The many layers of San Antonio history are visible in the downtown area. The city is anchored by two of its earliest institutions.  The Alamo was established in 1718 as Mission San Antonio de Valero.  The remaining mission buildings include the iconic church, which memorializes the famed 1836 battle.  

Across the river is the one of the central institutions of the first official civil settlement, San Fernando Cathedral, with its newly opened Cathedral Museum and richly restored interior.  The municipality that became San Antonio was founded on March 9, 1731 by a group of 15 families who came from the Canary Islands, and the church was planned to be at the center of this city’s life.

A short distance away is another reminder of the city’s earliest days, the residence of the commander of the presidio, popularly known as the Spanish Governor’s Palace.  Restored in the 1920s, after years of neglect, it is maintained as a museum by the City of San Antonio. 

Part of the state parks system, the Casa Navarro State Historic Site is the restored home of Texas merchant and statesman José Antonio Navarro (1795-1871).

La Villita is the site of one of the original residential areas of the city.  The one square block filled with shops and restaurants located in buildings restored in the late 1930s with the assistance of the National Youth Administration.

An organization that has been active in the historic preservation movement since the 1920s, the San Antonio Conservation Society offers brochures illustrating a walking tour of the King William Historic District or the Texas Star Trail. The Society also operates Steves Homestead, an elegant three-story mansion built in 1876 for Edward Steves, founder of the Steves Lumber Company.  While in the area, have breakfast or lunch at the Guenther House, the home of the founder of C.H Guenther and Son, flour millers for over 150 years and still family-owned.

Many of San Antonio’s commercial, cultural and arts institutions are also located in the downtown area.  Step outside La Mansión del Rio and you are on the Riverwalk, the second best-known San Antonio attraction.  Try the many restaurants and shops that line the central part of the riverwalk, or escape the madding crowd along the park-like areas to the north and south.

Located in part in the 150 year old site of the Ursuline Convent and Academy, the Southwest School of Art and Craft includes public galleries and a restaurant in its restored buildings.  Take an online tour before you arrive.

On the west side of downtown is the largest Mexican marketplace outside of Mexico – Market Square, the site of the old city produce market.

Stop by the San Antonio Public Library to see the awesome glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly, installed in as part of the library’s centennial celebration in 2003.

Celebrating the many and diverse cultures that comprise Texas is the Institute of Texan Cultures, one of the buildings constructed for HemisFair, the 1968 world’s fair.   Get a panoramic view of San Antonio from the adjacent Tower of the Americas.  Also in the HemisFair area are several historic buildings salvaged during the vast urban renewal project that preceded the fair, the Schultze House, home of the Bexar County Master Gardeners, and the recently expanded Instituto de México, which promotes Mexican culture through exhibits and events.

Exercise your imagination and your child’s with three floors of hands-on interactive exhibits at the San Antonio Children’s Museum.

For contemporary art and artists in San Antonio and beyond, visit ArtPace which supports a unique artists-in-residence program.

While still in the development stage, check the progress of the National Center for Latino Arts and Culture, which will feature the restoration of the 1949 Alameda Theater on Houston Street into a performing arts center, and the Museo Americano in Market Square.