the new light show at the San Fernando Cathedral is pretty amazing. It's downtown.

Lorelei, it's great that you thought of that. Here's Shirley's blog about it:

The Heart of the City: San Antonio|The Saga

Check the website for current information.

I just want to say hi, and I'm 'eavesdropping' on texasgin's question and bookmarking this thread because my husband and I will be visiting San Antonio in a couple of months for his work. I think most of our time is already spoken for, but I'm interested in ideas of things to do if we get some free time.

I looked it up, within walking distance where we will be staying. Happening Tuesday noght. Thank you, looks fabulous. Isn't that the church where you can go in and light a candle?

Some things on our list..boat ride, el mercado, towers of the Americas, buckhorn saloon, merger bar, bracken ridge park..hoping there are some flowers. And now the cathedral.

I think the Botanical Center would be better for flowers but Brackenridge and the zoo is nice too. The Pearl (and that section of the river walk) is a lot of fun, and the Missions are nice too.

Elizabet Ney museum, and all the wild parks. San Antonio has a great park system.. There are great small hikes in them. True a bit of a drive , but really cool.

Not sure if it's your cup of tea, but SA has a bike rental system that's really inexpensive. I think it's $2 and as long as you swipe your credit card every 30 min to "check in" that's all it costs. You can pick up in one place and drop off at a different one if you want. They have rental stations in a lot of areas downtown, southtown, and down the mission reach trail. The bikes are single speed and have wide rear end friendly seats :-)

It's been around a long time, but there's a viewing platform at the top of the hemisphere's needle. Great views of SA. And nice landscaping in that area. In the same area as La Villita.

HTH- Lisa

I second the McNay Art Museum. Great collection in an historic Spanish-style villa with beautiful grounds. Daytime music venues during the week might be sparse, but my bet would be the River Center Mall. They usually have a group playing in the courtyard. El Mercado might have some music going on. Off the beaten track try a walking tour of the King William district just south of downtown. Lots of 1800's mansions, cottages and beautiful yards. In that area is the Pioneer Flour Mill with a great little cafe/restaurant. Adjoining King William to the east is Southtown - the new "happening" place. Pseudo-bohemian, galleries, cafes, etc. If in that area you must stop by La Fruteria and have a drink and some tapas. Truly unique. Also down into Southtown is one of my favorite restaurants - Liberty Bar - very eclectic, steak tartar to meatloaf. San Fernando Cathedral is the home of the district arch-bishop and open to visitors or for service. Also, little known is the Little Flower Cathedral just west of downtown about two miles. Take the River Walk boat ride after dark. It's magical and informative. For great, authentic Mexican food try El Mirador at the near end of Southtown. On the river you can't beat Budro's. For world class dining there is Biga on the Banks on the River Walk and Bliss in Southtown.

Thanks for the great report! Glad to know you had a good time.

Thank you texasgin. The McNay art museum is already on our itinerary, as is a tour of the botanical garden. I think we will try to visit El Mercado and the King William district if we get some time to ourselves. We're really looking forward to our visit.

Are you going with a bus tour, or with others?

The museum and botanical garden tours will be with a group. Most of the rest of our time there is for other activities and meals, but it looks like we'll have a few hours free on one of the days, so I'm hoping we can get out on our own for a bit and see some sights.