The last leg of my Texas road trip led from Austin to beautiful San Antonio: both the state’s second biggest and most Latin American city. When I arrived, Fiesta San Antonio was in full swing: the largest and most colourful street festival of the year. I got here just in time to lose myself in the festivities, but not before I listed all the main sights.
You might not have noticed, but Texas isn’t exactly small. So when you’re driving from city to city, you’ll eventually have to refuel. Fortunately this doesn’t have to be a dull affair, because in Texas they have Buc-ee’s. This is a local company that operates petrol stations the size of an average town (with officially the cleanest public toilets in the country: feel free to eat your lunch off the seat). Even better is that they always slap down a monstrously large supermarket right next to the pumps. You’ll be welcomed at the door by a huge beaver serving as a mascot. It will reappear on all sorts of surprisingly popular merchandise: from T-shirts and coffee mugs to a whole bunch of much stranger gadgets. I can’t see European chain stores get away with this. Maybe Aldi, but only with people who wear their clothes ironically. At Buc-ee’s, you can buy anything you could ever possibly need on the road, and they have a whole mountain of takeaway food ready for you as well. For one-time visitors like me, it almost feels like a theme park ride. Somewhat overwhelming but lots of fun to experience. Sometimes even hypercapitalism can be fun.
Fiesta San Antonio: 8 final tips for a road trip through Texas
Although every city I visited on this road trip felt undeniably Texan, all three also had a unique identity. Dallas is mainly a business centre that relies on its art scene and unique neighbourhoods. Austin is the city of live music and a party destination full of students. San Antonio on the other hand, feels very Latin American. It’s one of the oldest cities in Texas and just celebrated its 300th birthday. By European standards, this isn’t exactly ancient, but in the US it might as well have been founded by Neanderthals (for comparison: Miami officially became a city in 1896 when about 300 people lived there).
“San Antonio feels very Latin American. Sixty-five percent of the inhabitants are Latino, and many old Spanish mission churches and buildings are still standing.”
Originally, San Antonio was nothing but a frontier town in the Wild West, but when the Alamo got sieged here in 1836, things were set in motion that would eventually lead to the state’s secession from Mexico and the birth of the Texan republic. The average Mexican probably wasn’t all too happy about this at the time, but eventually most of them apparently kept hanging around. Today, more than 65 percent of San Antonio’s residents are Latinos. The city looks and feels Latin. Many old Spanish houses and mission churches are still standing, and the atmosphere is just a tad more relaxed. Modern San Antonio has a pleasant cultural mix though. This is most evident during Fiesta San Antonio when the whole city – colourfully dressed and throwing confetti – takes to the streets to celebrate the occasion.
1. Fiesta San Antonio: a wild ten-day street festival
Every year at the end of April, daily life in San Antonio comes to a halt for more than a week, and everyone dresses up to party and drink. Fiesta San Antonio was first held over a century ago with a parade to honour the Texan revolution, but over time it grew into a joyful ode to the city’s cultural diversity. During Fiesta, San Antonio overflows with activities. There are extensive carnivals and food markets to enjoy, various performances are held everywhere, a Fiesta king and queen are chosen, and even the best-dressed dog is celebrated at the Fiesta Pooch Parade.
“Fiesta San Antonio started over a hundred years ago to honour the Texan revolution, but over the years it grew into a joyful ode to the city’s cultural diversity.”
The big parades draw the largest crowds as well. The Battle of Flowers is the oldest part of the entire event: a seemingly endless flower parade in which almost every local group or association participates (army and police force are first in line of course: we’re still in the US). More than half a million people show up to watch, and the whole shebang is later repeated on the River Walk with a floating parade. I got a spot on the stands for the Fiesta Flambeau Parade: a similar event, but held in the evening and showcasing whole armada of illuminated and decorated floats. The parade winds through the city for hours, the audience is energetic, and there are food and drink stalls everywhere. Buy yourself a crazy hat, order a corn dog and a cheap margarita, and enjoy one of the most authentic manifestations of pure Americana you’ll see on your entire trip. You can’t avoid the party anyway, so why not enjoy it?
2. The San Antonio River Walk: a touch of Venice in Texas
The most unique attraction in San Antonio – and one you can visit all year round – is undoubtedly the San Antonio River Walk. This is a network of canals originally built to prevent flooding, but the locals loved it so much it was expanded year after year. Today, more than twenty kilometres of canals run through the city centre. All of them are a few metres below street level, so it’s quite a bit cooler here due to the shade and water. Sets of stairs will lead you down from the streetside, and the descent feels a bit like taking a short holiday. Tourist boats are cruising around, picturesque bridges span the water and along the promenades on both sides, countless terraces, shops, and restaurants can be found. The River Walk was a brilliant idea. It gives the San Antonio a huge amount of extra appeal and it allows you to navigate almost the entire city without having to cross a single road. Nice.
3. The Alamo: the place where Texas reached for independence
If there’s one building in San Antonio known to the general public, it’s undoubtedly the Alamo. This is an old Spanish fort built around an iconic mission church, where a small group of Texans managed to hold off a much larger Mexican army for thirteen days. The defenders eventually lost and died, but their sacrifice ultimately led to Texan independence. The Alamo is right in the city centre and is of course one of the most visited attractions in San Antonio. If you’re short on cash, the church itself can be viewed for free from the outside (this is the view everybody recognises). Want to delve a little deeper? Buy a ticket for the gardens and the museum. Guided tours are available, and occasionally a historical re-enactment is held.
Want to discover San Antonio’s story in a slightly more flashy way? Go and sit opposite the beautiful San Fernando Cathedral in the evening to watch San Antonio: The Saga. This is a spectacular light show projected onto the church’s façade. It’s also completely free of charge.
Would you like to combine Texan history with a brisk walk or bike ride? Visit the four other Spanish missions – churches built by the Spanish to help converting the Native Americans – in and around San Antonio. Together, they form the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. They’re connected by the Mission Trail: a hiking and cycling route along the San Antonio River.
4. Historic Market Square: a piece of Mexico in San Antonio
To experience San Antonio at its most Latin, you should visit the Historic Market Square. This is the largest Mexican market outside of Mexico. It spreads over three city blocks and is filled to the brim with little shops, food stands, bars and restaurants. It somewhat feels like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul but Mexican instead of Turkish and in a less fairytale building. Many of the shops sell somewhat tacky tourist trinkets, but you can certainly find something actually nice here and there. It’s the atmosphere you should come for though: colourful little flags are everywhere, there are spontaneous performances on the indoor stage, and there’s plenty of food and drink to enjoy. The most famous (and best) restaurant you can find here is Mi Tierra: an exuberantly decorated family restaurant over 80 years old, offering traditional Mexican dishes.
5. Restaurants in San Antonio
Speaking of food in San Antonio: I’ve already mentioned tacos and Texas BBQ in my previous two articles, and of course you’ll find both in abundance here too. To round off my culinary experience in Texas, I decided to try out some other venues instead.
La Panaderia is a bakery/breakfast place opened by two Mexican brothers ten years ago. It quickly became immensely popular, and usually there are dozens of people waiting outside to be served. The pastries you’ll get here are ridiculously rich and delicious. Overindulge and you’ll feel like bursting for the entire day.
Tokyo Cowboy is a hip Japanese street food restaurant where you can share dishes. It’s right in one of the most popular parts of the River Walk, and downstairs there’s a bar serving cocktails based on Japanese whiskeys.
Speaking of cocktails: The Esquire is one of the oldest cocktail bars in San Antonio and “officially” opened in 1933 an hour after Prohibition ended. What a coincidence.
Best Quality Daughter is an Asian fusion restaurant with a rather odd name, located in a cute old little house near The Pearl. It offers delicious food in colourful rooms.
6. Museums in San Antonio
I’m repeating myself a bit here, but like Dallas and Texas, San Antonio has a surprisingly varied collection of museums. I’ll list the main ones here.
–The Witte Museum: large natural history museum in a beautiful garden. There are several dinosaur skeletons on display (including a T-rex and a Quetzalcoatlus – big scary flying animal) but you’ll also find taxidermied Texan fauna, educators handling live animals, a children’s museum about the human body and an exhibition on the indigenous peoples who used to live here.
–San Antonio Museum of Art: a museum full of artefacts from European antiquity, as well as classic art from Asia and Latin America.
–McNay Art Museum: a museum focused on modern art from Europe and the US, with works by Picasso, O’Keeffe, Hopper and many others.
–DoSeum: a children’s museum looking to make learning fun, with all kinds of experiments in science, mathematics, art, and engineering on display.
7. Hopscotch: a psychedelic art gallery with booze
If you’re not keen on traditional museums but still want to visit one, you might find Hopscotch appealing. This is a unique gallery in downtown San Antonio where several interactive and immersive art installations were installed. You’ll find everything from psychedelic light corridors and optical illusions to moving paintings, virtual graffiti and giant trampolines. Want to disorient yourself before even going in? Well, they have just the thing for you. There’s a bar next to the entrance and they allow you to take your drink right down into the exhibitions. Just set your Piña Colada aside before jumping on one of the trampolines, okay? Let’s keep this stuff fun for everyone.
8. The Pearl: enjoy the hipster life in San Antonio
If you’ve had your fill of the Historic Market Square and want to continue your shopping in a fancier area, head to The Pearl just outside the city centre. This is the site of a historic brewery – one of the largest in Texas – that closed down in 2001 and has since been transformed into a 22-acre complex of shops, restaurants and other entertainment. Central to the site is Hotel Emma: a beautiful boutique hotel in the old brewery building, that kept a lot of original elements in its design. In front of the hotel is a cosy park with terraces, and around it is a collection of food halls, restaurants and designer shops. There’s a farmers market on the weekends, plenty of small events and festivals are held and the apartments you can buy or rent here are some of the most expensive in the whole city. So if you like it so much you want to stay, you now know what it’ll cost you.
Hotels in San Antonio and extra information
Everything about San Antonio as a destination: www.visitsanantonio.com.
Everything about what to do and where to go in Texas: www.traveltexas.com.
In San Antonio, I stayed at the AC Marriott Riverwalk hotel. It has a very pleasant rooftop cocktail bar with a beautiful view of the city.
Looking for some other road trips? Read my pieces on Malawi, Eswatini, Crete, Scotland, Croatia and the Black Forest.
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