San Antonio Museum of Art

A world-class facility truly befitting of the nation’s seventh-largest city is the San Antonio Museum of Art (200 W. Jones Ave., 210/978-8100, www.samuseum.org [1], 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Tues., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed.–Sat., noon–6 p.m. Sun., $8 adults, $7 seniors, $5 students and military, $3 children, free Tues. 4–8 p.m.). The museum contains a fascinating collection of artwork from across the world, representing all eras and formats. It’s perhaps best known for its distinct and colossal holdings in Latin-American art.

Located in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art (the former vice president provided his extensive collection to the museum), the facility includes an overview of more than 3,000 years of creative offerings from Mexico, Central and South America, and countries of the Caribbean.

The museum’s pre-Columbian collection is particularly fascinating, with stone, ceramic, and metal objects from early Latin-American groups as well as more recent works from the Maya, Aztec, Zapotec, and Inca cultures.

Another noteworthy museum section is the Egyptian gallery, where an enormous statue of the goddess Sekhmet from circa 1350 B.C. greets visitors. Ceramics and stone objects testify to the longevity of the artwork (many of these beautiful objects were crafted by human hands more than 3,000 years ago) and the fascination continues with the museum’s remarkable Greek and Roman art.