To fully explore San Antonio, look beyond Alamo

Courtesy | San Antonio

By Rachel Ambelang
Staff Writer

The punchline, “Texans are very fond of showing off the places where we killed people,” may have some thinking the obvious place to visit in San Antonio is the Alamo, but the historic city has much more to offer visitors than an old battle ground.

One favorite year-round activity is visiting Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Most large cities have theme parks, but Fiesta Texas is especially captivating during the holiday season. San Antonio’s mild winter weather allows Fiesta Texas patrons to enjoy outdoor events.

Most people take advantage of traditional park attractions, such as rides and roller coasters, during this time of year instead of enduring waiting lines in the summer heat.

But there is also a lot of added fun during the holiday season, like a large indoor ice skating rink, holiday shows and concerts, not to mention the whole park is transformed into a winter wonderland. It is a great place for groups of all ages.

San Antonio is also a great place to shop. La Cantera (15900 La Cantera Parkway) is a growing in popularity because of constant expansions and its wide variety of shops, from tastes in style to products.

La Cantera is also very visually appealing because the stores are outdoors, and so it has attracted many nice restaurants where you can take a break from shopping to eat quality food.

San Antonio junior Sam Saenz said the River Walk is definitely where he will be this Christmas break.

“There’s just so much to do in that one area. I don’t care how green the river is. I’ll probably go and check out their flea market one of these Saturdays.”

The River Walk is a much more hectic but also diverse place to shop. Like La Cantera, the River Walk has many nice restaurants known for attracting visitors because they have patios outside by the river.

This setting is especially pretty at night during this time of year because the shops have decorated their section of the River Walk for the holidays.

For those interested in the arts, San Antonio has much to offer. Many museums and shops are located on the River Walk past the shops, such as the San Antonio Museum of Art and the River Walk Floating Art, which is an outdoor experience that combines different mediums of art from all across the globe.

The Majestic Theatre is a beautiful theater that showcases different performances every year. Both “The Nutcracker” and “Fiddler on the Roof “ will be playing throughout December.

“I’m really excited to get back [to San Antonio]. Me and my friends will definitely be out having a good time right after we watch the Bears win the bowl game,” Saenz said.