San Antonio! June 2025

If you know us, you know we take any chance at a long weekend to explore somewhere new. Juneteenth holiday weekend we decided to visit Colin’s dad in San Antonio to help him explore the area after having moved there recently, and to see somewhere new.

We started our trip Wednesday evening and flew into San Antonio airport. We arrived several hours later than we expected because of weather issues so we stayed in a hotel near the airport to get the most sleep possible before our busy day on Thursday.

Thursday we all had the day off, so we wanted to try and do all the touristy things in San Antonio. This would allow us to see what our favorite things were and see if we wanted to go back later in the weekend, or if we wanted to explore other neighborhoods in the city.

We started the day with none other than coffee and breakfast at Box Street. I was absolutely obsessed with this restaurant. The decor was adorable, the coffee menu delicious and the food was great. We split the French toast since we knew we would be snacking along the River Walk throughout the day.

After breakfast we made our way to the San Antonio River Walk, probably one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area. We used the river walk path to arrive at The Alamo. There are a few different ways to explore The Alamo so be sure to check out their website before your visit to see what the best option for you might be.

We decided to reserve tickets for the free admission into the Alamo Church. Inside there are plaques to learn about the history of the area and the mission, and you can watch a short video inside as well. We felt this was enough of a visit for us as we just wanted to get a feel for the attraction and take a few photos. If you are interested, there are guided tours and experiences you can pay for during your visit if you choose.

While we were visiting on a weekday, it was a holiday so it is hard to tell how busy it might be on a normal weekday. The crowds weren’t horrible, but we ended up waiting in line for a little over 20 minutes to watch the video. I would imagine on a weekend the line to get into the attractions might even be long so be sure to prepare with proper items for heat and sun in the summer. The Alamo is also located next to lots of restaurants, some shopping and to the River Walk.

We decided to head back to the River Walk and go into a few places for drinks, and eventually some snacks. We went to Little Rhein Prost Haus (obviously with Colin and Steve’s last name this just seemed inevitable). We enjoyed the beer here, but did realize pretty quickly the prices along the River Walk are definitely touristy prices. Plus, we didn’t have the best service here so I’m not sure it is somewhere we would return to.

After Little Rhein Prost Haus we made our way to Rita’s on the River and had drinks and a small snack. We experienced amazing service here and even received some recommendations from our server on places to explore. We also learned here that you can get drinks to go and walk along the river, which is a really cool perk and would allow you to see different portions of the river without sitting at each bar to finish your drinks.

After Rita’s on the River, we did a little walking and made our way to Pearl District with a few stops along the way.

First, we stopped at Pink Shark bar and had some cocktails on their happy hour menu- great deals and a super fun atmosphere. You can even ride a few playground toys and take some photographs while here.

From there we walked to Hops and Hounds (which is what was recommended while at Rita’s). We believe this place could be cool on a weekend night, but for us during the day on Thursday was just okay, so we went next door to check out Elsewhere Garden Bar and Kitchen. This place is really unique and fun, and you can sit on swings while people watching those walking along the River Walk.

Finally, we made our way to Pearl District for dinner. The overall experience here was good. We had dinner at the food hall located in the center of Pearl District, but I was extremely hot so wished there was better air conditioning in the actual food hall itself. But the food was good, and we enjoyed sitting outside as the sun was setting and again people watching the busy square. I would recommend the area to someone visiting and it looks like there are events in the area if you are interested in markets or yoga classes.

That was a wrap for our Thursday- but we felt really accomplished knocking so many things off our list- The Alamo, River Walk, new restaurants and places for drinks and Pearl District.

Friday Colin had to work during the day, so we had a slower start to the weekend. We had a late lunch at Ray’s Drive In, which is known for having the original puffy taco. We enjoyed this restaurant, had great service and Colin and Steve even tried the puffy tacos. Parking was a little tricky so if you are going during busy hours be prepared to park on the street, but otherwise we would recommend this restaurant.

After work and lunch, we explored a national park site- San Antonio Missions. This is a National Historic Park, and I really loved these sites. We have an Instagram post with additional detail and photos- but these are a must visit if you enjoy historic buildings. There are four missions included in the National Historical Park, but due to time we were only able to explore two of the four (buildings close at 5:00pm so plan accordingly).

As a side note, there are 5 missions in total and the 5th one is actually the Alamo. All five missions make up the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site. But while Mission Concepción, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada are all run by the National Park Services, the Alamo is run by the State of Texas.

The history and views at the San Antonio Missions are amazing. There is a visitor center with a stamp and movie, and walking the grounds and inside the missions was breathtaking. Highly recommend!

After the National Historic Park we explored different bars in the Southtown neighborhood. An important part of this trip was to explore new areas with Steve to see what neighborhoods he might enjoy over others. We thoroughly enjoyed Southtown and would absolutely go back!!

To start we went to Blue Star Arts Complex and had a drink at Halycon. We didn’t explore the complex too much and looking back we should have gone into more businesses to understand the hype of the complex more, but still it was a great place to start our night.

We then found what we considered a hidden gem, Beethoven Mannerchor. Colin and Steve were again excited about getting to explore their Germany culture and we had a blast here.

There was live music from different choirs and bands, we sat outside as the sun was setting, and we had great beer and delicious German food, which was very reasonably priced. It was an awesome time!

From there we walked to The Friendly Spot, which we also loved. But there were also so many places on the way that we could have stopped at to enjoy a drink. We really liked the neighborhood and the walkability in the area.

Finally, to end our night we went to a rooftop bar called Tenfold. It was fairly busy, but we were able to get in with bar service only and enjoyed the close of the night with amazing views of the skyline and of The Tower of the Americas. Previously on the trip we had decided not to spend $20 each on the tower, and the views from Tenfold were so great and included the tower we were happy we had made the decision.

Saturday arrived too quickly, and we had to head to the airport around 5:00pm this day. So, we kept it pretty simple and just did a few extra things. We started our morning at Maple Street Biscuit for breakfast and this was a success. We enjoyed the food and service and would go back again.

 We then went to the Historic Market Square. I enjoyed this a lot for both the experience and getting to enjoy watching the different people and cultures within the area. There are tons of shops and you can also grab a drink and walk through the historical market area. There is also public parking for a flat $10 rate which was a steal for the area.

We decided to leave our car here since it was a flat rate and walked through downtown a bit. Colin wanted to explore one of the oldest bars in America called Menger Bar. You can grab snacks and drinks here and read about some of the history held within the bar. Many historic figures and moments have occurred at this location and the entire indoor area feels authentic (this is also right next to the Alamo if you want to hit this up on the same day you hit this attraction).

At this point it was getting close to our time to take off, so we made one final stop for dinner by the airport and then it was time for takeoff and to head back to Denver.

Overall, we enjoyed getting to explore both the main attractions San Antonio has to offer and some of the lesser-known neighborhoods and bars / food. We had a great time visiting Steve and look forward to going back to see what else the city has to offer.

 -Kayla