Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±

San Antonio, Texas - April 17th, 2019: Mission San Francisco De La Espada Catholic Church;  Mission Espada

Shutterstock ID 1577545378; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

Natalia Silyanov/Shutterstock

Mission Espada

San Antonio


The southernmost mission on the Mission Trail and part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, this site is home to the oldest mission in the east-Texas chain, dating to 1690. The church here was built between 1745 and 1756. This is the best place to check out the historic acequia (aqueduct) – the missions’ irrigation system that’s still in use today and has been designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

To drive from downtown, take St Marys St south until it becomes Mission Rd and then Espada Rd, following the brown signs indicating the direction to the missions.


Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions

Nearby San Antonio attractions

1. Mission San Juan

1.06 MILES

Completed in 1756, the surviving church at this somber mission site is open. Although the mission was originally founded in east Texas in 1716, it was…

2. Mission San José

3.44 MILES

Known in its time as the Queen of the Missions, San José is certainly the largest and arguably the most beautiful of all the sites on the Mission Trail…

4. Mission Concepción

5.57 MILES

The first mission along the Mission Trail heading south from San Antonio, and part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, this site…

5. Steves Homestead Museum

7.04 MILES

Most of the mansions in the King William District can only be appreciated from curbside, but one of them provides guided tours: the Steves Homestead…

6. Institute of Texan Cultures

7.04 MILES

Thirty cultures have made Texas what it is; explore them at the museum of the Institute of Texan Cultures. This Smithsonian affiliate explores the origins…

7. Tower of the Americas

7.22 MILES

San Antonio’s 750ft-high Tower of the Americas is a skyline-defining landmark left over from the 1968 World’s Fair. From the 579ft-high observation deck…

8. La Villita Historic Arts Village

7.5 MILES

History meets commerce at downtown's La Villita. San Antonio's first neighborhood, this 'little village' of stone and adobe houses dates back to the early…