Frommer's San Antonio & Austin
Chapter One
The Best of San Antonio
San Antonio, home to the Alamo and the River Walk, has more character than any
other big city in Texas. Indeed, it is often lumped together with New Orleans, Boston,
and San Francisco as one of America's distinctive cities. And, if you're looking for a
destination for the whole family, you can't go wrong with San Antonio. It has a downtown
area that is attractive and comfortable, a couple of large theme parks-SeaWorld
and Fiesta Texas-and resorts that cater specifically to families.
For most of its history, San Antonio was the largest city in Texas, the "cosmopolitan"
center, where multiple cultures came together and coexisted. It all began in 1718 when
the native Coahuiltecan Indians were seeking protection from Apache raids and invited
the Spaniards to establish a mission here. A few years later, by order of the King of
Spain, 15 families came from the Canary Islands to settle here. (The oldest families in
San Antonio can trace their family tree back to these colonists.) The settlement grew
and prospered. The c ... read full excerpt from Frommer's San Antonio & Austin ebook
