Planning a girls weekend in San Antonio? This guide has the best places to shop, eat, and sightsee during a San Antonio girls trip.

A woman in black jeans and a green sweater stands in front of a fountain and yellow wall with colorful flags overhead on this San Antonio girls trip.

I’ve been to San Antonio a few times while living in Texas, but my last visit during the holiday season was for a girls getaway. Turns out, browsing boutiques, sipping cocktails, brunching at cute pink cafes, and hanging out at street festivals with your friends is one of the best ways to experience the city!

We went on a food tour in the Pearl district, shopped in La Villita, had dinner on a boat under twinkling lights, and, of course, strolled up and down the River Walk.

Whether you’re gathering your besties for a birthday weekend, bachelorette bash, or just a much-needed girls getaway, a weekend in San Antonio has everything you need. From bike rides on the Mission Trail to rooftop cocktails, shopping, and spa days, this guide covers the best things to do on a San Antonio girls trip — based on my own experiences.

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A woman in a pink sweater and pink bow stands on a stone bridge facing the river in front of her.

Stroll the Riverwalk

It’s pretty impossible to visit San Antonio without experiencing the River Walk. Encompassing 15 miles of pathways along the San Antonio River, the park and pedestrian path makes a loop through downtown and stretches north to the Pearl district and south to San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

Originally designed about one hundred years ago for flood control, the River Walk has developed to connect hotels, restaurants, museums, and popular attractions downtown, while also serving as a cultural landmark and beautiful spot to enjoy the city a level below street traffic.

The river boat tours (details below) are a great way to experience a longer stretch of it than you may want to walk, but be sure to get out on foot to admire spots like Rosita’s Bridge (by the Arneson River Theater) and the Selena Bridge (by La Mansion del Rio) up close.

The River Walk is especially pretty during the holidays, when over 100,000 lights twinkle in the trees after dusk.

A blue flat boat full of people drifts by a stone stage where tuba players are setting up for a concert.

Cruise and Dine on the River

Spend any amount of time along the River Walk in San Antonio and you’ll pretty quickly notice the flat boats full of tourists cruising along. Go Rio offers water shuttle service to key points along the River Walk as well as sightseeing tours and special experiences (think mariachi music serenades, cocktail cruises, and themed “party” boats).

We opted for a dining cruise, where the boat served us a three-course menu from a local restaurant to enjoy while we slowly drifted along. Dinner cruises can host up to 20 people, so it’s the perfect activity for a girls trip in San Antonio. You can also charter a boat and customize the theme – perfect for bachelorette parties or birthday bashes.

Watch The Saga at Main Plaza

Held at the Main Plaza in downtown San Antonio (between the River Walk and the Spanish Governors Palace), The Saga is an after-dark art projection on the historic San Fernando Cathedral. It tells the story of San Antonio’s establishment via colorful visuals in a 24-minute show. It’s outdoors and open to the public, so pop by on an evening out with the girls.

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A woman in jeans and a pink sweater walks down a stairway with decorative tiles on the floor and concrete walls to the sides.

Shop in La Villita

I always love strolling through La Villita when I visit San Antonio. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the artisan village has a couple dozen shops and galleries with handmade goods in one square block. It’s a great spot to pick up locally crafted souvenirs, jewelry, art, and more.

The setting itself is a piece of art, too, with picturesque adobe architecture and cobblestone streets that speak to its nearly 300 year legacy. The village connects to the River Walk through a stairway that leads down to the Arnesan River Theatre seating, with a bridge connecting to the stage.

A red and green cafe and bakery sign on a brick building with colorful flags strung up to the side.

Get Pastries in Historic Market Square

Historic Market Square is a hub of Mexican food, shopping, and culture just a half mile from the River Walk. The plaza has roots in the 1730s, but moved to its present location in the 1890s.

Today, it’s decorated with colorful overhead flags along the pedestrian mall, where vendor carts line up between the buildings that hold Mexican restaurants, import stores, and gift shops. It buzzes with activity and entertainment, especially during special events like Fiesta San Antonio and Día de los Muertos.

While you’re there, pop into Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia, a cafe and bakery that is absolutely decked out in colorful, festive frills. If you don’t want to sit down to eat, you can line up at the bakery counter to grab treats.

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A canvas tent is pitched next to a cannon in front of a brick building at the Alamo in San Antonio.

Visit the Alamo

You can’t go to San Antonio and forget the Alamo. The old stone mission is a Texas legacy, best remembered for its connection to Davy Crockett and the Texas Revolution.

It’s free to access the grounds and the old Alamo Church (reserve a ticket in advance), and the site also has a living history camp with reenactors and demonstrations. It’s pretty touristy, but you can learn a lot about Texas history in the 1800s if you dig in.

A new museum that opened at the site in 2023, the Ralston Family Collections Center, has an Alamo exhibit and hundreds of artifacts on display (fees apply).

Explore the Mission Trail

If you have time to venture outside the main downtown hub, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a must-visit and the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas. The collection of four missions in this park date back nearly 300 years.

The sites are free to visit, and you can even join occasional ranger-led tours at some of them.

A red plant pot in front of a tan brick building that is a food court in the the Pearl district of San Antonio.

Take a Food Tour of the Pearl

San Antonio is one of just two UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy in the United States, so you better believe there is some good eating here! On a weekend girls trip to San Antonio, I love doing a food tour to sample several restaurants and dishes.

We did one in the Pearl, a historic brewery renovated into a shopping and dining district toward the northern end of River Walk (about 40 minutes on foot from the central area). Our stops in the Pearl included a main course in a private silo room at Southernleigh Fine Food, where we chowed on fried chicken, jalapeno cheddar grits, and asparagus with a cheesy mornay, and deserts at Carriqui, where we drooled over flan, tres leches cake, and key lime cheesecake.

If you want to recreate my tour or plan your own custom version, Food Chick Tours offers options in the Pearl and other areas of San Antonio.

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A tall and thin tower looms over a plaza with a pond.

See the View from Tower of the Americas

Riding to the top of Tower of the Americas is something you should do at least once in San Antonio. The tower is 750 feet tall and the view of the city from the observation deck is unbeatable!

The plaza at the bottom is also a popular spot for local markets, festivals, and other community gatherings. I’ve stumbled upon some event every time I go!

Browse the Briscoe Western Art Museum

Art meets cowboy culture at the Briscoe, a museum for everything American West. Grab your gals and head to the permanent collection to find the Women of the West galleries featuring female artists.

Three levels display everything from paintings and sculptures to pottery, beads, and memorabilia. With its blend of Indigenous, Mexican, Spanish, and Tejano culture, the museum offers an interesting visual history of Texas.

A bowl full of chilaquiles with tortilla chips, bacon and avocado on the top.

Brunch at Box St. All Day

The city has so many incredible restaurants, but if you’re looking for a spot to brunch during your San Antonio girls trip, you can’t beat the frilly umbrellas and pink decor of Box St. All Day. We ate here on a chilly morning, and they even had a supply of fluffy blankets on hand to keep us warm.

The menu here is nearly impossible to choose from – I had the chilaquiles (because, San Antonio), but they also have mouth-watering sweet breakfasts like strawberry cheesecake French toast and a waffle topped with fried ice cream, a dulce de leche drizzle, and fruit loop crumble.

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Two woman in jeans and sweaters stand on a sidewalk by the river with a stone bridge behind them and a red boat floating by.

Have a Spa Day

Listen, can you even have a girls weekend in San Antonio without some time at the spa? OK, you probably could, but once you see the Mokara Spa, you’ll definitely be tempted to spend some time soaking in a bubbly tub or getting a body polish treatment and massage.

The spa is pretty big, so it would be easy to host a group here during a girls trip or bachelorette party. And since it’s attached to a hotel on the River Walk, there’s also amenities like a rooftop pool and cafe for lunch or cocktails.

12 Fun Things To Do on a Girls Weekend in San Antonio