Mission San José: Queen of the Missions

Of the four missions on San Antonio's World Heritage Trail, San José is the one people mean when they say 'go see the missions' — a walled 18th-century compound so complete it earned the nickname the Queen of the Missions, restored top to bottom by WPA crews in the 1930s after a century of decay. This walk goes deep at just one site: the mission church itself, the hand-carved Rose Window that's arguably the single finest piece of Spanish colonial stonework in America, the restored water-powered gristmill that ground Texas's first successful wheat harvest, the mid-century home of the preservationist who helped save it all, and the cemetery where the families tied to this ground still rest. It's a compact walk — well under a mile — but there's a lot to take in.