It’s an interesting park enclosed by a walled off fortress. The church is simple, but it still stands. I was glad to see the rendering of how it looked when the exterior was tiled. The living quarters are small and cozy, but has a fireplace in each room. The cooking ovens surround the area as well as some well.

There are free tours of Mission San Jose most mornings. Our guide was amazing! He was very knowledgeable and worked to keep the kids on the tour engaged. My son is currently studying Texas History in 4th grade and the tour seemed to cover several curriculum objectives! The grown-ups learned a lot too. There are private companies that offer tours of all the missions, but I wasn't sure my 9 year old would have the attention span for multiple missions. The free tour at San Jose offered by the park was about an hour and just perfect!

It’s a beautiful place. Andrew, our tour guide, did a fantastic job at providing information. It was informative and entertaining, 45 mins is just the right amount of time. It’s free, highly recommend. Thanks Andrew!

Great example of a Mission in San Antonio - one of four in the National Park area, not including the Alamo itself. Has a similar layout to what the Alamo would have been like so you can get an idea of what it looked like without the changes brought about by downtown San Antonio and the Mexican Army. You get a good sense of scale and the visitor centre and exhibition in the Mission compound itself explain what was going on in these places. Admission was free and there was ample local parking. You can drive or cycle between the other missions. Very much the vibe of various westerns from my childhood.

This is one of the best preserved missions in the San Antonio region, which has the luxury of 5 missions, including the oldest, the Alamo. Some of the Mission San Jose buildings are original, others are partly restored. There are guided tours that provide excellent background and place the mission in proper historical context. The artefacts and utensils are enlightening; the church is very authentic and the lodging areas make you grateful you live today. Our guide was excellent. There is ample parking and a very good gift shop. The only deficiency is that there isn't a place to have a cup of coffee or refreshments in the mission or the gift shop.

Fully restored mission, with a church that is still functional, a mill and living quarters. This mission is also where the National Park visitor's center is located. Large well maintained grounds. Clean bathrooms and a large parking lot. This mission really helped me visualize what life in the mission was like. Other than the Alamo, this was the busiest of the missions. We enjoyed the little museum and especially the movie which gives a good basic overview of the history and daily life of the Texas missions. There is a ranger led tour twice a day in the morning (10 and 11 I believe). Quality of the tours vary. To be honest, I wasn't too impressed with the ranger that provided our tour, maybe he is new? He seemed really nervous and stumbled over his words and repeated himself a lot. There was a large crowd of people. On our way out to the parking lot we overheard the beginning of the next tour given by a different ranger, much more personable and engaging. Would definitely recommend if you are interested in learning more about mission history.

Awesome place to visit to learn about the history of San Antonio. Don't just visit the Alamo, get out to a couple of the other missions found on the outskirts of San Antonio, it's worth it. You can either do self guided, or I believe the vistor center can schedule for a guided tour.