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Popular Tourist Traps | Other Tourist Traps Tips | All Tips (34) Year after year literally thousands upon thousands of tourists visit the Alamo, making it the number one tourist attraction in the State of Texas. It is a beautiful park that is free to the public. Its history is well documented, making it one of the more well known pieces of history in the United States.
The administrators of the historic landmark-The Daughters of the Republic of Texas-have, like many of the history books in the United States, have portrayed the colonists in such a positive light & depicted the Mexicans as being some sort of monstrosity. Taking numerous factors into consideration, I was rather appalled at the so called “information” that is provided to visitors at the Alamo.
The facility administrators do provide some information about the post-battle history of the Alamo. They do not, however, mention the parks place in San Antonio’s civil rights history during the turbulent times of the 1960s. On July 4, 1967, the founding members of MAYO-Jose Gutierrez, Ignacio Perez & Mario Compean-established an informational picket line outside of the Alamo in order to highlight the injustices & inequalities experienced by America’s Mexican-American citizens in the United States. For the purposes of history, this informational picket line was MAYO’s first demonstration. And although it was generally ignored by the tourists, it served as a great example of the style of activism the organization would employ in future endeavors.
Perhaps checking into the Alamo's role during the Civil Rights error would be a fun alternative to the white-washed nonsense that is currently spoon fed to visitors today.
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There is a library on the grounds of the Alamo that is opened to the general public (for research only), offering an inquisitive traveler an opportunity to study what I believe to be the real reason behind the colonists (wealthy, white landowners) push for independence:
1. Continuation of slavery
2. Colonization
3. Greed
4. Property Leave a Comment
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The Riverwalk provides a great scenic stroll and is at its best at Christmas time when the trees are strung with white and colored Christmas lights and candle lanterns border the paths. The river is also dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. If you park in the garage at Rivercenter Mall, you can have your garage ticket stub stamped by a mall store cashier to receive one free hour of parking. The mall food court connects to the Riverwalk.
The Riverwalk is festive and scenic, and they usually have Peruvian musicians playing just outside the mall. It's near The Missions, which is another good tourist spot. The 2 bad things about the Riverwalk are that it can be very humid in the summer, and most of the food is overpriced and not worth eating. The only good restaurant I've found there is Acenar, a modern Tex-Mex place at the end of the river. Another word of caution if you do choose to eat along the river--the riverside patios can be quickly covered in greedy, hungry grackels. Grackels are our local annoying bird, and they usually won't let you eat in peace. Leave a Comment
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For the price of $7.75 (general admission), the thirty-minute boat ride around the River Walk is definitely not worth your time.
Instead of wasting your money, I suggest exploring the area on foot. You get more opportunities to explore the various establishments & sights situated along the River Walk, plus it is easier to meet other travelers.
If you know a college student or military member in the San Antonio area, have that person purchase the tickets for you. They are given discounts ($5). Leave a Comment
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One cannot visit San Antonio and the Riverwalk without experience the restful ride on a riverboat through the area. The boat ride gives you a nice break from walking around and the tour guides and always humorous and jolly. I haven't had one of the dinner cruises yet, but I suggest the riverboat ride because there are some amazing views and lots of interesting history of the area that you learn. I've taken the ride three times now and it is always fun.
The best way to see the Riverwalk area is on the boat ride. Make sure you have plenty of film in your camera or plenty of memory on your camcorder because you may just film the entire ride.
There is no substitute for riding on the river in downtown San Antonio. A real tourist will do it. It is fun, relaxing and informative. Leave a Comment
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Places to see are The Tower, The Alamo, The Missions and of course The Ghost Tracks. The legend is that a bus of school children crashed. The streets were then named after the students. I have been there a couple of times. It's very crowded on Halloween. I don't know if the legend is true. One author says it's not but when you go there if you stop your car in front of the tracks your car will be pushed over. They say if you put flour on the back of your car you will find the imprint of the hands of the ghost children who push your car across the tracks so you don't get hurt. It doesn't matter if the legend is true or not, it's still spooky to go down there. Leave a Comment
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I recommend eating on the Riverwalk at least once during your stay-- BUT try to venture out of the area alittle to other places. For example, The County Line BBQ has more than one location, and the Riverwalk location is much pricier thanthe "out of downtown" one.
Pick one or two places on the River that you want to try. Most of them ONLY exsist on the Riverwalk. Pick two and eat there. For the rest of your trip, drive down to highway and find ther places to visit-- you can even walk through downtown (off the river itself) and spend A LOT less money on food.
Some great places to try would be:
Alamo Cafe
Bill Miller
Taco Cabana
Spaghetti Warehouse
Chacho's
Tom's Ribs
Johnny Rocket's Leave a Comment
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What is special or nice about a big, ugly, non-functional tower in every major city in the world? A rotating restaurant? They all have one. A view? Sure, but also an eyesore. It is an impressive 750 feet tall, but its still ugly and a tourist trap. Since 2004 the Tower has been operated by Landry's restaurant company, much improving the restaurant on the top floor, and hopefully draining the company dry. The ride to the observation deck is amazingly cheap for a tourist trap at only $5, but a meal at the restaurant might run you $40-50 per person.
The tower is located in HemisFair Park, which is not much better. Completely lacking open space (what's the point of a park anyway?) the "park" is full of gaudy buildings like a massive convention center, the federal building and a terribly ugly, circular federal courthouse.
Maybe it didn't help that all of the fountains were shut off during my visit. Leave a Comment
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Thank god they only charge $1.50!! This place, which isn't exactly a palace, was built in the 18th century and has served as military quarters, a saloon and as the seat of the colonial government, among other things. It has now been turned into some kind of a museum. When you arrive they give you a little pamphlet with very little information, and they let you roam around the rooms on your own. We were done in about 10 minutes. Really not worth it.
There's a nice enough garden at the back of the house... and I remember laughing at some rather spooky mannequins. That's about it! Leave a Comment
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This is one of those 100% unapologetic tourist traps that is also of course unmissable. Leave a Comment
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Just last month my Mom and I met some tourists who were looking for the Alamo. They were confused because in San Antonio we have an Alamo Street but the Alamo isn't on it. When visiting the Alamo, if you want you can park at Rivercenter mall and get your ticket stamped at one of the stores in the mall. Leave a Comment
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