If You're Traveling Into San Antonio...
Some helpful information from the Wikipedia:
The city's only top-level professional sports team, and consequently the team most San Antonians follow, is the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. The Spurs have been playing in San Antonio since 1973 and have won four NBA Championships.
San Antonio is a popular tourist destination. The jewel of the city is the River Walk, which meanders through the downtown area. Lined with numerous shops, bars, restaurants, as well as the Arneson River Theater, this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco during summers, such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio. Also based on the River Walk is the newly restored Aztec On The River, the only surviving exotic-themed movie palace in Texas. The Alamo is Texas' top tourist attraction, while the River Walk is the second most visited attraction.
San Antonio is a hub for the arts, especially of the south western variety. The Blue Star Contemporary Art Center (BSCAC) is located on the banks of the San Antonio River. Today the center is a primary destination for new art in South Texas and the center has over 20 exhibitions each year that showcase local, regional, national and international artists from the emerging to internationally renown. The facility in which the center is housed is now referred to as the Blue Star Complex.
The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center (GCAC) is a nonprofit organization established for the promotion of the art and culture of Chicano, Latino and Indigenous peoples. The GCAC is located in the heart of San Antonio's west side. The center's public and educational programming consists of programs in six disciplines: Dance, Literature, Media Arts, Theater Arts, Visual Arts and Music. Annual events include the San Antonio CineFestival and the Tejano Conjunto Festival en San Antonio.
The University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures is dedicated to enhancing the understanding of cultural history, science, and technology and their influence upon the people of Texas. The museum achieves its goal through permanent exhibits, touring exhibits, publications, a library focusing on ethnic and cultural history, a historical photo collection of over 3 million images, outreach and education programs, and the annual Texas Folklife Festival.
Museo Alameda is the visual arts and educational component of The Alameda National Center for Latino Arts and Culture and is an affiliate museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Located in the historic Market Square in downtown San Antonio, the institutions mission is to tell the story of the Latino experience in America through visual arts exhibitions, education initiatives, performances and public programming.
The Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum focuses primarily on 19th and 20th century European and American art by such artists as Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, and Georgia O’Keeffe. The collection today consists of over 14,000 objects and is also home to the Tobin Collection of Theater Arts, and a research library with over 30,000 volumes.
The San Antonio Museum of Art is housed in the historic 1884 Lone Star Brewery. It has over 20,000 objects in its permanent collection and maintains extensive collections of Asian, Latino and Ancient art. The museum's permanent collection also contains significant collections of American, European, Oceanic and Contemporary art. Artists included in the museum's collection are Andy Warhol, John Singleton Copley, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Wayne Thiebaud, Frank Stella, and Philip Guston.
The Witte Museum is located adjacent to Brackenridge Park on the banks of the San Antonio River and is dedicated to the history, science, and culture of the region. The permanent collection represents ethnography (study of social and cultural change), decorative arts and textiles, and science. The primary focus of the museum is natural sciences with emphasis on South Texas and the history of Texas and the Southwest.
The River Walk is the city's central entertainment district. It is home to several nightclubs, pubs, bars and restaurants. Among them are Hard Rock Cafe, Las Canarias, Biga on the Banks, Jim Cullum's Landing, On The Half Shell Oyster Bar, Mad Dogs on the River Walk, Casa Rio, County Line BBQ, Howl at the Moon, Rainforest Cafe, Fig Tree Restaurant and Dick's Last Resort. Also in Downtown, the street scene includes several lounges, restaurants and bars.
Another popular area is the Saint Mary's Strip. In this area, several bars and restaurants can be found such as Paparay's, Joey's, The Mix, White Rabbit, Demo's Greek Food, Jac's Lounge, Tycoon Flats, San Antonio Home Brew Supply & Bar, Limelight, and The Candlelight Cafe. The area is also home to the Josephine Theater, home to the Josephine Theatrical Company, a non-profit resident theater group. Fox and Hound English Pub & Grille, The Flying Saucer, Hills & Dales Icehouse, Rome's Pizza, Chester's Hamburgers, and PF Changs are popular places on the northwest side.There are several restaurants open 24 hours a day in San Antonio. Chachos, Mama Margies, Las Palapas, Whataburger, Jim's, and Taco Cabana are all busy late-night establishments.
On the first Friday of every month, the area south of downtown known as Southtown or the King William District hosts an art walk known as First Friday. A diverse crowd of art lovers can visit galleries, art spaces, vintage stores, and street vendors selling art and jewelry, all while listening to live music played in the streets. Events vary month to month and it's all free.
Beyond taking in the sights and sounds of San Antonio, tourists can sample some of its world famous Tex-Mex cuisine at the many fine restaurants located throughout the city. San Antonio is the undisputed home of authentic Tex-Mex. Mexican restaurants are abundant in virtually all parts of town, and most, except for those in the Far North and some of the Uptown enclaves like Alamo Heights, are relatively inexpensive.
The Alameda Theater is one of the last grand movie palaces built in the U.S. and was the largest theater in the U.S. dedicated to Spanish-language entertainment. The theater is often referred to as the "Latin Apollo Theater". Today the theater, in association with the Smithsonian Institution and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is the performing arts component of the National Center for Latino Arts and Culture.
The Lila Cockrell Theatre is a performing arts venue that hosts ballet, opera, theater and individual concert events. The building is on the banks of the River Walk, and being a part of the adjacent convention center it also hosts general assembly and multi-media presentation events.
The Majestic Theatre is home to the San Antonio Symphony, individual concerts and touring Broadway shows. The John Eberson-designed theater, which opened in 1929 as a grand movie palace, is well known for its Mediterranean-style architecture and twinkling starlit sky (complete with projected clouds that creep across the ceiling). The Charline McCombs Empire Theatre is the sister theater to the Majestic and plays host to smaller productions, banquets, cabaret, chamber orchestras and touring plays. An extensive renovation of the Empire combined backstage areas with the adjacent Majestic allowing for more flexibility between the two venues.
Other places of interest include the Spanish Governor's Palace, the Alamo, the San Antonio Cavalry Museum, the San Antonio Zoo, Japanese Tea Gardens, Brackenridge Park, the missions of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the Witte Museum, the McNay Art Museum, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and Splashtown San Antonio.
. . . Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The San Antonio International Airport is located in north central San Antonio, approximately eight miles from downtown. It has two terminals and is served by 15 airlines serving 35 destinations including two in Mexico.
An extensive bus and trolley system (vehicular not rail) is provided by the city's metropolitan transit system, VIA Metropolitan Transit. VIA offers 78 regular bus routes and four trolley routes, including express routes from downtown to the theme parks. VIA also offers a special service to city events, including Spurs games and city parades, from its Park and Ride locations.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to San Antonio at San Antonio Amtrak Station, operating its Texas Eagle daily between San Antonio and Chicago's Union Station. Amtrak also operates its Sunset Limited three times a week in each direction through San Antonio between Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida (currently truncated to New Orleans due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina). The Texas Eagle section travels between San Antonio and Los Angeles as part of the Sunset Limited.
San Antonio is served by a number of major freeways that include, I10 northwest to El Paso and East to Houston, I35 northeast and southwest runs between Laredo, Austin, Waco and Dallas, I 37 southeast runs from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, I 410, U.S. Highway 90 west to Uvalde, U.S. Highway 281 north to Johnson City and Wichita Falls and south to McAllen, State Highway 151 leads to the "Westplex" which includes Westover Hills and Sea World, State Highway Loop 1604 serves as the outer loop for San Antonio. Other highways that pass through San Antonio include U.S. Highway 87 southbound to Victoria and goes to San Angelo northbound, U.S. Highway 181 goes to Beeville and Corpus Christi, State Highway 16 from Freer to Bandera, State Highway Loop 368 north section goes to Austin Highway and south section goes to the New Laredo Highway.
What to do in San Antonio: the web's best San Antonio Live Entertainment Event Guide. We've got information about San Antonio events, San Antonio entertainment, San Antonio sports, San Antonio concerts, San Antonio theater, San Antonio shows, what to do in San Antonio and much much more!