Current Time in San Antonio, United States

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States and the second-largest in the state of Texas, located in the south-central part of the state on the edge of the Texas Hill Country and the Coastal Plains. With a population of approximately 1.5 million within city limits and nearly 2.7 million in the greater metropolitan area, San Antonio is a dynamic, fast-growing city with one of the richest and most layered historical and cultural identities in the American Southwest.

San Antonio's history begins with the founding of a Spanish mission settlement in 1718, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited European settlements in what is now the United States. The city served as the most important Spanish and later Mexican settlement in Texas and was the site of the famous 1836 Battle of the Alamo, where a small Texan garrison held out for thirteen days against Mexican General Santa Anna's army before being overwhelmed. The cry Remember the Alamo became a rallying call for Texas independence, and the Alamo mission building in the heart of downtown San Antonio is today the most visited historic site in Texas.

San Antonio's River Walk, known in Spanish as Paseo del Rio, is the city's most beloved urban feature. This 15-mile linear park along the San Antonio River, lined with restaurants, hotels, bars, galleries, and botanical gardens, runs mostly below street level through the downtown area and hosts millions of visitors annually. The River Walk earned its present form through ambitious public works projects beginning in the 1930s and has been expanded and improved continuously. The city's five historic Spanish colonial missions, including the Alamo, together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only one in Texas.

San Antonio's cultural character is deeply shaped by its large Mexican-American population, which forms a majority of the city's residents, giving it a distinctive bicultural Spanish-English character unlike any other major American city. The historic Market Square, or El Mercado, is the largest Mexican market in the United States and a vibrant center of music, food, and crafts. Tex-Mex cuisine, conjunto and mariachi music, and Dia de los Muertos celebrations are central expressions of the city's living cultural identity.

The city is home to several military installations including Joint Base San Antonio, the largest military installation complex in the United States, which contributes enormously to the local economy. The health care, tourism, and financial services industries are also major economic pillars.

Transportation includes an extensive VIA Metropolitan Transit bus network and San Antonio International Airport, which serves domestic and international routes. Efforts to expand light rail and improved public transit are ongoing.

San Antonio's deep historical roots, vibrant Mexican-American culture, world-class historic attractions, warm climate, and affordable cost of living combine to make it one of America's most approachable, culturally distinctive, and rapidly growing major cities.