McNay Art Museum

The McNay Art Museum is the most beautiful museum visit in San Antonio, and one that many visitors miss because it sits in the leafy Alamo Heights area rather than downtown. It was founded through the bequest of Marion Koogler McNay, an artist, teacher and collector who left her home and her collection to the city, and it opened in 1954 as the first museum of modern art in Texas. The setting is part of the appeal: her 1920s Spanish Colonial Revival house, with its tiled courtyard, fountains and arcades, is the heart of the museum, and walking from room to room still feels like visiting a gracious private home. The collection she started, and that later donors expanded, is strong on late nineteenth and twentieth century European and American art, with works by many of the names you would hope to see in a modern collection, along with a deep holding of prints and drawings and a celebrated collection devoted to theatre arts, including set and costume designs. The newer Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions, a light-filled glass wing, hosts the major temporary shows, and contemporary acquisitions are an active part of the program. Outside, sculpture is scattered across the lawns and the dedicated sculpture garden, and small groups are welcome to picnic on the grounds without a reservation. Parking is free on site, which is unusual for a major museum. Admission is modest and tickets are sold through the museum's online ticketing; check the visitor information page for the current days and hours, which vary, and for occasional closures for events and weather. The drawback is location: you will need a car, rideshare or VIA bus, about fifteen minutes from downtown.

Plan the visit as a two-part experience. Begin in the historic house, where the intimate galleries, courtyard and tilework set the tone, and give yourself time with the modern masters before the house gets busy. Then cross to the Stieren Center for whatever major exhibition is on; the McNay programs ambitious shows, and they are often the reason locals return. If you have an interest in stagecraft, ask what is on view from the theatre arts collection, which is one of the most distinctive of its kind in the country.

The grounds deserve as much time as the galleries. Walk the lawns and the sculpture garden, find the fountains and the courtyard pond, and bring a simple picnic: small groups of up to five can picnic free in unscheduled areas. Spring and autumn are ideal, and the museum is cool and calm in summer. Photography for personal use is generally allowed, but do not touch the outdoor sculpture or step into the fountains. The McNay is also a museum that rewards repeat visits, because its rotating exhibitions range from historic modern painting to contemporary art, photography and design, and its education programs, family days and evening events give locals reasons to come back. First-time visitors who think of San Antonio only as the Alamo and the River Walk are often surprised by the quality of the collection and the elegance of the setting. If you are short on time, prioritize the house galleries and courtyard; if you have longer, add the current exhibition and a slow loop of the grounds.

Logistics: the McNay is at 6000 N. New Braunfels Avenue, about five miles north of downtown, with free parking for cars and buses and VIA bus access. It pairs naturally with the Witte Museum, the Botanical Garden and the DoSeum, all within a short drive, and with lunch in Alamo Heights or at the Pearl. Allow two hours, more for a major exhibition. Couples looking for a quieter, more elegant afternoon than the River Walk will find it here.