San Antonio is in the top ten largest cities in the US. The seventh place it occupies can change because its very fast growth. Because the city was built around the Alamo fortress, which is a museum these days, it is often called “Alamo City”.
The climate of the city is characterized by hot summers and mild winters. The precipitation is either high or low, depending on prevailing winds. Temperatures during summer often exceed 30 °C and even winter rarely drops below zero. This is an advantage for the city considering that this makes a perfect place to visit.
The visitors are very important for San Antonio because tourism is one of the four fields its economy is focused on. Because of the many attractions the city has, it is very popular among tourists from around the world.
In the downtown district, you can find the jewel of the city. This internationally known historic road is the River Walk, which is visited by millions every year. This unique path makes a connection between the major tourist draws. Not only the visitors consider this a beautiful thing, the locals also realized that is a very important landmark, which must be protected. The number of shops and restaurants is limited, to keep its originality. Even a festival is held celebrating the cleaning of the muddy bottom of the river this is the Mud Festival. During the holiday season thousands of visitors walk along this 4-kilometer long path. Boat rides are also available for those who don’t to walk.
Like many cities from the south side of the US San Antonio is in relation with Spain and Mexico. The large percentage of Mexican and Hispanic population is the main reason of this. For instance San Antonio has two sister towns in Spain and in Mexico. However, the list doesn’t include just four cities. Other four Asian countries are connected to this Texan city. These include Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and even India. This means that many events are held every year to protect and share their heritage.
The city is the home of eleven annual events, which attract millions of visitors over the year. It all starts with the Celebrate San Antonio that is in fact New Year’s Eve celebration. This event has several musical stages and the icing on the cake is the spectacular firework. The Mexican pride is celebrated with Cinco de Mayo. Maybe the most important festival is the Fiesta, which honors the heroes of the Battle of Alamo. This ten-day long celebration includes several parades such as the Texas Cavaliers River Parade, the Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade and the Cornyation.
Like other major southern cities, San Antonio is also the home of livestock and rodeo shows. Here, during the two weeks of celebration, you can watch 20 rodeo performances, several live concerts and make a bid at the livestock auctions.
If you are looking for a more refined recreational activity, the city gives the opportunity to choose from ten museums. For those who want to spend their night in city at a club or bar the Paseo del Rio is the perfect location. This is the Spanish name of the River Walk. If during the day, it is a perfect location for shopping and having lunch, when after sunset it becomes the ultimate nightlife center. You can find here numerous clubs and bars. Many of these are owned and operated by locals, but you can also find some representing of the biggest franchises such as Hard Rock Café or Rainforest Café. The last one is one of the themed restaurant chain. It is present in 36 locations in seven different countries.
Not only this ‘walk’ has the clubs, which are perfect locations for partying. The rest of the downtown area also houses a large number of bars and lounges. One of these is the Coyote Ugly, which is a national chain of bars, and served as the setting of the blockbuster with the same name. The largest upscale restaurant company, the Morton’s Restaurant Group, is also operating a steakhouse in San Antonio. The Saint Mary’s Strip is a popular location among the college students who want to enjoy themselves. This is a very popular area visited by mostly young tourist. Another teenager’s favorite is the northwestern side of the city, where San Antonio’s largest university is located.
On the first Friday of every month the streets of Southtown is full of people because of the First Friday art walk. The art lovers visit galleries and vintage stores during this street festival. Approximately twenty restaurants are welcoming the attendees who want to ease their hunger. Several restaurants are open 24/7 to serve the party-goers any time. According to reports from 2006, 7 million passengers checked in and out at the San Antonio International Airport. Doubling this results the number of tourists arrived with others means of travel in the city. This equals 21 million tourists, which is more than one and a half times the city’s population. Considering this, it’s not so odd that one in every eight employed of the city works in the tourism and hospitality industry.
If the River Walk would be the only tourist attraction, it still would worth to visit the city, because of its uniqueness. The numerous events and street festivals as the rich cultural life make the city a real paradise for tourists.
