The best museums to visit in San Antonio

Briscoe Western Art Museum

For visitors of San Antonio it can be worthwhile to explore the local culture. And an excellent place to start off with that is the Briscoe Western Art Museum, which is a museum that focuses on preserving the history, art and culture of the American West. 

The museum has permanent galleries, items on rotating display, temporary exhibitions and a garden filled with more than 30 bronze sculptures. Where you will be able to explore American cultural heritage in the form of sculptures, paintings and historical artifacts, such as guns, saddles, spurs, wagons, uniforms and more. Giving you an insight in the lives of American cowboys, native Americans and others who have made the West their home. The museum also has a beautiful model of the battle of the Alamo, giving you a great sense of the scale of this historical event.

As this museum lies in downtown San Antonio right on the River Walk you will undoubtedly come across it as you visit San Antonio. So you might as well check it out while you’re there. The museum’s gift shop also offers some pretty interesting memorabilia which you could take home to remind you of your visit to San Antonio and the Briscoe Western Art Museum.

The Witte Museum

The Witte Museum is a museum dedicated to Texas, the Lone Star State. But what makes this museum especially interesting is that it covers the entire history of the region, from modern times all the way to the prehistoric era.

That means you can expect the bones of giant dinosaurs, the stories of millenia of information preserved in our soil, a recreation of a hunter gatherer camp which shows how people lived thousands of years ago, everything about the Texan ecosystem including bisons and other animals living in it, travel exhibitions how the different trails connected Texas, historical artifacts and stone age tools, paintings of American cowboys and hunting native Americans, an exhibition about ranching, the tools that people used to live on the frontier, and even cave drawings and rock art.

The Witte Museum is a very educational and family friendly museum that few others can compete against. The sheer scope of the museum makes it one of the most fascinating museums of San Antonio and will certainly keep you entertained throughout. The museum has also invested in keeping itself up to date by adding quite a bit of interactivity to its exhibitions, which kids will certainly appreciate.

The museum lies next to Brackenridge Park, so there are also many other things to do in San Antonio within walking distance, such as the San Antonio Zoo and the Japanese Tea Garden. But the Witte Museum itself has everything you need to keep you entertained for hours, as a museum that combines everything from natural history exhibitions to Texan history.

San Antonio Museum of Art

The San Antonio Museum of Art is an expansive universal museum where you can find works of art from across the world covering a period of thousands of years. So you will not only find contemporary art here, but also older works from Asia, Europe and Latin America. It even has one of the largest collections of Latin American and ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman works that you will find in the southern states.

So even people with a passing interest in culture will have a great time at the San Antonio Museum of Art, or SAMA in short. In their stunning collection you will find historical works from different time period, from ancient Greek jars with imagery of Herakles to Egyptian mummy masks. From a sculpture of Marcus Aurelius to Samurai gear. From a portrait of George Washington to works of Bouguereau. And from tribal masks and Aztec gods to Christian paintings of the last judgement and the deluge. With more than 30.000 works not everything can always be on display in the museum, but the museum does good job representing the different cultures from across the world and it’s a joy to behold.

The San Antonio Museum of Art can be found to the north of the city center. It’s a bit too far to walk, but to give you an impression, it’s about a mile to the north of the Alamo, next to the River Walk and close to the Pearl District. You will find the museum in a monumental building which used to be a Lone Star Brewery. The museum is packed with a diverse and high quality art collection and visiting it is certainly one of the best ways to spend your time in San Antonio.

The DoSeum – San Antonio’s Museum for Kids

The DoSeum is an interactive museum for kids where they can do things, overcome challenges and enjoy learning experiences. It feels a bit like an attraction park for small children, where they can play with the interactive art. The museum has no age requirements, but many attractions do seem to be targeted at kids around the ages of 0 to 12 years old. The museum also offers a great opportunity for parents to bond with their children by enjoying the various exhibits together.

Different galleries of the museum offer different educational experiences for the kids. At the Spy Academy exhibit kids can enjoy exhibits focussed on improving their digital literacy and observation skills. While the Innovation Station allows children to improve their motor skills, tinker and build, giving them insight in the process of creation. For small children there is is an exhibit called Little Town, where your toddler can play pretend and be pilot, veterinarian, cook or something else. In the Force Course the principles of motions will be explored. Imagine It! is a place where children are encouraged to make their own stories. In the Sensations Studio allows kids to explore sight and sound, making it possible to for example illuminate objects and play DJ. The Explore exhibit allows children to be little urban planners and see how the world is connected. And if the weather allows it, which is quite likely in the sunny San Antonio, children can play in a large outdoor exhibit called the Big Outdoors, where children can slide, climb and manipulate water. 

If you have young children and want to offer them a fun and educational experience in San Antonio, then going to The DoSeum is probably one of the best options you have. That’s why we at Meet The Cities consider The DoSeum one of the best museums to visit in San Antonio. The museum fills a distinct niche and offers an unique experience that will surely entertain both the parents and the children.

McNay Art Museum

The McNay Art Museum was the first modern art museum in San Antonio. The museum regularly has different exhibitions on display, so throughout the year you will encounter different pieces from its collection. As the art collection spans over 22000 pieces you will find the McNay Art museum offers quite some variety in its offering. 

Its mesmerizing impressionist art collection is certainly one of the highlights of the museum, but you will find much more at the McNays. The focus of the museum lies on its modern and contemporary art, but you will also find centuries old theatrical art. You will find outdoor sculptures in the garden and rare prints on the inside. There are beautiful pieces from New Mexico to Christian medieval and Renaissance art. You will find many masterpieces among the European works, such as works from El Greco, Rodin, Van Gogh, Picasso and Gauguin, but you will also find stunning American art from Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock and much more. It’s a very tasteful collection that never disappoints. 

The museum lies to the north of the city center in the Alamo Heights, so it’s best to visit the museum by car or taxi. And you can certainly spend an afternoon here exploring some rare gems that are unique to this world. Few museums in the area can match the unique collection the McNay Art Museum has to offer.

San Antonio Fire Museum

If you want to learn more about everyone’s favorite heroes, then you can visit the San Antonio Fire Museum. This museum tells the story of the firefighting of San Antonio. 

The historical vehicles that the fire department has used over the centuries are quite fascinating to see and can be enjoyed by both adults and children. You’ll learn how the fire trucks and equipment developed over the years, and how people in the old days had to put out fire without the modern technology we have today. Seeing all the historical photos, helmets, antique gear and memorabilia you can’t help but to imagine what it must’ve been like for the firefighters of the past.

The museum is run by passionate volunteers, and a visit is surprisingly affordable. As the museum is right around the corner of the Alamo, it can also easily be combined with a visit to the Alamo. So when you are in the area, you might as well check it out. Especially if you have kids the Fire Museum is a pleasant surprise.