The city of San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas is composed of a number of neighborhoods and districts, spreading out surrounding the central Downtown Area.

Central The central area of San Antonio is highly diverse economically, ethnically, and socially. While the term "Central San Antonio" is not widely used, the notion of a greater area around the downtown core exists. Neighborhoods and districts that fall within this area are not easily categorized as part of the city's north, south, east, or west sides. City Council District 1 is a slender geographic area that covers most of the city's central area, roughly bordered by I-410 to the north, I-10 to the west and south, and I-37/U.S. 281 to the east. Alamo Heights, a separate municipality located a couple of miles northeast of downtown, is an inner suburb that is often considered central.

Downtown

The urban core of the city and metropolitan area, Downtown San Antonio encompasses many of the city's famous structures, attractions, and businesses. The central business district is generally understood to cover the northern half of the "Downtown Loop"—the area bordered by Cesar Chavez to the south. Due to the sheer size of the city and its horizontal development, downtown accounts for less than one half of one percent of San Antonio's geographic area.

Downtown is a popular destination for tourists. Attractions such as the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, the Alamodome, St. Paul Square, the Pearl Brewery, Market Square, and the Shops at Rivercenter attract millions of visitors every year. The city hosts an annual Christmas lighting festival on the river to welcome the holidays.

Midtown Neighborhoods

Bounded by Hildebrand Avenue to the north, Broadway to the east, I-10 to the west and I-35 to the south, Eastside of San Antonio's Historic District features an assortment of neighborhoods ranging from the working class Beacon Hill to the up-and-coming Five Points to the established upper middle class Monte Vista. Each neighborhood has distinctive housing characteristics, from Victorian in Beacon Hill to French Eclectic, Neoclassical and Italian Renaissance in Monte Vista.

Located between Alamo Heights and Downtown, and East side of San Antonio Historic District is one of the most historic areas of metro San Antonio, home to Temple Beth-El, Trinity University, and neighborhoods such as Five Points, Tobin Hill, the Monte Vista Historic District, Alta Vista, Beacon Hill, University Hill, and Trinity Heights, Brackenridge Park and the Japanese Tea Garden known as the Garden District.

Tobin Hill is located on the Eastside of San Antonio bordering downtown, this area is a mix of residential, commercial, and cultural space, including many of the city's gay bars.

Olmos Park Terrace, a neighborhood that was granted historic district status by the City of San Antonio in 2007, lies just north of Hildebrand next to the City of Olmos Park. It borders the districts of Eastside of SA, and Downtown.

Southtown

The city's near south side is referred to as "Southtown." Immediately south of Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly Durango St.) along South Presa/South Saint Mary's/South Alamo streets and, more recently, South Flores is a district of Downtown San Antonio known as Southtown. Southtown is next to the King William Historic District, where the writer Sandra Cisneros has a home, and the Lavaca neighborhood, as well as the warehouse and loft conversions of Blue Star Contemporary Art Center along South Flores/Probandt/Cevallos streets. Once labeled Texas' most eccentric neighborhood by Texas Monthly magazine, Southtown is known for its diverse community, art galleries, restaurants, and Victorian era homes. There is a heavy concentration of resident artists and contemporary art spaces, such as those found on emerging South Flores. Restaurants and bars in Southtown include Bar America, Blue Star Brewing Company (adjacent to Blue Star Contemporary Art Center), Rosario's, La Tuna, El Mirador, and The Friendly Spot. Art spaces and galleries include Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, UTSA Satellite Space, San Antonio Art League, SAY Si!, Joan Grona Gallery, David Shelton Gallery, Cactus Bra Space, Three Walls Gallery, Justice Works, REM Gallery, San Angel Folk Art, Stone Metal Press, and Fiber Artspace. On the first Thursday of the month the serious area art galleries have openings. On the first Friday of every month, Blue Star essentially acts as the hub of the Downtown event known as First Friday. A diverse crowd of art lovers can visit galleries, art spaces, vintage stores, and street vendors selling art and jewelry, all while listening to live music. Second Saturday is usually on the following weekend after First Friday but sometimes falls on the very next day. Second Saturday is a monthly showcase of the area commonly known as SoFlo (a trendy abbreviation for the South Flores street where it is located) also known by its inhabitants as the South Flores Arts District. The area is only a few blocks South of the Blue Star District but is popular for those who want a less crowded environment than the one found at First Friday. Art galleries include One9Zero6, FL!GHT, LoneStar Studios, Salon Mijangos, Gallista Gallery, and Triangle Project Space. Artists in the area with studios include Andy Benavides, Justin Parr, Ed Saavedra, Zane Lewis, Thomas Cummins, and Dario Robleto. Once a year in the Fall, the S.M.A.R.T fair is an annual festival held to support the various arts in San Antonio.South Flores Arts District upbeat, lively, San Antonio Express News, January 25, 2008.

North Due to a history of northward development, the North Side is the city's largest and, generally, wealthiest side of town. Historically, San Antonio's north side of town was and still is largely white, a character that it retains while diversifying along key corridors such as the medical center, UTSA, and Stone Oak. Most households are lower middle to upper class.

Alamo Heights

Located along the city's Broadway corridor about two miles (3 km) northeast of Downtown San Antonio, lies Alamo Heights, an incorporated city completely surrounded by San Antonio. Often known simply by its ZIP Code ("78209" or "the '09"), Alamo Heights is roughly bordered to the south by Hildebrand Avenue, to the north by Interstate 410, to the east by Fort Sam Houston, and to the west by US 281. The enclaves of Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills are included in this area. This area also includes a large swath of Broadway from Mulberry to Loop 410. Inside this area is also Mahncke Park (the neighborhood and the park), McNay Art Museum, the Witte Museum, Brackenridge Park, Botanical Gardens, San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio Country Club and Japanese Tea Gardens. The whole of 78209 zipcode is sometimes referred to as "Alamo Heights" even though the precise boundaries of the Alamo Heights city and school district are much smaller than the boundaries of the zip code.

Uptown Central Uptown, officially Uptown Central, consists of a very large area separated into two large segments.

Uptown Broadway is home to a concentrated area of "old money" bedroom communities. These communities are Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Lincoln Heights, and Terrell Hills. Combined the total population of these three communities is almost 16,000 people on . That is a density of nearly 4,000 people per square mile (1,500 km2).

Famous people that reside in Uptown Broadway include Thomas Gibson (Terrell Hills), Tommy Lee Jones (Terrell Hills), and many others. This area is home to quite a few high-rise residential buildings, with more planned. Uptown Broadway is also home to many trendy boutiques as well as two very prominent museums, the McNay Art Museum and the Witte Museum. The University of the Incarnate Word is on the southern fringe of Uptown Broadway.

With nearly five million square feet (465,000 m2) of retail and nearly 20 million square feet (1.86 km2) of office space, retail in Uptown Loop consists of well known North Star Mall; San Pedro Towne Center, with Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and DSW; Park North Plaza, at the site of what was once Central Park Mall. Central Park Mall was demolished in 2003, and development of Park North on the former mall site began in 2004. The new Park North Plaza includes an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, many restaurants, Target, Sears, an Aloft hotel and many more shops. North Star Mall is anchored by Dillard's, Macy's, JCPenney, Saks Fifth Avenue, Forever 21 and The Cheesecake Factory.

The San Antonio International Airport is at the center of Uptown at the intersection of I-410 and U.S. 281. VIA Metropolitan Transit operates its North Star Transit Center at the intersection of San Pedro Avenue and I-410.

Companies based in Uptown San Antonio include Harte-Hanks, Friedrich Air Conditioning, Southwest Business Corporation (SWBC), and Frontier Enterprises (owner of Jim's Restaurants).

The former town of Longhorn, founded by the Longhorn Cement Company, was located in what is now the Uptown Central neighborhood. It was subsumed into San Antonio

North Central North Central is home to many small municipalities landlocked within the city of San Antonio. Some of these cities are the San Antonio CO-OP district, Castle Hills, Dellview, Hill Country Village, Hollywood Park, and Shavano Park. The area also includes the upscale neighborhoods of Elm Creek, Inwood and Rogers Ranch, as well as the upper-middle-class neighborhoods of Deerfield, Churchill Estates, Hunter's Creek, Oak Meadow, and Summerfield.

Far North Central Far North Central is home to many of San Antonio's luxurious homes. Such upscale communities in this area include Scenic Oaks, Sonterra, Canyon Springs, Encino Park, and Stone Oak.

Celebrities in residence include "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Bruce Bowen, Joe Horn, Eva Longoria, Shawn Michaels, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Malik Rose.

Northeast Side The Northeast Side, a very suburban area, is home to Randolph Air Force Base, Schertz, Converse, Universal City, Selma, Kirby, Windcrest, and Live Oak. Four school districts educate this side of the city, including Judson, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City and North East. The northeast side also houses The Forum, which is one of San Antonio's largest shopping centers consisting of a variety of shops and restaurants (located on the corner of Loop 1604 and I-35). Rolling Oaks Mall also serves this area (located on the north side of I-35 at Loop 1604 and Nacogdoches Road).

Northwest Side The Northwest Side of San Antonio is home to a wide range of neighborhoods, suburbs, and businesses unique to the Alamo City.

The community is the location of the main campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and the Northwest Campus of the University of the Incarnate Word, which includes the Rosenberg School of Optometry.

Also located in northwest San Antonio is the Medical Center District, which is home to the South Texas Medical Center hospital and research district. The Medical Center is surrounded by neighborhoods including Bluemel, Oak Hills, Mockingbird Hill and Cinnamon Creek, along with notable parks like the Denman Estate and Foundation Trail. Insurance and banking giant USAA, and Billing Concepts are headquartered in the area. Close to USAA is San Antonio's oldest subdivision, Oakland Estates, which was platted in 1926.