First 5 things that come to my mind when I hear San Antonio: The Alamo, SeaWorld, Tex-Mex Food, The Riverwalk, and The Missions! I literally can not hear the words San Antonio and not automatically think of its history! I mean this is pretty much where Texas became Texas. So that is why visiting the Alamo and the missions in San Antonio is a must see experience!
It has been on my bucket list for so long to visit each of the San Antonio Missions and we finally did it! If I had known it was going to be that amazing I would have made it a priority to go so much sooner!
Growing up, I visited a ton of historic buildings; but these were just gorgeous! I mean each of the buildings were so beautiful and with the ancient charm of it were practically breathtaking. I am pretty sure I took about 200 pictures between the 4 missions and the Alamo! These missions truly capture the beauty that San Antonio was built on.
What are the missions?
First question you might have is what the heck is a mission? So lets start with a little history lesson. A mission is a community that is centered around the church. In the 1700’s these communities were built to educate in religion, farming, and all aspects of life. It was a place where Native and Spanish cultures came together to create a beautiful community.
Each of these missions were centered around a cathedral as the Spanish sought to spread their faith. You will find these cathedrals at each location as well as housing, granaries, and other sorts of buildings that were used in those times.
The Alamo is a slightly different experience than the rest of the missions though as it has a slightly different story behind it. Though it started out like all of these other missions, this mission eventually became a garrison and a fort during the Texas Revolution. This is where the great state of Texas began.
So much history is in these missions, but they aren’t just history! Though the communities may be only ruins now, the incredible cathedrals still stand tall and are even still active churches!
What you will find when visiting each of these locations is a grand cathedral and surrounding each will be leftover remnants of the past. Some have restored housing, some have restored granaries and storage halls. There are old walls, aqueducts, murals, fireplaces, and so many other beautiful ruins.
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General Information
FAQs
- How much does it cost? Its FREE! That’s right, it is free to visit all of the missions as well as the Alamo.
- Is this a kid friendly activity? Yes! I have 4 little kids and they all loved going through the different rooms and walking into the churches.
- How long does it take to visit all of the missions? It took us about 3 hours.
- Can I bring my dog? Yes! Dogs are not allowed in the exhibits or in the churches though. They must be leashed!
- Is there parking? There is parking at each location except for the Alamo. Parking it very limited though so it is sometimes hard to find a space.
- Can I go inside the missions? Yes, just remember that these are active churches, so be considerate.
- Are there tours or is it self-guided? You can do either. You are more than welcome to go at your own pace and explore on your own. You can even have a cell phone tour if you would like and listen to the audio as you go along. There are also tours offered at the Mission San Jose between 10am-11am, about 45 minutes long.
Things you will need when visiting the missions:
Our Experience At The Missions
The Alamo
The main event and one of the most iconic buildings in all of Texas is the Alamo! I have been to the Alamo about 4 times in my life and each time I can tell you there has been one thing in common each time; it is super busy! A couple times that I have been we even had to wait in line to go into the Alamo.
The grounds are absolutely beautiful and in the surrounding walls is where you can learn more about the Alamo story. Inside the Alamo there is not much to see. There are a couple old flags and artifacts, but mostly you just get the experience of walking in this old building. It certainly is a beautiful building!
Parking is a nightmare, and can be super expensive. The parking lot behind the Alamo (closest to the building) is only $5, if you go first thing in the morning usually you can get a space.
Mission Concepcion
Mission Concepcion is the oldest unrestored stone church in America! This cathedral looks so old, yet some how so strong. It is huge! I couldn’t believe how tall it was! Unlike the other missions this one was pretty much just the cathedral. There were some short hall ways, a garden, and a storage area; but that was all that was at this mission.
One of the coolest things about Mission Concepcion is that there are original murals in the rooms! It is incredible to see this old art work!
Mission San Jose
Mission San Jose was my absolute favorite mission! It was BEAUTIFUL!! The architecture of all of the buildings were so beautiful. I mean look at these pictures, it is just gorgeous! There were detailed saints carved into the front of the cathedral. The most beautiful part though was the arches at the side of the building, they were just breathtaking!
This mission is huge and probably has the longest walk around it. You walk through the gate and immediately you see just door after door of rooms. You can even walk through some of them that have been restored. As you walk along the path you will come to the arches, cathedral, storage units, and exhibits.
If you have kids I suggest bringing a wagon cause like I said it is quite the walk, it is all paved except for under the arches so that makes it easier to walk.
Mission San Juan
Mission San Juan is another long walk around the grounds. The cathedral still stands tall, but all of the buildings surrounding it are basically ruins. One of the buildings were never finished and is actually where many people were buried. The grounds are well taken care of and there is a paved path around the entire grounds.
There weren’t a ton of people here, but the parking lot was completely full. It seemed like a lot of people were parking to bike the missions trail and not necessarily to see the mission themselves, so good luck finding parking!
Mission Espada
Mission Espada has the tiniest little cathedral, but even though it tiny it is so beautiful! The grounds of this cathedral are covered in flowers! The fun part about this mission is that you can walk through almost all of the ruins. It is so cool to see all of the rocks put together in these buildings, its like the earliest game of Tetris preserved in the walls.
The walk around these grounds is about the same as the distance around San Juan. It is probably around a 0.6 mile walk. The only building that really still stands is the cathedral, the rest are ruins. There is a museum on the grounds as well.
Tips For Visiting The Missions in San Antonio:
- Start at the Alamo and end at Mission Espada- Most people start at Mission Espada and end at the Alamo so that it they can end with the river walk. If you are planning on doing that then it makes sense to me that you go ahead and follow the crowd. That is exactly what you will be doing is following the crowd. By the time you get the Alamo, everyone will be at the Alamo. Finding cheap parking is a nightmare by the way. Also inside the Alamo gets pretty crowded.
- Wear sunscreen, sun glasses, hat, whatever you need to keep cool- It is so hot and the sun is bright, bring something to beat the heat!
- Don’t go on Sundays, church is in– These are active parishes and so on Sundays there are church services at varying times of day. So if you are wanting to see the inside of the cathedrals, then Sundays might not be the best of days.
- Lots of walking so wear comfortable shoes- There is a lot of walking involved in seeing each of the missions. At each mission you will walk from the parking lot to the grounds and around the lot. San Jose, San Juan, and San Espada is about a .6 mile hike around each of the grounds (not including off trails. That is almost 2 miles to visit just 3 of the missions.
- If you have little kids, bring a stroller/wagon– Like I said in the last point, it is a lot of walking. I have 4 little kids and they are pretty used to hiking, but towards the 3rd mission they were already fighting over who got to ride in the stroller next. If I could go back I would make sure I had a wagon with me at each stop to haul my kids around as they got tired of walking.
- The best time of year to visit is during fall-spring- I don’t know if you have ever been to Texas, but it is HOT! San Antonio is especially hot, because it is also humid. Walking around each of the missions in the 100 degree weather is not near as enjoyable as going in the 60-70 degrees of fall-spring.
- If you don’t want to do the tours, try the cell phone tours
- No flash photography in the Alamo
Other Fun Things To Do In San Antonio:
Try the Man Vs Food Challenge at Chunky’s Burgers
Pet Sharks and Stingrays at the San Antonio Aquarium
Feed Flamingos at the San Antonio Zoo
Try the Ninja Course at Airtopia Trampoline Park
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