Destination 01
Downtown San Antonio & Hemisfair
River Walk lights, Celebrate SA and the tower fireworks; two nights downtown.
Celebrate SA
The city's free New Year's Eve party across Hemisfair, La Villita and nearby streets, with music stages, food and midnight fireworks.
Tip Arrive by 9 pm to get close to the tower; food lines grow long after 10 pm.
Tower of the Americas
The 750-foot tower built for HemisFair '68, with an observation deck and a revolving restaurant; the fireworks burst around it at midnight.
Tip Ride up on Dec 30 at dusk for the view over the city before the crowds.
San Antonio River Walk
Stone paths one level below the streets, lined with cypress trees, bridges and restaurants, and strung with lights through the holidays.
Tip Walk the downtown loop after dark on Dec 30, when the lights are on and the paths are calmer.
La Villita
One of the city's first neighborhoods, now a block of 19th-century stone houses with artist studios and shops by the River Walk.
Tip Part of the Celebrate SA footprint on Dec 31; browse the galleries by day on Dec 30.
Boudro's
A River Walk bistro since 1986, known for guacamole made tableside, Gulf seafood and prime rib.
Tip Ask for a table on the water when you book for Dec 31.
Mi Tierra Café y Panadería
A Market Square Tex-Mex restaurant and bakery since 1941, hung with Christmas lights and papel picado all year.
Tip Pick up pan dulce from the bakery counter for the morning.
Esquire Tavern
A River Walk bar open since 1933, with a very long wooden bar upstairs and a cocktail bar downstairs on the river.
Tip Go before 9 pm on Dec 31; it fills quickly once the party starts.
Menger Hotel
An 1859 hotel on Alamo Plaza with a Victorian lobby and the Menger Bar, a walk from both the River Walk and Hemisfair.
Tip Have a nightcap in the Menger Bar, built in 1887 on the model of the House of Lords pub in London.
