San Antonio, TX Quick Facts
- Founded: 1718
- Incorporated: 1837
- Founded by: Spanish missionaries (led by Father Antonio de Olivares)
- Population (2023 estimate): 1.495 million
- Official City Website: https://www.sa.gov/
- Total City Area: 465.4 sq mi (1,205.4 km2)
- Counties: Bexar, Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, Wilson
San Antonio Accolades
2023 Accolades
- WalletHub ranked San Antonio at #5 in their “Best Winter Holiday Destinations.”
2021 Accolades
- U.S. News & World Report ranked San Antonio as #1 in “Best Places to Visit in Texas” and in the top 15 in “Best Weekend Getaways in the South” for their “2021 Best Vacation Rankings.”
- PureWow listed San Antonio as #7 in its “The 50 Best Vacations for Kids in the U.S.”
- WalletHub’s “2021’s Best Summer Travel Destinations” survey ranked the San Antonio metro area in the top 15 in the country for budget-friendly travel experiences.
- AT&T’s The Wave survey ranked the San Antonio Riverwalk as Texans’ Favorite Tourist Attraction.
- TravelingMom.com included San Antonio in its “25 Top Teen Destinations for 2021.”
- Trivago listed San Antonio as one of the “Top Seven U.S. Destinations” in a March 2021 study on top-searched and booked destinations.
- Family Vacation Critic featured San Antonio in its “50 Best Family Vacations in America.”
- Travel Daily News named San Antonio among the top 10 in its “The Top Staycation Locations in the U.S.”
2020 Accolades
- AFAR Magazine included San Antonio in its prestigious “Where to Go in 2020” list.
- Condé Nast Traveler recognized San Antonio as #5 in the “Best Big Cities in the U.S.” category in the Readers’ Choice Awards, making it the only Texas city selected.
- Hotel Valencia Riverwalk (#4) and Hotel Emma (#7) were chosen in the Top 20 Hotels in Texas category by Condé Nast Traveler.
- ConventionSouth included San Antonio in its 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards, honoring several local hotels like Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa, JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, and The St. Anthony Hotel.
- San Antonio was voted to TripAdvisor’s “Travelers’ Choice 2020 Best of the Best, Popular Destinations – United States.”
- J.D. Power ranked San Antonio International Airport in the top 15 overall and top 10 among medium-sized airports in its North American Airport Satisfaction Study.
- Food & Wine included Bakery Lorraine and La Panadería in its “Top 100 Best Bakeries in America.”
- The Jerk Shack was selected for GQ’s “Best New Restaurants 2020” and Esquire’s “Best New Restaurants 2019.”
- Chef Steve McHugh (Cured) was named a finalist for the James Beard Award’s Best Chef: Texas category in 2020.
San Antonio Life: Places to Go and Things to Do
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