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Famous for its River Walk, The Alamo, Tejano culture, and being home to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by 20 million tourists per year. San Antonio is also home to the first museum of Modern Art in Texas ... more »
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Alamo Heights/Terrell Hills Alamo Trolley Tour Blue Star Arts Complex Brackenridge Park Buckhorn Saloon & Museum Guinness World Records Museum & Ripley's Haunted Adventure IMAX Theatre San Antonio RiverCenter Japanese Tea Garden La Villita Historic Arts Village Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum Market Square Plaza Wax Museum & Ripley's Believe It or Not San Antonio Botanical Garden San Antonio Children's Museum San Antonio Missions National Historical Park San Antonio Museum of Art San Antonio River Walk San Antonio Spurs San Antonio Zoo SeaWorld® San Antonio Six Flags Fiesta Texas - San Antonio Splashtown The Alamo Tower of the Americas Witte Museum Wonder World Park
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Airports Famous for its River Walk, The Alamo, Tejano culture, and being home to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by 20 million tourists per year. San Antonio is also home to the first museum of Modern Art in Texas—the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum.
San Antonio is the second-most populated city in the state of Texas and seventh-most populated in the United States. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a population of over 1.2 million. Its eight-county metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million. San Antonio, which is the county seat of Bexar County, covers over 400 square miles on the northern edge of the South Texas region and southeast of the Texas Hill Country.
San Antonio was named for the Portuguese Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day it was when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. The city has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City Base. San Antonio is home to the South Texas Medical Center, the largest and only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region.
International Airport
The San Antonio International Airport is located in north central San Antonio, approximately eight miles from Downtown. It has two terminals and is served by 11 airlines serving 33 destinations including two in Mexico. An extensive bus and trolley system is provided by the city's metropolitan transit system, VIA Metropolitan Transit. VIA offers 78 regular bus routes and four trolley routes, including express routes from downtown to the theme parks. VIA also offers a special service to city events, including Spurs games and city parades, from its Park and Ride locations.
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Amtrak
Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to San Antonio, operating its Texas Eagle daily between San Antonio and Chicago's Union Station. Amtrak also operates its Sunset Limited three times a week in each direction through San Antonio between Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida. The Texas Eagle section travels between San Antonio and Los Angeles as part of the Sunset Limited. The old Sunset Station is now an entertainment venue owned by VIA and neighbored by the current station and the Alamodome.
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RiverWalk
The River Walk is the city's central entertainment district. It is home to several nightclubs, pubs, bars and restaurants. Among them are Hard Rock Cafe, Biga on the Banks, Jim Cullum's Landing, On The Half Shell Oyster Bar, Durty Nelly's, Mad Dogs on the River Walk, Casa Rio, County Line BBQ, Howl at the Moon, and Dick's Last Resort.
Downtown San Antonio
Downtown, the street scene includes several lounges, restaurants and bars. Among them The Palm, Mi Tierra Cafe Y Panaderia, Coyote Ugly, The Bonham Exchange (the city's most popular gay bar), Rivercenter Comedy Club, Schilo's Deli, Zinc Wine and Champagne Bar, Steers and Beers Saloon, Morton's, The Steakhouse, Swig Martini Bar, Zen Bar, Suede Lounge and Davenport.
Mid-town
Mid-town (north of Downtown) houses a concentration of bars catering to the gay and lesbian community. Located on Main Street near San Antonio College, bars in the area include The Electric Company, The Saint, The Silver Dollar Saloon and Heat. Also on Main St. is The Sanctuary, a small club that caters to the goth community as well as lovers of synth-pop and music from the 1980s.
Saint Mary's Strip
Another area popular with college students is the Saint Mary's Strip. On this strip, several bars and restaurants can be found such as Paparay's, Joey's, The Mix, White Rabbit, Hardbodies, La Bikina, Lime Light, Tycoon Flats (a local favorite) and The Candlelight Cafe. The area is also home to the Josephine Theater, which since 1995 has been home to a non-profit resident theater group, the Josephine Theatrical Company, Inc. The theater originally opened in 1947 as an art-deco style neighborhood movie house.
Native American Indians originally lived along the San Antonio River in the San Pedro Springs area, calling the vicinity Yanaguana, meaning "refreshing waters."
In 1691, a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries came upon the river on the feast day of St. Anthony, hence naming the river after "San Antonio."
Father Antonio Olivares
The actual founding of the city took place in 1718 by Father Antonio Olivares, upon establishing Mission San Antonio de Valero. Hence via the efforts of Spanish soldiers and Canary Islanders, San Antonio de Béxar soon transformed into an early Spanish settlement in the Americas.
The Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo took place nearby in 1836, and eventually the town would grow to encompass the embattled mission. This was where 189 defenders held the old mission against some 4,000 Mexican troops for 13 days. The cry "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying point of the Texan revolution against Mexico.
Today, the Alamo is a shrine and museum located in the heart of Downtown, and is surrounded by many hotels and tourist attractions. It is clearly San Antonio's most well-known landmark, and is featured in its flag and seal and in the city's nickname, "Alamo City".
San Antonio's weather is alternately dry or humid depending on prevailing winds, turning hot in the summer, mild to cool winters subject to descending northern cold fronts in the winter with cool nights, and comfortably warm and rainy in the spring and fall. Only a few freezes occur each year and snow is rare.
In San Antonio, July and August tie for the average warmest months with an average high of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35°C). The highest temperature ever to be recorded was 111°F (43.8°C) on September 5, 2000. The average coolest month is January. The lowest recorded temperature ever was 0°F (-17.7°C) on January 31, 1949. May, June, and October have quite a bit of precipitation. For the last 135 years, the average annual precipitation has been 29.05 inches (73.79 cm), with a maximum of 52.28 inches (132.79 cm) and a minimum of 10.11 inches (25.68 cm) in one year.
Temperature - Yearly Average
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