San Antonio, Texas 72-Hour Vacation

Texas has always had a reputation for being big, brawling and brash. And while San Antonio doesn't shrink from bragging where bragging rights are due, it's not for nothing that it has often been called the "northernmost city in Mexico." South-of-the-border signs are everywhere, along with reminders of German, Old South and African-American cultural influences. To explore these influences, we start in the historic center of this graceful and eminently walk able city, clinging to the banks of a cypress-shaded river and laid out around plazas according to Spanish Colonial Laws of the Indies—laws formulated to take advantage of a climate that is often short sleeve weather, even in December. And in the city center, there's a wealth of accommodations, both charmingly historic and boldly contemporary, to entice the business or leisure traveler.

Among them is the handsome and historic Menger Hotel on Alamo Plaza, which has housed such luminaries as Theodore Roosevelt, Sidney Lanier, Babe Ruth and Mae West. It's also said to be haunted, with reports of at least 32 sightings of ghosts. Omni, La Mansión del Rio is a romantic, Spanish Colonial style hotel overlooking the historic Paseo del Rio, or River Walk. It has 337 rooms with European-style furnishings and boasts a highly rated restaurant—Las Canarias—with a menu of largely local produce prepared with contemporary flair. The Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, with its historically influenced architecture and stylishly imbued interior, will appeal to the world traveler. And the newer Watermark Hotel & Spa, also on the River Walk, is fast becoming known for pampering its guests with a wide range of spa options, along with dining delights at Pesca, the riverside restaurant sporting a front and center oyster bar. The newest property to occupy coveted frontage on the River Walk is the towering Grand Hyatt adjacent to the Lila Cockrell Theatre of the Performing Arts. Travelers with a yen to mix golf rounds with sightseeing circuits might want to investigate the luxurious facilities at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa or The Westin La Cantera Resort, San Antonio. You'll need a car to get back and forth, but the contrast between urban excitement and rural charm can be rewarding.

DAY 1

Each year, more than 2.5 million people visit the Alamo, the old mission where a small garrison of Texans, Tejanos and settlers held out for thirteen days against the Mexican army of General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The siege finally ended in a bloody battle and the death of the defenders in the early morning hours of March 6, 1836, but the spirits of Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, William B. Travis and their fellow men live on today at this shrine to Texas liberty.

Nowadays, the Alamo consists of four buildings: the Shrine (its famous profile was the result of a fanciful restoration by 19th-century army engineers); the Long Barrack Museum; the DRT library, a research facility and archives run by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas; and the Gift Museum. New to the lushly landscaped grounds—a lesson in local horticulture—is an amphitheater for costumed presentations.

In 1903, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas acquired the Long Barrack and have managed the entire complex since 1905. Even disdainers of Davy Crockett can spend hours here immersing themselves in Texas history. Inside the Shrine there are artifacts such as Travis' ring, Crockett's buckskin vest, a flintlock rifle used in the battle, a period Bowie knife and more. Outside and over the footbridge that crosses a vestige of the old Acequia Madre, one of the city's early irrigation ditches, is the Wall of History exhibit illustrating the Alamo's 300-year history. A seventeen-minute video on the Alamo can be viewed at the nearby Clara Driscoll Theater.

Musician at El Mercado

After brushing up on your Alamo history, move west toward El Mercado or Market Square, the largest Mexican marketplace outside of Mexico, for bargain hunting, souvenir shopping and soaking in the colors, sounds and aromas of Mexican and Tex-Mex culture. (If you decide to walk, it's about 15 minutes down Commerce or Houston Streets, but there's also a city trolley system you can catch on both streets (a few steps from the Alamo). Despite numerous revisions, the sights and sounds of the first public market held on adjacent Haymarket Square (now Military Plaza ) 200 years earlier are still pronounced. The last revamping of the venerable precinct produced a colorful and contemporary building housing a museum affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the Museo Alameda. But before you get to the market and the Museo, we suggest a stop at the venerable Spanish Governor's Palace; it's just behind City Hall and right on your way. Built in 1722, this Spanish Colonial structure once housed the military commanders sent to govern the Presidio de San Antonio de Bejar, whose mission was to defend the Alamo.

Western flair at La Villita

When it comes to food, tourists and locals alike love Market Square's landmark Mi Tierra for Mexican pastries such as cuernos de azucar (sugar horns), sweet empanadas with guava or mango filling, delicious dulces like candied pumpkin, tri-color coconut "flags" and Tex-Mex favorites, including flautas, chiles rellenos, chalupas, enchiladas and goat. Strolling musicians in full, silver-spangled costume offer mariachi music (for a price) at this institution established in 1941.

Just a block away at La Margarita, which is run by the same family, fajitas and seafood are served in an equally evocative setting. And a mere two blocks to the west, Pico de Gallo draws crowds for its tacos and trumpets. Many festivals are held in Market Square during the year, and on any given weekend you're likely to encounter kiosks offering "brimstone brew" in the manner of the fabled chili queens of yore.

After lunch, take the trolley up Dolorosa and Market Streets and get off at S. Presa for the two-block walk south to the charming La Villita (little village) Historic District, once home to Mexican military attached to The Alamo. The area, still steeped in Spanish, Mexican, German and French influences, also features numerous upscale offering art, rugs, blankets and accessories. On your walking tour of the village, you'll see different 19th century homes including the Florian House (1854), Gray-Guilbeau House (1853) and Cos House (1835). Two venerable restaurants, The Fig Tree (think French) and The Little Rhein (steaks are the draw), occupy historic properties in the precinct, and both have unique views of the river. In the summer, Fiesta Noche del Rio, a music festival featuring singing and dancing, takes place in the Arneson River Theater, with seats on one side of the river and the stage on the other.

For dinner, head to The Sand Bar, a casual but very good oyster and fish emporium. A few steps away on Houston Street are steak-centric restaurants such as Bohanan's and The Palm. And if the evening still seems young, slip through the slinky chain curtain at the Hotel Valencia Riverwalk's V Bar for a fashion-conscious nightcap.