After a season of frenzied holiday shopping, the last thing that many people want to think about is more shopping. But January in San Antonio is the perfect time to have meaningful personal and cultural experiences. Don’t think of it as shopping— consider itretail therapy!
Start by stocking your pantry. Locals and travelers love to pop into the So Flo HEB for assorted food items, wine and craft beer. Foodies will also love a trip to Central Market—full of delicious aromas, this is the place to pick up specialty treats that aren’t available elsewhere. For heavier libations, check out Pig Liquor in South Town. This charming hole in the wall offers carefully selected spirits as well as a fun selection of funky vintage gifts. Focus on wellness and relaxation as you move into 2017 with a trip to one of downtown SA’s fantastic spas, and be sure to update your products while you are there. You do not have to be a hotel guest to book appointments or visit the retail areas. Check out the world-class spa at the Mokara Hotel for upscale lines like Babor, Aromatherapy Associates and Skinceuticals. Another downtown option is the top floor of the Hotel Contessa, which is dedicated to the familiar Woodhouse Day Spa. Visitors can pick up unique candles, spa robes and other beauty related items for themselves and others, and hopefully work a massage or manicure into their trip. (Don’t forget that the Woodhouse Spa has many locations, so a gift card would be an ideal item to pick up for a January birthday girl.) Local women and men flock to Twirl Salon, located in Blue Star Arts Complex, to stock up on Bumble and Bumble items for their hair, as well as items from the Tata Harper line of organic skincare products to truly pamper dehydrated skin. Some of San Antonio’s finest and most unique retail spaces are located in museums located in or around the downtown area, on the Museum Reach of the San Antonio River. The San Antonio Museum of Art, The Briscoe Western Art Museum, Witte Museum and the Doseum, along with the McNay Art Museum, will come together in January to offer the best of museum gift-shopping.
This page: Top: Twirl Salon located at the Blue Star Comlex; Center: A variety of unique and handcrafted items delight visitors at the Tiny Finch; Bottom: Spa at the Hotel Contessa.
www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com
Each museum is a perfect post-holiday sanctuary and all feature outstanding exhibits. At the Doseum, families can find engaging indoor and outdoor play, pick up unique children’s gifts for classmates and cousins in the shop, and enjoy hands-on learning in one trip. The store collections at the McNay, SAMA and Briscoe Western Art Museum each reflect the mood of the museums, and feature books, jewelry, art and other treasures that are certain to please art lovers. Since the holiday RIO Magazine
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