and Il Sogno at The Pearl) offering upscale food in a tongue-in-cheek ice house atmosphere. Would be a great place for a lunch after the SAMA. As for lunch at the Esquire have not been since they re-opened, but it is on my list, reviews are positive and the menu looks good - please report back of you do go there.

If you could post any kind of Trip Report I would appreciate it. I will be in San Antonio mid-September for 5 days and collecting ideas for what to do each afternoon and evening.

Thank you for the helpful thoughts. Some of my reactions:

- Pearl district looks great, but I worry about the distance in the heat. Normally, I love to walk, but this may feel a bit too far at night in the summer.
- I will look into pop-up for lunch at SAMA. I love Matisse, but the extra $15 seems a bit steep.
- I was interested in Biga's for the fixed-price, but I will keep looking as well.
- Good to know Riverwalk, Alamo and Cathedral can be done quickly.
- RiverCenter option was more just because was so close to my hotel and would let me do a good bit of power-walking inside. Will probably aim for this after dinner Saturday, and then head to a gay bar or two (Bonham Exchange and/or Sirius).

I had planned on Tower of the Americas just for the views, so a drink with views rather than paying money for views seemed like a better trade. I may see what the view is like from the Marriott executive lounge to see if it's even necessary.

Is there a suggested path or route to walk through the RiverWalk? I imagine I will get some of it just walking from hotel to dinner each of the two nights.

Is the Spanish Governor's Palace worth a look?

You can take a boat trip around the river and see what is where . . then decide what you want to explore farther