ABOUT THE PLACE

San Antonio is easily the best tourist destination in all of Texas. This is the one place that has everything: the Riverwalk, real Texas culture, amusement parks, El Mercado, and of course THE ALAMO. The great thing about downtown San Antonio is that all of the major points of interest are all within walking distance of one another. There are a million and one resources on the web for information about San Antonio and all it has to offer, so I am only going to comment on a few key aspects here:

• THE ALAMO - Okay, you can't visit San Antonio without visiting the Alamo. The first time anyone sees it the first thing they always say is "it looks so much smaller in person". It may look small on the outside, but on the inside it's like the Tartus from Dr. Who. The interior of the Alamo is a museum with several artifacts from the battle, and they even have a lock of Davey Crockett's hair on display. Another section of the compound has been turned into a nice museum which holds many interesting items relating to the era.

• THE RIVERWALK - Restaurants, shopping, riverboat tours, etc. Best time to visit is between Thanksgiving and New Year's when they have the entire Riverwalk lit with lights at night. It is an incredibly beautiful sight.

• EL MERCADO - It's hard to describe this place. It is like an indoor flea market, but with quality stuff. Sort of like a cross between a mall and a Mexican market I guess. You can get really nice pieces of art, food, clothing, and of course piñatas.

For such a touristy area, downtown San Antonio is quite reasonably priced. Parking is cheap (or free in many cases), the food on the Riverwalk is reasonable, and the stuff for sale is not over inflated.