\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
Remember the Alamo<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"the](\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/the-alamo-1024x640.jpg\")
The Alamo<\/p><\/div>\n
Because, really, who could forget? Each year, more than 2 \u00bd million visitors come to see this iconic battle site where the outnumbered men chose to fight to the death. It is an attraction that always seems to be bustling, and rare is the day that there isn\u2019t a long line to get inside the mission itself. A less-visited garden and some outlying exhibits usually offer more immediate satisfaction.<\/p>\n
Get your puffy taco fix
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nA cross between a crispy fried tostada shell and a soft tortilla, a puffy taco is made with a thick tortilla that is quickly deep-fried but left soft and chewy on the inside. It is a San Antonio original. Puffy tacos are served with all the usual Tex-Mex taco fillings\u2014beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, avocado and more. The two most popular spots in town\u2014Henry\u2019s Puffy Tacos and Ray\u2019s Drive Inn\u2014are rivals… and the owners are also brothers. But Ray\u2019s lays claim to serving the first one back in 1956.<\/p>\n
Explore an original Texas UNESCO site
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"mission](\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/mission-espada-1024x640.jpg\")
Mission Espada<\/p><\/div>\n
The San Antonio Mission National Historical Park<\/strong> site boasts two impressive firsts. The missions are the first Texas UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only U.S. missions to have the UNESCO designation. The Alamo is one of the five missions comprising the site. The other four can be visited along The San Antonio Mission Trail running south from the Alamo along a nine-mile stretch of the San Antonio River. Visitors can drive, walk, bike or bus between them.<\/p>\nDress your beer<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"dressing](\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/dressing-your-beer-1024x640.jpg\")
Dress your beer<\/p><\/div>\n
In San Antonio, everyone knows that \u201cdressing your beer\u201d means adding a flavored salt around the glass rim, not unlike a margarita. Twang\u2014a local, family-run company\u2014specializes in producing high quality salt, sugar and spice blends just for this purpose. Locals favor that brand and buy it to use at home, and some bars use it, too. (Ask for a Twang chili-lime rimmer at popular Mi Tierra Cafe, or try the iridescent-gold pearlized rimmer Twang makes exclusively for Still Golden.) Most bars also make their own house specialty beer dressing. Of course, you can dress your beer anywhere, but only in San Antonio is it a thing<\/em>.<\/p>\nFollow the river<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"san](\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/san-antonio-riverwalk-1024x640.jpg\")
San Antonio River Walk<\/p><\/div>\n
The city’s other famous attraction, the San Antonio River Walk<\/strong> is a pathway that follows the spring-fed San Antonio River and is famous for the colorful river taxis that ply the section in the center of town, where the path is below street level and leads to festive sidewalk cafes and several museums. Other sections of the 15-mile-long River Walk offer picnic areas, pedestrian bridges, and access to the missions. Some unusual art installations can be seen on a section leading from the hip Pearl District to the San Antonio Museum of Art.<\/p>\nA side trip to Japan\u2014or China?
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"san](\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/san-antonio-japanese-tea-garden-1024x640.jpg\")
Japanese Tea Garden<\/p><\/div>\n
The arch above the town\u2019s Japanese Tea Garden<\/strong> entrance says \u201cChinese Tea Garden,\u201d which can be confusing to out-of-towners. However, most locals know that due to anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II, the name was changed and then no one ever changed the entrance sign back. A visit to the garden is free, and sites include the garden’s elaborate stonework (the stones come from the town\u2019s old rock quarry), a large pond filled with big koi (and often-blooming mature aquatic plants) and a dramatic 60-foot waterfall.<\/p>\nBrew yourself to sleep<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"Hotel](\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Hotel-Emma_San-Antonio.png\")
Hotel Emma, San Antonio<\/p><\/div>\n
The Alamo<\/p><\/div>\n
Because, really, who could forget? Each year, more than 2 \u00bd million visitors come to see this iconic battle site where the outnumbered men chose to fight to the death. It is an attraction that always seems to be bustling, and rare is the day that there isn\u2019t a long line to get inside the mission itself. A less-visited garden and some outlying exhibits usually offer more immediate satisfaction.<\/p>\n
Get your puffy taco fix
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nA cross between a crispy fried tostada shell and a soft tortilla, a puffy taco is made with a thick tortilla that is quickly deep-fried but left soft and chewy on the inside. It is a San Antonio original. Puffy tacos are served with all the usual Tex-Mex taco fillings\u2014beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, avocado and more. The two most popular spots in town\u2014Henry\u2019s Puffy Tacos and Ray\u2019s Drive Inn\u2014are rivals… and the owners are also brothers. But Ray\u2019s lays claim to serving the first one back in 1956.<\/p>\n
Explore an original Texas UNESCO site
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nMission Espada<\/p><\/div>\n
The San Antonio Mission National Historical Park<\/strong> site boasts two impressive firsts. The missions are the first Texas UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only U.S. missions to have the UNESCO designation. The Alamo is one of the five missions comprising the site. The other four can be visited along The San Antonio Mission Trail running south from the Alamo along a nine-mile stretch of the San Antonio River. Visitors can drive, walk, bike or bus between them.<\/p>\nDress your beer<\/strong><\/h2>\nDress your beer<\/p><\/div>\n
In San Antonio, everyone knows that \u201cdressing your beer\u201d means adding a flavored salt around the glass rim, not unlike a margarita. Twang\u2014a local, family-run company\u2014specializes in producing high quality salt, sugar and spice blends just for this purpose. Locals favor that brand and buy it to use at home, and some bars use it, too. (Ask for a Twang chili-lime rimmer at popular Mi Tierra Cafe, or try the iridescent-gold pearlized rimmer Twang makes exclusively for Still Golden.) Most bars also make their own house specialty beer dressing. Of course, you can dress your beer anywhere, but only in San Antonio is it a thing<\/em>.<\/p>\nFollow the river<\/strong><\/h2>\nSan Antonio River Walk<\/p><\/div>\n
The city’s other famous attraction, the San Antonio River Walk<\/strong> is a pathway that follows the spring-fed San Antonio River and is famous for the colorful river taxis that ply the section in the center of town, where the path is below street level and leads to festive sidewalk cafes and several museums. Other sections of the 15-mile-long River Walk offer picnic areas, pedestrian bridges, and access to the missions. Some unusual art installations can be seen on a section leading from the hip Pearl District to the San Antonio Museum of Art.<\/p>\nA side trip to Japan\u2014or China?
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nJapanese Tea Garden<\/p><\/div>\n
The arch above the town\u2019s Japanese Tea Garden<\/strong> entrance says \u201cChinese Tea Garden,\u201d which can be confusing to out-of-towners. However, most locals know that due to anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II, the name was changed and then no one ever changed the entrance sign back. A visit to the garden is free, and sites include the garden’s elaborate stonework (the stones come from the town\u2019s old rock quarry), a large pond filled with big koi (and often-blooming mature aquatic plants) and a dramatic 60-foot waterfall.<\/p>\nBrew yourself to sleep<\/strong><\/h2>\nHotel Emma, San Antonio<\/p><\/div>\n
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Mission Espada<\/p><\/div>\n
The San Antonio Mission National Historical Park<\/strong> site boasts two impressive firsts. The missions are the first Texas UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only U.S. missions to have the UNESCO designation. The Alamo is one of the five missions comprising the site. The other four can be visited along The San Antonio Mission Trail running south from the Alamo along a nine-mile stretch of the San Antonio River. Visitors can drive, walk, bike or bus between them.<\/p>\n Dress your beer<\/p><\/div>\n In San Antonio, everyone knows that \u201cdressing your beer\u201d means adding a flavored salt around the glass rim, not unlike a margarita. Twang\u2014a local, family-run company\u2014specializes in producing high quality salt, sugar and spice blends just for this purpose. Locals favor that brand and buy it to use at home, and some bars use it, too. (Ask for a Twang chili-lime rimmer at popular Mi Tierra Cafe, or try the iridescent-gold pearlized rimmer Twang makes exclusively for Still Golden.) Most bars also make their own house specialty beer dressing. Of course, you can dress your beer anywhere, but only in San Antonio is it a thing<\/em>.<\/p>\n San Antonio River Walk<\/p><\/div>\n The city’s other famous attraction, the San Antonio River Walk<\/strong> is a pathway that follows the spring-fed San Antonio River and is famous for the colorful river taxis that ply the section in the center of town, where the path is below street level and leads to festive sidewalk cafes and several museums. Other sections of the 15-mile-long River Walk offer picnic areas, pedestrian bridges, and access to the missions. Some unusual art installations can be seen on a section leading from the hip Pearl District to the San Antonio Museum of Art.<\/p>\n Japanese Tea Garden<\/p><\/div>\n The arch above the town\u2019s Japanese Tea Garden<\/strong> entrance says \u201cChinese Tea Garden,\u201d which can be confusing to out-of-towners. However, most locals know that due to anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II, the name was changed and then no one ever changed the entrance sign back. A visit to the garden is free, and sites include the garden’s elaborate stonework (the stones come from the town\u2019s old rock quarry), a large pond filled with big koi (and often-blooming mature aquatic plants) and a dramatic 60-foot waterfall.<\/p>\n Hotel Emma, San Antonio<\/p><\/div>\nDress your beer<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Follow the river<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A side trip to Japan\u2014or China?
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nBrew yourself to sleep<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"La](\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/La-Villita-flickr-cc-John-W-Schulze.jpg\")