The Alamo, the Spanish mission that served as the site of a key battle during the War for Texan Independence in 1836, stands right in the heart of San Antonio. You can get a close-up look at this iconic monument to Texas liberty by booking a free reservation or registering for a guided tour that will walk you through important battlefield locations. The tour ends at the “The Alamo: A Story Bigger than Texas” exhibit, which features highlights from the museum’s collection, including a gold ring worn by Alamo commander William B. Travis and a Kentucky rifle that once reportedly belonged to Davy Crockett. Behind the Church, visitors can get a taste for the frontier life of the 1830s through historical demonstrations, which range from outlining the activities of a cannon crew and musket-firing demonstrations to lectures on 19th century medicine.

The ongoing plan to maintain and restore the Alamo grounds means there will soon be even more to check out, including the Alamo Exhibit Hall & Collections Building (expected to vastly increase the exhibitions on display), which is set to open later this year.

After touring the Alamo, you may find yourself craving art about the Old West. To sate this hunger, look no further than the McNutt Sculpture Garden, a beautiful, hidden nook inside the Briscoe Western Art Museum. Here you’ll find bronze sculptures that depict scenes surely familiar to any 19th century Texan: a cowboy and his fiddle, a Native American drawing his bow, an eagle in mid-flight, and a snake slithering through the desert. The garden itself recreates the atmosphere of the frontier, with desert plants crowding the walkways and trees providing an oasis of shade. 

Once you’re done, you can always check out the inside of the Briscoe, where you’ll find exhibitions that further illuminate life as it was lived in the Old West.

The Riverwalk is the central hub of San Antonio, studded with dining and shopping options. But if you need a break from all that commercial activity, one way to take in a little cultural heritage is to check out Rosita’s Bridge, an ivy-wreathed curved bridge that’s part of the Riverwalk.

The bridge’s name pays tribute to Rosita Hernandez, the Mexican-American singer who played a crucial role in the mid-century Tejano genre, which combines Mexican and Texan musical styles. Today, Rosita is hailed as a feminist icon for breaking down barriers in the male-dominated scene. What better way to honor Rosita’s memory than, on a clear blue day (or a glittering night), visiting her namesake bridge while listening to one of her popular corridos? We can wholeheartedly recommend “Mi Fracaso” and “San Antonio.”

Though not nearly as famous as the Alamo, Mission San Jose might lay claim to being San Antonio’s most beautiful, picturesque mission, making it well worth a stop. The grounds offer sweeping panoramas that look much as they must have looked in the 18th century, with a church, its bell tower, living quarters, a granary, and a gristmill. For lovers of antique beauty, the church is also home to the “Rose Window,” a Spanish baroque masterpiece, reportedly carved by a carpenter named Pedro Huizar for his beloved Rose, who sadly died while en route from Spain.

The mission offers tours, both self-guided and guided (the latter is available one weekend a month). The church is also an active parish, so you may be interested in taking in one of the daily masses. And after a long afternoon of sightseeing, you can relax over a cappuccino at the Mission Coffee House.

Historical memory is about more than just preserving heritage sites or collecting objects. Above and beyond viewing these curated traces of the past, what we’re really interested in is the experience of our ancestors: what they thought, felt, breathed, tasted, lived. The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum understands this in its bones, which is why it’s an essential destination on any visit to the city.

The museum shares stories of African Americans in San Antonio, employing oral histories and photographs to ground and concretize its project of historical memory. Interestingly, through its “History Harvest” program, the museum allows you to book an appointment to tell your story and help preserve it against the ravages of time. There’s also an ongoing film series, showing seminal Black movies, such as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and The Tuskegee Airmen. 

As we all know, no vacation is truly complete without a visit to an Instagram-worthy enormous boot. Enter the World’s Largest Cowboy Boots (a record certified by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2016). Crafted out of fiberglass and concrete, these 40-foot tall boots are the perfect way to end your trip on a light-hearted note.

These beauties are the work of Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, a fabulously gifted sculptor known for his love of the Lone Star state and Texas iconography. They originally stood in Washington D.C., but were eventually moved to their present location at the North Star Mall.

Texas’s love of cowboys and religion is not exactly secret or subtle, but it can definitely be delightful, as in the case of the Largest Virgin Mary Mosaic in the World, which is part of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. The four-story mosaic is the brainchild of Jesse Trevino, a Mexican-American artist who moved to San Antonio as a child and served in Vietnam before attending art school and establishing himself as one of the city’s most prominent artists.

The mosaic will be a feast for lovers of color and intricate detail. We recommend stopping by after popping into the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center itself, which hosts events and educational classes and is home to a bookstore and gift shop.