Urban Planner OVERVIEW SanAntonio

Settled nearly three centuries ago on the banks of the San Antonio River, in the heart of Texas Hill Country, San Antonio offers meeting planners both historic charm and contemporary energy.The seventh-largest—and third- fastest-growing—city in the United States, San Antonio is home tomore Spanish colonial architecture than anywhere else in NorthAmerica, and has preserved its unique blend of Mexican, German, andWestern history and culture.Famous for the limestone paths and waterfalls of its hotel-lined downtownRiverWalk—once called the “world’s largest hotel lobby”—San Antonio is also known for its plentiful golf courses, parks, and gardens.And an average of 300 days of sunshine a year—plus a newly expanded airport,new meeting facilities, and 43,000 hotel rooms—make it easy to enjoy it all.

BRIGHT LIGHTS,WALKABLE CITY: Many of San Antonio’s leading hotels, restaurants, and attractions—including the RiverWalk and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center—are clustered in its compact downtown.

A RIVER WALK RUNS

THROUGH IT

San Antonio’s eight-mile-long

RiverWalk is brim- ming with restau- rants, shops, hotels, public art—and meeting space,

including the revi- talized, 630,000- square-foot Henry B. Gonzalez

Convention Center. In 2013, the River

Walk will expand to link four Spanish colonial missions. For attendees

who would rather ride than walk, water taxis make more than three dozen stops.

UNFORGETTABLE: More than 2.5 million people a year visit the Alamo, where in 1836 Davy

Crockett and a small band of revolutionaries held out for 13 days against a

much larger force of Mexican troops. Come for the history—2011 is the 175th anniver- sary of the Battle of the Alamo—or just a quiet stroll through the gardens.

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pcmaconvene June 2011

www.pcma.org