Things to do in San Antonio

Landmark · South of downtown along the river

Four Spanish colonial missions south of the Alamo, all still active parishes, inscribed together with the Alamo as Texas's only UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

Local tip: Do it by bike on the Mission Reach — the river was re-engineered into an eight-mile linear park connecting them, and riding it is far better than driving between car parks. Mission San José on a Sunday morning for the mariachi mass.

Food · North of downtown on the Museum Reach

A nineteenth-century brewery complex turned into the city's best food district — a weekend farmers' market, the Culinary Institute of America's Texas campus, and restaurants that draw people from across the region.

Local tip: Saturday morning market first, then walk the Museum Reach stretch of the River Walk back into town — it is the quiet, art-lined half that tourists never reach.

Neighborhood · Immediately south of downtown

The city's first designated historic district — nineteenth-century German merchant mansions on wide streets — running into Southtown's galleries, bars and the Blue Star complex.

Local tip: First Friday in Southtown is the long-running art walk and is a genuinely good way to meet people in your first month. Walk down to Mission Reach from here rather than driving.

Landmark · Downtown, east side

The site of the 1968 World's Fair, being progressively rebuilt into city parks, with the 229-metre tower still standing over it.

Local tip: Yanaguana Garden in Hemisfair is one of the best free playgrounds in the city and is where downtown families actually go. Skip the tower's restaurant and use the observation deck, or neither.

Culture · West of downtown

The largest Mexican market in the United States, with El Mercado's stalls and a bakery-restaurant that has not closed its doors since 1941.

Local tip: It is touristy and also entirely real — the pan dulce counter at Mi Tierra at two in the morning is a San Antonio institution. Go for the bakery and the Día de los Muertos season, not the souvenir stalls.

Nightlife · West and south San Antonio

San Antonio is the home of conjunto — accordion-and-bajo-sexto music born on the Texas-Mexico border — and the West Side is where it is still played live rather than curated.

Local tip: The Tejano Conjunto Festival in spring is the concentrated version, but the neighbourhood halls and icehouses run year-round. An icehouse is an open-air neighbourhood bar; it is the most San Antonio place to spend a Thursday evening.