The visit back to the history. I would highly recommend anyone visiting San Antonio to take some time and try the mission trail visit as well. There are quite a few Spanish missions on the trail that give you a good perspective of how life used to be back in the days. Im really glad that there is no entry ticket or fee to visit these places and they have tried to maintain the historical aspect as well.

The largest of the four missions in Missions National Park. The church was closed the day we visited, but the grounds were open. The exterior walls are mostly complete and shows the massive size of the total complex. National Park Service visitor center was closed due to Covid-19. A Park Ranger was available to answer questions and point out areas of interest.

My experience is a Ancient Holy Ground, if there is evil present with you and pulls you back, keep moving forward, so you can be saved, you will be blessed in full and will be protected, I am born Catholic and a believer in the catholic way, I am also a believer in Christian as well and I know there are a lot of good religions out there, cant wait to learn more about good, Catholic saved my life against evil, evil that haunts your dreams and soul, Christian saved the loved I have for God and connected me in away I was never truly connected when it comes to the heart of God, but Ill tell you this I rather have two religions then none, my path is unique and my beliefs are beyond this world, make sure you pick out a cross and get the cross blessed by a priest, plus dont forget Holy water, light a candle for blessing, touch the Virgin Mary and pray to Jesus Christ, Gods family loves you and the Mission church brings faith, love and Protection, even if your just walking around the building you will be blessed. I promise with all my heart and Soul, God and the holy family is present at all time, you can feel the holy blessing of Gods miracles and family, because in truth we are all family from the father, the sun and the holy spirit amen...

Loved it. Amazing place and so much history.

Just an amazing step back in time. So much history preserved for us to experience. The entry fee is free with plenty of free parking, making this a must stop in San Antonio. We loved being able to go inside the mission and church to experience it all. The mill on the backside was an extra bonus.

Mission San Jose Church. Wonderfully restored interior. Exterior is intact but unrestored.

Very nice mission... Usual interpretive panels plus this site has the NPS Visitor Center with even better interpretation and a video.... Its old but still worth the effort to see.. ideally youd come here first before seeing any of the other missions but its certainly not necessary.Had plenty of parking but its a little off the river walk trail.

Very historic mission church, with lots of beutiful architecture. Toured the sanctuary, the whole grounds, spoke to some helpful people including the local priest. Heard the bell tower chime! So much atmosphere, that I went to several other missions nearby to see more history of the region.Recommend a stop, its not just for religious folks.

I much preferred this historical site to the Alamo. The crowds were smaller. The site was bigger. The mission is in much better condition. The church is still active and is quite beautiful. The rose window is an amazing site to behold.

We loved this mission. Beautiful! There is a peaceful vibe here and lots oh history to learn. Small church from the inside and Mass is still held here. You can attend service but if youre there to take pictures or just walk through, you should wait till service is over.Free admission and free parking.

A few years ago I had the rareopportunity to be able to attendAn Easter Sunday Mass.An experience that I will noteasily forget.I enjoy dropping by nearly everytime when passing throughSan Antonio.....for a quick Prayerand a break from a world thatseems to be upside down !

Absolutely beautiful! I work at The Alamo and have been wanting to visit this mission. It is so rich in history and breath-taking! A butterfly took a tour with me until it was time to go. Wonderful place and they are pet friendly . Gift shop has amazing gifts for yourself or family & friends. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Bless this great place. The music playing inside the church was just right to make me feel connected and it was a perfect feeling. Highly recommend to everyone!

I was really surprised how beautiful this mission is. The missions include several sites near the river walk but of course the Alamo is the one that gets all the publicity so I was really shocked just how beautiful this mission is. Its in great condition and provides an insight to how the area was settled 300 years ago. The church is open for viewing and is spectacular. The mission is part of our national park system. There are park rangers that can help you plan your route if you plan on going to all missions. I highly recommend visiting this local landmark.

Was really impressed by this Mission. Free entry, relaxed atmosphere, lots of room for the kiddos to run free, and historically interesting. Came on a Saturday morning and crowds were there but it is so large it dispersed great.

Unreal! While in San Antonio we visited every mission around and this was the neatest. Church services is still held on the grounds and is beautiful. Water still flows through restored mill, the grounds are well kept. There is a center that you can learn about the Indians and watch videos about the history of Texas and people before us. This is a must see.

This is such a cool place. If youre in San Antonio, definitely make the trip out here. This is such an old church with a great history. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. Its not so crowded, so its a great location to visit if you want to get away from people and go somewhere solemn and sacred.

Mission San Jose is a beautiful historic site. It is still a working mission that has mass and is welcoming to the community and to those visiting the city. Its not far from downtown.

Great historic site to visit and take photos. Plus, it is free.

How amazingly beautiful! An absolute must see! The grounds are kept spotless and is so peaceful. The preservation is so impeccable & the religious statues & figures really speak to you

My husband and I visited this mission on our vacation to San Antonio. It wasnt crowded, and we got to walk along the grounds, through the church, and into some of the small surrounding rooms. The grounds were well-kept and had lots of pretty flowers. There is an old water mill to walk through as well.

Everyone in my family love to stop at the Missions of San Antonio. The history of these missions is amazing and you feel a real sense of Texas and its rich culture, all the way back from the 1700s. The staff were friendly and informative & its free most of all. The water mill in the back of of the church was a surprise and didnt know that was there! Go visit!

This is a really great place to visit, even my 21 year old son liked it good ranger his talk. This is the queen of the San Antonio missions. When you visit the Alamo be sure to visit here. This is a National Historic park and you can get your books stamped in the visitors center.

Beautiful location! We went during a weekend and it was quiet. There is so much to explore and so much history for people to see at this Mission. The church is gorgeous and everyone was very reverent when inside. There is an area where you can light a candle. There is also a gift shop on location. Outside of the Mission there is a visitor center with a theater and a museum.

This place really gets you a feel for what it was like back in the day. Beautiful!! Definitely recommend

Beautiful place!Peacefull historical icon.

Wonderful mission. You can walk to all the others or drive. No admission fee. These missions were built in the 1700s and restoration started in the 1930s.

Largest missionary in SA. Free admission. Easy parking. Can finish walking around within 45 min. Make sure you drop by the visitor center first. :)

Mission San Jose is very well kept up and clean with a large are to explore.The church is also very beautiful and still functions today.

Beautiful Mission to visit. They still have church service. A must see.

Beautiful place to visit! Free entry. The grounds are very well kept and the staff is very friendly.If you have a chance to stop in and learn a little about the history, its well worth it!

Very interesting history. Recommend a Ranger guided tour. We attended the Mariachi Mass. Local parishioners are very welcoming.

You should stop by and learn something new. Rangers were short staffed on our visit, but good signage and rangers on hand. Beautiful grounds, well kept. Would go back.

All the stars for the community at San Jose mission. I assisted the mass at 12 (aka Mariachi mass) and it s such a cultural, spiritual and just human experience. They welcome everyone and they celebrate the diversity. The music is amazing! I d recommend going to the mass and then read the historic information about how San Antonio came to be and the brave Spanish from the Canary Islands that traveled the ocean to set home here.

Lovely location. Very quiet and peaceful to walk through the mission and the grounds are spotless. The church is beautiful and the rose window is amazing. There is a little gift shop and an informative visitor center at the front. A great place to spend some quiet time.

A beautiful place to visit! The welcome center is helpful and informative and the grounds and park are an excellent place to wander and explore. I loved seeing this piece of Texan history.

Must-go place if you travel to San Antonio. It’s one of oldest and greatest historical places. It was very cosy and gave me peaceful moments.

Beautiful church. There is an air of the holy in there. Go to mass. The priest is friendly and welcomes everyone. GOD bless you.

Beautiful place. So much history to learn, the people who maintain and clean this place deserve all my respect. The old mill shows us how hard was life back in the days. Im surprise this place is not a major attraction in San Antonio. Perfect for family pictures, commercial photography... now, this is a real church so please be respectful, Im not catholic but some tourist don’t understand there’s actual services on Sunday, give some space and keep it low, some times tourist must be a ghost, you don’t leave nothing behind and you don’t take nothing other than beautiful pictures of the place, watch your language please!

A beautiful historical Mission San Jose Its the largest landscape in San Antonio. A place to pray and reflect. Tropical plants vegetation Exedra

An amazing place. We attended the sunday mariachi mass which brought me back to my youth days. It is a lovely church, very friendly and welcoming to visitors. The campus is beautiful and gives a great perspective on what these missions looked like in their day. An easy trip from SATX.

Mission San Jose is considered the crown jewel, largest, and most in tact mission of the four on the south side of San Antonio.Like the other four missions, this one is still a functional church, and has been since the first half of the 1700’s.Take your time at this mission, there is really a lot to see here. The walls around the mission are still standing, and the church itself is in pristine shape.Make sure you look for the famous Rose Window on one of the sides of the church and admire the ornate stone carvings around the glass. There is a sign near it that explains who built it, how long it took to make it, and some of the lore around it. The exact reason behind it isn’t really known, but there are several theories or stories.You also get to see quarters where the local American Indians lived.The National Park headquarters are located here. They have a visitor center with a gift shop, some exhibits showing what life was like back then, and also a (free) short movie you can watch. I highly recommend watching this movie before you start walking and exploring - it will give you some perspective from the American Indians side of things and is pretty enlightening.

Pretty, but not open.

So beautiful and peaceful. The Holy Spirit was definitely there. I will be back again. Im from Colorado.

Real nice place to know the history of the San Jose mission.plus the park and River are close bye.and about the mass on weekends

Fully restored Mission. Much more interesting than The Alamo. You can really see what life was like in those days with the inclosed walls with the small rooms where the civilised Indians would have lived. The rooms had the traditional oven fireplace in the corner and bread would have been baked in the beehive ovens outside. The dwellings of the priests and nuns hasnt been restored but the ruins give you an idea. The church has been restored beautifully and I love the fact it is still a working church with regular masses. The signs everywhere are informative without impeding the view. The mill with the working grindstone was impressive. A bit of a photo tip. The grindstone is in a dark place and is hard to see. My brilliant brother Dan suggested I look at it thru my phones camera and that made it so much easier to see when i zoomed it.

Beautiful architecture. Of all the missions, this one was my favorite. It was so nice to see the missions first hand. If youre anywhere near San Antonio, the missions are a must see. Such an important part of our countrys history.

Gorgeous, I wish I had gotten there in time to have walked through.. Next time for sure.

Another historical place worth visiting! It was my first time going there and to say this place is beautiful is an understatement! There is a lot of history in Texas and this is one of those places that carries a lot of it. Monks use to run this Mission and they ministered to the local Native Americans that they also housed in this Mission. A must see for families with children to soak up the culture of that era!

Great place to visit, free and convenient. Good choice for Sunday walks. You can rent bike at this place, pay by app and bike to see other Missions not that far away.

Great place to visit and learn some history.

Fun for the kids and adults. Make sure to do the junior ranger program with the kids. Tour was informative. Mission was beautiful!

Get place to stop when driving on I-10 in San Antonio. Everyone goes to the Alamo when the Missons are very close to vist as well. Pet friendly walking area and a great gift shop. Bring water and a thirst for southwest history.

This is a really interesting piece of history. We would go back and spend more time looking at all the different parts of life in this mission. You can easily spend hours here. The details are very interesting!

Took the city bus for 2.75 round trip. The mission had no cost. It was the larger of the few we visited. Also had a mill, a theater that showed a 20 minute video.

This church is a rare pearl of the past. It is amazing to enjoy its little treasures: remains of original frescos on the wall, wooden steps in the bell tower, decorations near the altar (very similar to the old Spanish churches). You may just wonder how it looked in the past. This is history!

What an amazing structure! We enjoyed the NPS tour and the walk through of the church.

Beautiful site and rich in history. Worth visiting.

Worth the drive. Will be 300 years old in Feb. Different than the Alamo

A piece of Texas history that you should check out. With free daily tours and plenty of shade. A must go.

This is a great visit if youre doing this mission trail. Warning that the area around this mission is a lot less nice than mission conception. While its not as well preserved as conception, its bigger and maybe even more impressive.

Beautiful place to be a visit my family and I we keep coming back very inexpensive great place to be.

Start you Spanish mission journey here! The visitor center gives a nice overview.

Beautiful restful place catholic Mass was fantastic

Bueatiful place!! A large nice grass area surrounded by lots of historical buildings. Great for photo taking and a family fun day.

Drove more than 45 miles even it said it was open we got there and it was closed

A very peaceful place San Antonio always makes me feel in like in mexico i really love it

Very serene and well kept mission.

Pulling up to the church you have no idea how big it is and how much took place inside. My gracious host took me here prior going to the Alamo. He made a good choice. The degree to which this is intact is amazing! If you are planning on going to the Alamo, come here first.

A beautiful place to take pictures because the construction of the place shows an impressive history by the antiquity

Historic church and grounds dating back 300 years. The church to visit if stopping in San Antonio Texas.

I loved this mission the best. There is the visitor center here to give info about the missions.

A must see if youre in San Antonio, TX. Beautiful Church and Property. Saw the movie in the Visitor Center. It was very informative. Enjoyed ourselves here.

Beautiful courtyard. Couldnt go into the church but the exterior was fantastic to look at. Peaceful place to relax.

Great place to visit, go to church, learn, and share with family. This was our third stop on our tour of all the San Antonio missions here and rode up to the Alamo after. While I cycle frequently my family does not. You should be a bit active to be able to make the whole journey, but its not too bad if you stop and hang out along the way. We brought snacks and went in late spring. Oh and did I forget to mention sun block?

Very informative, tranquil, beautiful sights and sitting inside the church you could feel the warmth and take in the love no matter what religion you belong too.

A living history museum. Visit the past from the early days of Texas in a worship center that is still being used today. On the spring day that I visited, as I sat in the courtyard a new bride and groom walked by with some of their party. They had just exchanged their vows in the ornately decorated sanctuary.

Simply stunning!. Bike rental outside, mini bio of the place.

Well worth the trip out here. We rented bikes and rode out to the mission. There is no charge for entry. Theres also a visitors center on the grounds with restrooms and a small shop the sells souvenirs and bottled water etc.

Very interesting place to visit lots of history and culture there dont bother watching the movie youll never get that 30 minutes back again it gives very little detail its just a girl whining about her ancestors

Lots of history and stuff to read!! 1.5 hrs and youre done so quick trip

Next to the Alamo, this is a must-do tour. The Park tour guide was very informative and the church was picture worthy. The museum, although small, had artifacts displayed professionally.

Very beautiful place!. I recommend entering first to the visitors center, to watch the movie (is played each hour) for having a good introduction to the missions and a better understanding of the places that make up the missions. You can visit the church and all the ruins and fields. In august is very hot, but is worth it.

Possibly the crown jewel among the four missions comprising the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park.

The San Antonio Mission Tour is a wonderful touchpoint to our history and culture. Learning the history of the Southwest and its people through the Missions story is especially relevant today in light of our immigration debate. It broadens the perspective of what makes America. Dont miss it... Also, its free!

Absolutely beautiful. I took my kids to San Antonio for the weekend. The River Walk didnt impress them, but this mission did. A mist see for any trip to SA.

My new favorite place my husband and i really enjoyed this place.

Really enjoyed my visit to this Mission. I grew up in San Francisco so seeing missions in Texas were a bit special. We visited this and Concepcion. This one was much more restored but was nice to see what/how things would have been like back then. Gave me a desire to see more missions.

Surprisingly a wonderful place to visit to see how the early settlers lived in South Texas. The old mission and church was stunning.

Enjoyed visiting this mission. There is no entrance fee. Kids and adults will all enjoy this visit. In my opinion it was more impressive than visiting the Alamo. It is the largest of the Missions. In front of the visitors center is a wheelbarrow with brochures in them which offers interesting information. Inside the visitors center they show a 23 minute movie which gives a good overview so you will understand what you are about to see. Also on the hour they offer a ranger who will give you a guided tour. Again at no expense. The mission is quite large and in really good condition. You will get to see the rooms the Indians lived in as well as the church and where the missionaries lived. Very interesting!

This place was really nice and clean. There was a wedding going on so we couldnt go inside the Church. The little rooms were interesting and open for all to see. There were guided tour that we listened to for a few minutes, but we mostly just walked on our own. I recommend this place for some history and a nice walk. We came on late October and it was hot as heck so bring water there is water for sale at the gift shop, but we didnt realize that until the end.

Super cool! Just loved the history o the mission

Very nice place to visit

Absolutely beautiful a must see in beautiful San Antonio Texas

This was the 2nd mission started in San Antonio by Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus. The main visitors center is located here. Take the time to see the video and take s guided tour. The rangers are very knowledgeable and it adds to the experience.

Absolutely stunning!! So beautiful. Should be one on your list when you visit SA

A great historic treasure....went late in the day do rushed through...go earlier!

This was my favorite and the most in tacked, it was so beautiful and inspiring!

Beautiful place. And free!

Beautiful but closed due to government shutdown.

The size and ambience of the mission. Worth a visit.