WHERE: The Alamo, San Antonio. The faint sound of cannon fire, firsthand accounts, the famous cry, "Remember the Alamo!"

Millions of people come each year to the site of one of the most famous battles in history, where they stand in the mission-turned-fort that, for a while anyway, held off the Mexican army. They read about the fight, see artifacts from the time and are urged to never forget what happened.

Now visitors also can listen to the history of what has become a source of Texas' undying pride.

WHAT: The Alamo began offering a 55-minute audio tour last month that gives each listener music, sound effects and perspective from historians, as well as dramatic readings of eyewitness accounts of the 13 days in 1836 that ended with the fall of the Texan-defended Alamo.

The tour takes visitors throughout the grounds of the former fort, including the shrine dedicated to those who died — once a church — and the long barrack, now a museum.

"The audio tour gives visitors the opportunity to live through the experience," said Alamo Director David Stewart.

The audio tour also offers trivia a visitor might not otherwise learn. For example, that the bump on the top of the Alamo church that distinguishes its famous facade was added in later renovations.

The Alamo gets 2.5 million visitors a year and is the most visited tourist site in Texas, Stewart said. "If you're on the audio tour, you're hearing the story and standing in the place where it all happened," he said. "You have the experience of standing where Davy Crockett died or where the north wall was. It becomes more personal to you rather than trying to visualize it."

The tour was produced by Discovery Audio in cooperation with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, which has maintained the Alamo since 1905. Discovery Audio also produced the popular audio tours at Pearl Harbor, Alcatraz and other famed locales.

IF YOU GO: The Alamo Audio Tour, San Antonio; Alamo admission is free; the audio tour costs $5, or $6 if you keep the ear buds. Summer hours (through August) are Mondays to Thursdays 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Fridays to Saturdays 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sundays 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The tour is available in English, Spanish, German, French and Japanese. www.thealamo.org.