San antonio
Day One: Riverwalk Pearl district
- 4:00PM. Arrived to our Airbnb cottage right next to the Riverwalk with the Pearl District on the other side. Great area, recommend staying in Pearl district, felt safe, kindof the yuppie area with restaurants and shopping. If you want a feel for the history of San Antonio, perhaps a little more gritty, King William may be the way to go.
- 4:00PM-7:30AM. Walked down Riverwalk from Pearl halfway downtown and back. Stopped in at Elsewhere Garden Bar and Kitchen (103 E Jones Ave), Back Unturned Brewing Company (516 Brooklyn Ave), Roadmap Brewing Company (516 Brooklyn), Man Overboard Brewing Company (1203 Camden). All fantastic for different reasons. More info in section below.
- 7:30+. Sam's Burger Joint (330 E Grayson) Awesome fun. Good Burgers, fun atmosphere, Damn the Torpedoes Tom Petty cover band, nough said.
Day two: Most popular tours & River Walk
- 8:00-8:30AM. La Panadeira (301 E Houston) is a bakery, breakfast/lunch spot. Large variety of pastries and a full breakfast and lunch menu. See more in section below.
- 8:45-1:00PM. Best of San Antonio Sight-Seeing Tour (515 S St Mary's St). This is four attractions in one: Alamo,San Antonio MIssions National Park, Tower of Americas, and River Walk Cruises. Cost less to combine these tours, and the enthusiastic/passionate tour guide made it much better. Details in section below.
- 1:00-2:00PM. Dough Pizzaria Napoletana (1110 S Alamo). Thin crust, light, great sauce. This is in a family area with a splash pad and playground.
- 2:15-3:15PM. La Villita Historic Arts Village (418 La Villita St) is a small colorful historic village with galleries/shops and dining near the River Walk downtown.
- 3:30-4:15M. Buckhorn Saloon & Texas Ranger Museum (318 E Houston St). Had to get a beer here b/c Teddy Roosevelt hung out in the Saloon and recruited his rough riders. We did not do the museum tour.
- 4:30-7:00PM. We walked the entire River Walk loop, the same path as the cruise. We stopped in shops and stopped for drinks, highlights included the Selena Bridge and The Esquire Tavern (155 E Commerce) where JFK stopped for a drink one day prior to the tragedy in Dallas (according to our Cruise captain). Successfully avoided the large shopping mall.
- 7:00PM+. Smoke Texas River Walk (511 Vallita). Local BBQ right on the River Walk with a live DJ and large beer menu.
Day Three: BIking, MIssions, Breweries
- 8:30-9:30AM. Nola Brunch & Beignets (720 E Mistletoe). Beignets and Boudin Omelet. Popular place, had wait a bit, eclectic crowd, very good.
- 10:00-2:00PM. Blue Star Bikes . Bike 11 miles south along the San Antonio River from King WIlliam District to MIssion Espada. Check out other Missions along the way like Concepcion.
- Alternative: Head to Fredericksburg for the day. Wineries and outdoor trails.
- Alternative: We had tickets for a Queen cover band at The Round Up in Boerne, Tx. Downtown Boerne looked like a fun time and has a couple breweries. We opted out b/c the concert was postponed due to threat of thunder storms.
- 2:30-3:30PM. Kuenstler Brewing (302 E Lachapelle). Great, Great, Great Brewery, see more in section below.
- 3:45-4:45PM. Friendly Spot Ice House (943 South Alamo). Love this Texas "Icehouse" concept, especially on a Friday afternoon. Went to two in Dallas, think of a very large backyard with picnic tables, old aluminum chairs, sun shining, great music in the background, and 76 taps with several local favorites.
- Alternative: Beethoven Maennerchor - A german beergarden with live entertainment. There was a cover charge, we did not feel like committing to one place for the night and did not feel like German food and music but it looked fun.
- 5:00-7:00PM. Historic Market Square (514 W Commerce Street). Another colorful market with vendors/shops local art and jewelry, and live entertainment on weekends.
- 7:00PM - 8:15PM. Mi Tierra (218 Produce Row) in Market Square. Big Mexican dishes with Big Margaritas, it's also a bakery. Got the Ribeye Steak Ranchero with enchilada and more, I'm still full.
- 8:30PM+. Wanted to go back to Elsewhere Bar and Kitchen, or El Honky Tonk but even though we love Mexican Dinners, they always wipes us out for the night.
More tips for A San Antonio visit
- More Suggestions, maybe take several 3dayvacations: We have unfinished business in San Antonio and Austin, they are close enough to create a 5dayvacation. Include stops in Fredericksburg and Boerne.
- We stayed in the Pearl District which is the trendy and new place, very safe and clean. Next time, we will stay in the Historic King William area with the large older homes and a more local feel, characters and culture.
- On top of being a great beer city, we did sneak in some consignment shopping, mostly in the northern suburbs, highly recommend Too Good to be Threw (13413 San Pedro). Was able to get a couple pairs of practically brand new Cole Haans for 25% the cost.
Details & Descriptions
Elsewhere Garden
Back Unturned Brewing
Elsewhere Garden Bar and Kitchen is a beer garden right on the Riverwalk with a large beer selection and very popular margarita's with a variety of flavors. The food is surprisingly good, the best cauliflower wings we've ever eaten, brussel sprouts and pretzel were good as well.
Back Unturned Brewing
Back Unturned Brewing
Back Unturned Brewing seemd to be the kind of place with regulars who become friends. Several good low abv beers but I went for the delicious 7% farmhouse ale.
Man Overboard Brewing
Man Overboard Brewing has some excellent higher abv brews. The owners work the brewery, they are very friendly and welcoming. Great place for relaxation and conversation.
La Panaderia
La Panadeira is a bakery and breakfast/lunch spot in old downtown San Antonio. The chocolate and ham and cheese croissants were great. They have these "Tortas", basically have your favorite type of bread stuffed with meat, cheese, and condiments to make a delicious sandwich. Birote, Mexican Sourdough, stuffed into a Mexican Cubana.
Best of San Antonio Tour
Best of San Antonio Sight-seeing Tour is four tours in one: Alamo, San Antonio MIssions National Park, Tower of Americas, and River Walk Cruises (see following sections for details on each). Our guide, Alfredo, grew up in San Antonio. He has deep historical knowledge and passion for the city he loves. He saw JFK the day before Dallas and was there for the 1968 World's Fair.
ALamo
The Alamo is a must do. A self-guided walking tour with audio - carry this walktalky with numbered stops with recorded messages. Now I know the story of Santa Anna, the battle of Alamo, and "remember the Alamo".
San Jose Mission
San Antonio Missions National Park is located at an impressive Mission, San Jose. San Antonio was a collision of cultures: Spanish, Native, Mexicans, and other European cultures to a lesser extent. There is a lot of pride and love in San Antonio. The church is beautiful and ask about the Rose Window.
Tower of americas
Tower of Americas was built for the 1968 Worlds Fair. It is the 2nd tallest observation tower in the US, taller than the Space Needle but not the Stratosphere in Vegas. 360 degree views of San Antonio with pictures to show you what you are looking at. If you go outside on the observation deck, hold onto your hat.
River Walk Cruise
River Walk Cruise. The River Walk is on a Canal built to manage San Antonio river floods in downtown. Our ship captain new everything there is to know about San Antonio and the River Walk. He teared up when he told us about Selena and her bridge, just think, he tells that story 10 times a day and tears up everytime.
Kuenstler Brewing
Kuenstler Brewing
Kuenstler Brewing is one of my favorite breweries anywhere due to the variety and quality of the beers. I had two flights, 8 different beers. Liked the Saison and IPAs the best. Bonus: Charcuterie Pretzel. Trust me.