Welcome to San Antonio!

San Antonio captures the spirit of Texas. Now the eighth largest city in the United States, the city has retained its sense of history and tradition, while carefully blending in cosmopolitan progress. The city has always been a crossroads and a meeting place. Sounds and flavors of Native Americans, Old Mexico, Germans, the Wild West, African-Americans and the Deep South mingle and merge. Close to twenty million visitors a year delight in the discovery of San Antonio's charms.

Urban Masterpiece

Amidst the daily hubbub of the busy metropolitan downtown, sequestered 20 feet below street level, lies one of San Antonio's jewels - the Paseo del Rio. Better known as the "River Walk," these cobblestone and flagstone paths border both sides of the San Antonio River as it winds its way through the middle of the business district. The River Walk has multiple personalities - quiet and park-like in some stretches, while other areas are full of activity with European-style sidewalk cafes, specialty boutiques, nightclubs and gleaming high-rise hotels. The River Walk stretches for approximately two-and-a-half miles from the Municipal Auditorium and Conference Center on the north end to the King William Historic District on the south. Rio San Antonio Cruises, the river's floating transportation system, provides a novel method of sightseeing and people-watching in downtown San Antonio. Groups can also dine aboard open-air cruisers as they wind their way along the scenic waterway. River taxis deliver visitors to Rivercenter, a dazzling three-level glass shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and to the newly expanded Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

Texas Sized Fun!

San Antonio is home to two major theme parks - Sea World San Antonio, the world's largest marine life park, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the town built just for fun! Sea World San Antonio combines fun with education and appreciation for some of the ocean’s most fascinating creatures through more than 25 shows, educational exhibits and rides.  Six Flags Fiesta, Texas Theme Park is a non-stop celebration of San Antonio and South Texas. It's created around four themed areas: the Mexican town of Los Festivales, the German village of Spassburg, the 1920 cowboy boom town of Crackaxle Canyon, and the small Texas town of Rockville during the golden age of rock'n'roll, which includes Fiesta Bay Boardwalk, a '50s-'60s seaside boardwalk complete with a 90-foot ferris wheel.

The Spurs, Golf and Hill Country Adventure

With over 300 days of sunshine annually and an average temperature of 68.8 degrees Fahrenheit, visitors to San Antonio will find an abundance of outdoor sports and recreation to challenge them.
The first public golf course in Texas was built in San Antonio in 1916, and the city has been busy hosting golfers since then. A flurry of golf course construction since 1993 has made the city even more attractive to visiting golfers with additional upscale, public courses opening every year. La Cantera Golf Club was named the best new public course in the U.S. in 1995 by Golf Digest.
Rivers in the Texas Hill Country, which forms an arc around the northern edge of San Antonio, provide venues for canoeing, tubing and white-water rafting. Area lakes attract fishermen, as well as water skiing and sailing enthusiasts. Working ranches throughout Central and South Texas are available as hunting leases for wild game, while dude ranches offer a taste of the Old West, complete with horseback riding. Numerous state parks offer opportunities for hiking in the rugged terrain of the Hill Country.San Antonio also offers a wide variety of spectator sports -- the San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio Antonio Rampage of the International Hockey League and the San Antonio Missions minor league baseball team.

The Alamo

On the east side of Alamo Plaza is the most famous spot in Texas where 189 defenders fell on March 6, 1836, after repeated attacks by Mexican General Santa Anna’s army. Mission San Antonio de Valero (The Alamo) was established in 1718 as the city’s first mission. The chapel, one of the most photographed facades in the nation, and the Long Barracks are all that remain of the original fort. Long Barracks Museum and Library are near the chapel.