No visit to San Antonio is complete without a stroll along the River Walk (E. Commerce Street). Threading through downtown, the pedestrian stretch alongside the San Antonio River features cobblestone paths and garden-bedecked banks 20 feet below street level. GO RIO Cruises (315 E. Commerce St.) offers visitors an exciting addition to any trip with an overview of the canal-like waterway, though some are content to simply people watch, with a margarita in hand.

Hands-on learning—whether it involves operating a pint-size front-end loader, mining for gems, milking a cow or opening a bank account—is the name of the game at The DoSeum (2800 Broadway St.). Kids can also create art, watch themselves on a video screen and climb to the tippy-top of a tree for an awesome view of the museum's three floors.

For Macy's and other national chains, follow the mall rats to a complex on the River Walk called Rivercenter , 849 E. Commerce St., with an IMAX theater and more than 100 nearby restaurants and stores. Weary shopaholics find respite on the steps of the mall's lagoon, where the musical group Andean Fusion puts a New Age spin on Incan sounds Monday through Saturday. You'll also find a smorgasbord of memento-browsing opportunities elsewhere along the San Antonio River. Here lollygagging tourists flaunt newly purchased wares—from T-shirts touting Texas virtues to trucker hats promoting the Lone Star State's unofficial don't-mess-with-us policy, a popular slogan that evolved from a highway anti-littering campaign.