Best museums in San Antonio

Written by:
May 3, 2019
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

Best museums in San Antonio

The United States is home to more than 35,000 museums, according to data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. These cultural strongholds run the gamut of natural history, world wars, art, and even children's books.

While some fancy a trip to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. or the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, others like to cozy up in a corner and read the Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, Mass. How does one define a museum?

Early museums housed private collections curated by individuals, while today's museums—many of them major tourist attractions—are filled with art, history, science, artifacts, fossils, historical documents, and some curious collections. Along with exhibitions of art, history, and science, Stacker unearthed museums filled with bananas, popcorn, and some very odd stuff.

All across the U.S., visitors can find museums to explore any subject that piques the imagination. A trip to Washington D.C. provides an opportunity to visit a number of iconic museums for free. A visit to Boston means getting to enjoy the Museum of Fine Arts or learn about the Boston Tea Party ships. In California, travelers can tour the International Museum of Bananas before popping by the Wyandot Popcorn Museum in Ohio or The Museum of Bad Art in Massachusetts.

Have you ever checked out the museums in your area? To determine the best museums in San Antonio, Stacker turned to data from Foursquare (data current as of April 19, 2019). All museums were ranked by Foursquare’s algorithm, which predicts the “best” museums based on combined factors of the number of check-ins, rating signals, category matches, tips, and photo trends. Click through this gallery to find out which are the best museums San Antonio has to offer.

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#10. Spanish Governor's Palace

- Address: 105 Military Plaza, San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 7.3
- See more on Spanish Governor's Palace
 

#9. San Antonio Fire Museum

- Address: 801 E. Houston St., San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 7.9
- See more on San Antonio Fire Museum
 

#8. The Institute of Texan Cultures

- Address: 801 E. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd (Market St.), San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 8.0
- See more on The Institute of Texan Cultures
 

#7. The Guenther House

- Address: 205 E. Guenther, San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 8.7
- See more on The Guenther House
 

#6. The Briscoe Western Art Museum

- Address: 210 W. Market St. (Presa St.), San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 8.6
- See more on The Briscoe Western Art Museum
 

#5. The Witte Museum

- Address: 3801 Broadway St. (at Tuleta Dr.), San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 8.6
- See more on The Witte Museum
 

#4. San Antonio Museum of Art

- Address: 200 W. Jones Ave., San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 9.1
- See more on San Antonio Museum of Art
 

#3. McNay Art Museum

- Address: 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave. (Austin Hwy), San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 9.3
- See more on McNay Art Museum
 

#2. Fortress Alamo: The Key To Texas

- Address: 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 8.9
- See more on Fortress Alamo: The Key To Texas

#1. The DoSeum

- Address: 2800 Broadway St., San Antonio
- Foursquare rating: 9.2
- See more on The DoSeum

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