AndiAre you heading to San Antonio? Here are my top 13 fun things to do in San Antonio. Hopefully this will help you have an amazing experience visiting this wonderful city.
1. Remember The Alamo
Number one would have to be The Alamo. This should be on everyone’s list to visit at least once, since it’s one of Texas’s most famous attractions. Some people even refer to San Antonio as Alamo City.
If you didn’t grow up in Texas, you may be wondering “What is the Alamo?” The Alamo is a Spanish mission that played a critical part in the battle for Texas Independence.
Yes, this is very touristy. There will be MANY other people touring the Alamo with you, so be prepared for crowds. I think it’s worth seeing at least once to really delve into the history of the battles.
2. San Antonio Riverwalk
A short walk from the Alamo, is another MUST do attraction, the San Antonio Riverwalk! This is one of the top attractions in San Antonio.
The Riverwalk is a beautiful area lined with restaurants, hotels and shops. You can spend a couple hours here up to an entire day.
The best way to see the river is on a Go Rio River cruise. The river guides will point out interesting facts about the river and buildings surrounding the river on the 30 minute cruise. This is one of the most fun things to do in San Antonio.
Fun fact the main area of the river with all the shops and restaurants is only 4 feet deep. Which is good, because apparently about 60 people a year fall in!
3. Mission Trail
The Alamo is San Antonio’s most famous mission, but there are actually four additional missions that you can visit here. Bonus, the other four are free to visit! And run by the National Park Service, so you can get a stamp 🙂
- Mission San Jose
- Mission Concepion
- Mission San Juan
- Mission Espada
4. San Fernando Cathedral
The San Fernando Cathedral, founded in 1731, is the oldest cathedral in Texas. Some even say the US! Apparently there is a debate between this cathedral and the one in New Orleans.
It is open to the public daily and free to enter, check the website for more details.
At night, the cathedral puts on a massive light show, San Antonio : The Saga. This is a nighttime projection light show on the outside of the cathedral. I haven’t personally seen this yet, but it’s high on my list!
It’s 24 minutes long and covers some of the history of San Antonio. The reviews all state this is amazing and a must do!
5. Ghost Tour
I’m a huge fan of ghost tours! Not because I want to see any ghosts! They always share the most fascinating stories and history of the city or area that you tour.
I went on the Sisters Grimm Ghost Bus tour recently and learned so much! We learned about the Menger Hotel and why it’s the most haunted hotel in Texas. Our tour guide shared a couple stories of individuals that died there. One was a chambermaid and apparently she still likes to show up to work!
The bus took us to a couple areas of San Antonio and we learned more history as we drove around.
There are two other haunted hotels in downtown San Antonio! Like the Holiday Inn Express! It’s in the building of historic Bexar County jail. They did actual hangings inside the jail. I don’t want to meet any of these ghosts!
We also toured a cemetery at night which was kinda spooky and fun. Our tour guide, Lee, was great! He kept us engaged the entire time and threw in a few dad jokes throughout the tour. Highly recommend this tour! It’s one of the most fun things to do in San Antonio.
6. Historic Market Square
This is a fun market to stroll around. There are a couple fun Tex Mex eateries, like Mi Terra. This restaurant has the best atmosphere! Live mariachi bands that play at your table, and the decor is fantastic! Honestly, during our visit the food was just okay. I’m planning on trying it again, because it does tend to get good reviews. However I’d still go back for the atmosphere either way. I heard the pastries are great, but we didn’t try one during our visit.
The shopping is fun too! There are plenty of San Antonio souvenirs to buy or Spanish and western themed items. I have not personally tried this, but I heard if you have cash they will barter with you.
Rumored to be the largest Mexican market in the US, but not sure how accurate that is. Overall it’s a fun way to spend a couple hours or afternoon.
7. Eating Mexican Food is One of The Most Fun Things To Do in San Antonio!
You have to eat Mexican food when visiting San Antonio!
Mexican Restaurants located on the Riverwalk:
- Boudro’s
- Ocho
- Acenar
- Rio Rio (Tables right by the river, but service is kinda slow)
- The Original Mexican Restaurant (Tables right by the river, but service is kinda slow)
Mexican Restaurants Located Throughout San Antonio:
- Panfila
- La Fonda on Main
- Pollos Asados los Nortenos
- Ajuua Mexican Grill
- Ernesto’s Mexican Specialities
- Paloma Blanca Mexican Cusinie
- El Buen Gusto
- Cascabel Mexican Patio
- El Chivito Tortas Ahogadas
- La Panaderia
- Mixtli
- Mi Terra
8. San Antonio Zoo
The San Antonio Zoo is awesome for families! Ranked as one of the top zoos in the US and the best in Texas! It’s ranked high for conservation, animal welfare and education.
We saw this first hand in their Behind The Scenes Hippo Experience. Our guide, Leo has worked at the San Antonio Zoo for 25 years and had a wealth of knowledge about the hippos. The zoo houses two hippos Timothy and Uma. They are related, Uma is the grandmother to Timothy. Timothy is currently 8 but has a birthday coming up in a couple weeks. Uma is 48 years old!
We literally walked behind the scenes and saw where the hippos stay inside and how they get weighed. They love to be in the water, so that’s where they spend most of their time. During the winter, the water is heated to keep them warm and comfortable.
During the Hippo Experience, both hippos came out of the water and over to meet us. Well probably the bucket of food more than us, but I can pretend 🙂 We were able to feed them lettuce and cantaloupe. Cantaloupe was their favorite between the two options. And feeding them pretty much meant throwing it into their large open mouth.
Leo was great and answered all the questions we had. You can tell that he really cares about the hippos. Overall this was a fantastic experience! One of the most fun things to do in San Antonio!
They also have a few other Behind The Scenes animal experiences like a Rhino one!
9. Natural Bridge Caverns
The Natural Bridge Caverns are definitely one of the most fun things to do in San Antonio! There are several different tours to choose from. The Discovery Tour is the easiest and takes you to beautiful areas of the caverns. You get to go 180 feet underground and the tour lasts about an hour.
If you want a bigger challenge, they do have more intense tours where you crawl around and need headlamps. Check out their website here for more information.
Plus they have a ropes course for even more of a challenge. It looked fun, but the day we visited was cold and rainy.
10. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch
Close to Natural Bridge Caverns is the Wildlife Ranch. This is a drive through safari type of excursion to see different kinds of animals. They have zebras, giraffes, bongos, ostriches, and many more animals! There is an option to purchase a bag of food to feed the animals, so the animals will come up to the car and want to be fed.
This is great for kids! They will absolutely love this experience. There are restrooms, a gift shop and restaurant on site.
11. Aquatica
This is one of the most fun water parks in Texas! Plus, it’s a great way to cool off during a Texas summer! San Antonio gets hot!
Read my blog post on 12 Tips for Visiting Aquatica for more information.
12. Six Flags Fiesta Texas
This is one the most thrilling fun things to do in San Antonio, if you like roller coasters. There are over 12 thrilling rides for all my fellow adrenaline junkies! Plus many more tamer rides to create a full day of fun!
Plus Six Flags Fiesta Texas has it’s own water park! You’ll need at least a full day here to experience most of the park and maybe two days to do everything.
13. Hopscotch
Do you like immersive art galleries? San Antonio has a great one! Hopscotch is one of the most fun things to do in San Antonio for adults. This is great for date night or a girls night out. There are several different art installations to interact with and actually create visual art. There are many photo opportunities as well. Plus a ball pit! Everyone loves a ball pit 🙂
Have you been to San Antonio? Did I miss anything fun?
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