San Antonio River Walk

San Antonio's famous network of walkways along the San Antonio River, one storey below street level and stretching for fifteen miles through the city. Lined with restaurants, bars, hotels, and shops, it is the city's main tourist artery — crowded in summer but undeniably pleasant in the evenings when the lights reflect off the water and river taxis chug past.

The most attractive section runs through the loop downtown between the hotels; further extensions north toward the Pearl District and south toward the Mission Reach are quieter and less commercialised. The Paseo del Rio (as Texans call it) hosts the famous Fiesta San Antonio celebrations in April, when the river is decorated with lights and thousands crowd the banks. River boat tours run year-round.

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A story
The River Walk exists partly because of a flood. In 1921, a catastrophic flood killed 50 people downtown. The subsequent debate about whether to pave over the San Antonio River or preserve it was settled by a young architect named Robert Hugman, who proposed instead a European-style network of winding paths, shops, and restaurants one level below street level. His plan was adopted in 1939, funded partly by New Deal public works money.