San Antonio in Winter | Travel | Lone Star Looking Glass

I may have adopted Texas as my home state (born & raised in Tennessee!) but that doesn’t mean I don’t have some deep roots already in place in the lone star state. My grandparents are actually both from Texas! Dallas and San Antonio to be exact. They met in TX and started their family in Memphis, where I grew up. Visiting both Dallas & San Antonio always gives me a bit of nostalgia – as I like to imagine what these places were like in the 1920s & 30s when my Grandma & Grandpa lived here.

Of course, so much has changed in almost 100 years. But a visit to San Antonio is really like stepping back in time in some ways. Many of the top attractions in the city have delighted tourists for several hundred years now!

I visited this Texas Hill Country city a few weekends ago and had such a wonderful time that I simply had to share our highlights with y’all! A visit to San Antonio is magical any time of year, but there is something about the quiet chill (and smaller crowds) of the winter season that stands out. Sharing 9 Reasons to Visit San Antonio in Winter below!

9 Reasons to Visit San Antonio in Winter:

1. The Historic Missions

A visit to the San Antonio Missions National Park is a can’t miss activity! We were truly blown away by the beautiful architecture and rich history these Spanish missions had to offer. You could easily spend an entire day visiting all four missions, but if time is not on your side I highly recommend paying a visit to at least Mission San Jose, the largest in all of San Antonio. This is the one we visited. It was very walkable and stroller friendly too. There was ample opportunity for my family to get up close and personal and explore this historic site.

For a bit of background, the missions were built in the 1700s when the original settlers of Texas’ livelihoods were threatened due to various threats from disease and diseases. The Spanish Missions were built as a place of refuge and worship. In order to live under the protection of the missions, entrants would have to forgo their traditional lifestyle and pledge to become Spanish. They were built in a style of Spanish American architecture with Italian Renaissance and Baroque influence. Be sure to stop, stare and study all of the ornate architectural details during your visit!

2. Strolling & Shopping in Historic Market Square

I’ve only been to San Antonio one other time prior to this visit, and both times we didn’t miss a chance to visit Market Square. Market Square is an outdoor plaza that sits in the heart of downtown – home to many different restaurants, shops and most notably The “El Mercado” or Farmer’s Market. Inside the market you’ll find over a hundred shops and stalls boasting embroidered goodies, traditional Mexican pottery, sweet-smelling churros and oodles of art.

3. Tex Mex at Mi Tierra

Right across the street from the El Mercado in Market Square is the famous Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant. On the weekends and evenings, you’ll find a line out the door just to put your name down for a table. But from the past two times we’ve dined here, it has been well worth the wait! (It’s also opened 24 hours.) This colorful eatery boasts traditional Tex-Mex cuisine – we ordered the chicken enchiladas and they were divine!! The food is delicious but the festive atmosphere can’t be beat. Live mariachi bands roam from table to table, entertaining diners with a surprise serenade or song of their choosing.

4. The Alamo

I mean, you can’t not visit San Antonio for the first time and skip out on the famous Alamo!! This was both Patrick and Annie’s first time to step foot in this Texas city so we simply had to pay this historic mission a visit. We stopped by on an oh-so-chilly Saturday and the area was still bustling with a pretty good crowd. At first, we were somewhat intimidated by the line just to enter The Alamo, but thankfully it moved VERY quickly.

The Alamo is free to visitors and marks the spot where The Battle of The Alamo took place in the early the winter of 1836. A bit of history for ya, the battle here was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Many Texans died here defending The Alamo, including James Bowie (the Bowie knife was named after him) and the famous Davey Crocket (who was actually from Tennessee!) Just a few weeks later was The Battle of San Jacinto in April of 1836 where Texas finally won its Independence.

5. Unwind in Hill Country at the JW Marriott San Antonio

On the outskirts of San Antonio proper, nestled in the Cibolos Canyon, lies the JW Marriott San Antonio Resort & Spa. We planned our trip to San Antonio in winter around all of the special holiday festivities hosted by this luxury hill country resort throughout November and December. The JW Marriott San Antonio celebrates Christmas in a BIG way this time of year with oodles of activities for all ages.

Aside from the holiday season, the JW Marriott San Antonio has SO much to offer its guests that you’ll find yourself with little to no desire to leave once you step foot on its 600-acre property. It’s the largest JW Marriott property in the entire world actually! And with hiking & biking trails, 36 holes of golf and a water park you can take a dip in year-round, it’s no surprise people flock to this hill country retreat from all over – including San Antonians!

I’m thinking we are going to need to add a holiday visit here to our yearly traditions from here on out, our stay was that wonderful!

Annie had a blast checking out all of the Christmas decor dotted throughout the property. Each night we were even greeted with a light show timed to Christmas music, sparkling underneath the hill country stars.

6. Splash Away All Winter Long at a Heated Water Park

A splash in JW Marriott San Antonio’s River Bluffs Water Experience is included in a stay at the resort. While water parks and swimming pools are synonymous with summer vacations, several of the pools here are heated all year long. Don’t forget to pack your swimsuit no matter the time of year! We visited the resort in mid-December during quite the frigid weekend (46 degrees is COLD when you live in Texas!) yet there were still so many families out and about enjoying the heated pools at the water park.

The River Bluff Water Experience features a 1,100 ft. lazy river, rapid river rides & slides and multiple pools scattered over nine acres. You can also rent a private cabana for the day giving you all the more reason to sit back and relax in style!

7. Meet a Real Reindeer

There was no shortage of magic during our December visit to the JW Marriott. Elves flitter about the property visiting with guests and entertaining them with holiday treats, activities and more. On our way to breakfast with Santa, we stumbled upon a real reindeer named Jingle. Jingle was taking some time off from the North Pole – on vacation himself at the JW Marriott San Antonio. *wink*

Annie couldn’t get over being up close & personal with this majestic creature and neither could we. Although, instead of calling Jingle “Rudolph” she referred to him the rest of the day as Bambi!

my dress // sweater // shoes & annie’s dress // sweater

All dressed up for breakfast with Santa!

8 Breakfast with Santa & Mrs. Claus

As if the holiday festivities couldn’t get any better, the high-point of our San Antonio stay was visiting Santa and Mrs. Claus themselves after a beautiful brunch at the JW Marriott. Brunch was beyond delicious – including hill country fare such as oysters, crab claws, cornbread, prime rib and more. My mouth is watering just thinking about how delicious it all was!

9. Kicking Back at the Spa

I truly never appreciated a visit to the spa more than I do now that I’m a mom. First of all, as a mom, getting just an hour to yourself to do absolutely nothing is a treat! Spending an hour getting a facial or a massage? Oh my goodness, talk about a luxury!! Patrick spent some quality time with Annie during our stay while I sat back, relaxed and received a much-needed facial at the JW Marriott’s Lantana Spa. Throughout the year, Lantana offers seasonal treatments – Pumpkin Enzyme or Sweet Cherry Facial. I opted for the sweet cherry and it smelled just as good as it felt!

Whether you’re up for some cold-weather adventuring, keeping warm with Tex-Mex feasts or relaxing at the spa, there is something to tickle any of your fancies in San Antonio this time of year! Our recent visit was short and sweet but we managed to pack so much into our stay. I feel like we only scratched the surface of exploring San Antonio and I can not wait to go back and experience more that this colorful Southwestern destination has to offer.

What are your favorite things to do, see and eat in San Antonio? Please let me know in the comments below as I would love to check them out on my next visit too! Thank you all for stopping by the blog and thank you so much to the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country for hosting us this December. It was such a treat!

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