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Tips & Traps
Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
- TipA place or a move worth it
- TrapWhat to avoid, and how
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Insider advice from Local Friends and travelers. What to do, and what to avoid, city by city.
Join RALF to share your own tips and traps
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Hotel Emma fills the 1894 brewhouse of the old Pearl brewery and kept the 134-foot brewery tower, pipes, fermentation tanks and brick walls as part of the design. Walk through the lobby and bar even if you stay elsewhere to see the industrial details. It is named for Emma Koehler, who kept the brewery running through…
The Menger opened in 1859 on Alamo Plaza and still takes guests today, some in rooms with Alamo views. Even if you stay elsewhere, step in to see the 1887 Menger Bar, built as a replica of a London club bar, where Theodore Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders. Ask for an Alamo-view room when you book, and ask at the front…
Each May, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center runs the Tejano Conjunto Festival, described as the first and longest-running conjunto festival in the United States. Bands built around the button accordion play at Rosedale Park on the West Side, with a seniors dance and hall of fame events at other venues. Wear dancing…
Every October, Hemisfair fills with more than 80 handmade altars, music stages, an art market and two processions for Muertos Fest, a free Day of the Dead festival that began in 2013. Go on the Saturday for the full program and join a procession if you wish. Bring a photo for the community altar, and treat the altars…
Just outside the city in Helotes, John T. Floore's Country Store is a dance hall and cafe that opened in 1942, with a calendar of country and Americana acts. The venue also lists free Reese Bros barbecue lunches and dine-and-dance events. Check the calendar, buy headliner tickets early and plan a ride or a designated…
La Villita is a seven-acre historic village on the south bank of the River Walk, restored between 1939 and 1941, and its old stone and adobe buildings now hold galleries, artisan shops and cafes. Stroll the car-free Villita and King Philip streets, step into studios and ask makers about their materials before you buy…
Sam's Burger Joint, on East Grayson Street by the Pearl, books live music most weeks, mostly Americana with rock, blues and jazz nights mixed in. The show calendar is posted months ahead, so choose a night first and then plan dinner around it. Some shows are free, and the venue closes on Thanksgiving. Ask the staff…
Paris Hatters on Broadway has been family owned since 1917 and sells Stetson hats in straw and felt. Staff fit each hat to your head and build, then shape the brim and crown before you leave, and they also clean and reblock old felt hats. Look for the antique hat blocks and the hand-cranked cash register while you…
The Hays Street Bridge, an 1881 railroad truss moved to its site around 1910, is now a pedestrian and bike crossing just east of downtown, and its deck frames the skyline. Locals come at golden hour for the sunset or at dawn for the quieter light. Walk up in the late afternoon, bring a layer for the breeze, and…
The Japanese Tea Garden in Brackenridge Park sits in a sunken limestone quarry, where stone for downtown buildings was once cut, and now holds ponds, a waterfall, stone arch bridges and a pagoda. Go early or late for softer light and fewer people in the frame. The Jingu House cafe on site is walk-in only, so you can…
Opened in 1929, the Majestic Theatre was designed by John Eberson in the atmospheric style, with towers, arches and ornament meant to feel like a fantasy world. It is a National Historic Landmark with about 2,264 seats. Check the venue's historic tours listing for the winter season, or book a Broadway seat and arrive…
The San Antonio Museum of Art, on the Museum Reach, has free general admission on Tuesday late afternoons and the second Sunday morning, but only for Bexar County residents who show proof of residency. Visitors from elsewhere pay the regular fare, and special exhibitions can cost extra. Plan your visit for another…
Go Rio runs a river shuttle as well as the 35 to 40 minute narrated cruise, and the shuttle is the practical way to travel along the water from downtown up the Museum Reach, where the San Antonio Museum of Art has its own landing. Boats come roughly hourly from noon, and you can pay at a booth or on board. Cruise…
San Antonio has many low-water crossings over creeks, and in May 2026 fire officials named the ten with the most rescues, mostly north of Highway 90 and along Salado Creek. Heavy rain can flood them fast, and 12 inches of moving water can carry away most cars. Check the city's flood page before driving after storms…
Phil Hardberger Park is a natural area on the north side with about 6.5 miles of dirt trails, split by Wurzbach Parkway and joined by the Tobin Land Bridge, a wildlife crossing that opened in December 2020. Start at the west entrance by the Urban Ecology Center and follow the flat central trail to the bridge. Only…
Government Canyon State Natural Area, northwest of the city, often reaches capacity, and the park says reserving a day pass online or by phone is the way to guarantee entry. Book before you go, then take the rocky five-mile trail to the dinosaur tracks, which show best when the ground is dry. Bring plenty of water…
Garcia's Mexican Food on Fredericksburg Road has been run by the Garcia family since 1962 and keeps an old-school menu, from eggs with salsa and flour tortillas at breakfast to combination plates later. Michelin singles out the brisket taco as the add-on to order. It is a plain, no-frills room, so go for the cooking…
On Fredericksburg Road, the Original Donut Shop has been making donuts and breakfast tacos since 1954, and the tacos come on freshly rolled tortillas. Locals pick a taco or two, then add a hot cinnamon roll or a sprinkled donut from the case. Arrive early, because the lines are long for a reason. Ask what just came…
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