Visit the San Antonio Missions in Texas, USA
Follow the San Antonio River south and move through a chain of mission communities built in the 18th century. Mission ConcepciĆ³n still contains original frescoes, Mission San JosĆ© spreads around a large walled complex, while San Juan and Espada preserve churches, living parishes and elements of the agricultural systems that once sustained them. Four of the missions form San Antonio Missions National Historical Park; the fifth UNESCO-listed mission, San Antonio de Valero, is better known as the Alamo. These places tell a complicated story of Spanish colonisation and the Indigenous communities drawn into the mission system. The missions combined Catholic religion, farming, craft production and settlement, bringing Spanish and Coahuiltecan traditions into sustained contact. UNESCO recognised the five complexes in 2015 for the evidence they preserve of that cultural interaction, visible in everything from settlement layouts and irrigation systems to church decoration. The churches at the four National Historical Park missions remain active Catholic parishes today, so these are still functioning community places rather than abandoned ruins. Start at Mission San JosĆ©, where the main visitor centre, museum and free ranger programmes provide useful context, then continue to ConcepciĆ³n, San Juan and Espada. The Mission Reach trail links the park sites with downtown San Antonio, making it possible to explore by bike as well as car. Entry to the National Historical Park is free, with park facilities currently open daily from 9am to 5pm and exterior grounds accessible from sunrise to sunset. Add this to your list and explore the missions as a connected landscape rather than stopping only at the Alamo.