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San Antonio, Texas
The root: The Alamo's old mission city, where Tejano culture, mariachi, and the River Walk keep Texas's oldest heart beating.
Eat: Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia — Market Square legend, pan dulce and music since 1941; Boudro's — tableside guacamole on the River Walk; Schilo's — Texas's oldest German deli, split-pea soup.
Skip — don't: Any River Walk restaurant with a barker at the railing and a laminated photo menu — walk two blocks off the river and the price drops by half.
Specialty: Tejano soul — puffy tacos, mariachi plazas, and a 300-year-old mission chain that still anchors the city's identity.
Shops & crafts: Market Square's Mexican import stalls — Talavera, textiles, silver; handmade cowboy boots from local bootmakers; Alamo keepsake shops (the tasteful ones).
See: Stand quiet at the Alamo; take a river barge cruise downtown; stroll the Victorian mansions of the King William Historic District.
Main Street: Commerce Street bridges old and new San Antonio — the river bends beneath it, mariachi drifting up from the plaza below.
After dark: The River Walk after dark — string lights on the cypress trees, river barges gliding past — or mariachi at Market Square.
When — events
Fiesta San Antonio (April, 10+ days of parades)
Ford Holiday River Parade (day after Thanksgiving).
Event dates are the typical annual timing; confirm with the town before traveling.