Shopping

San Antonio offers the shopper a nice balance of large malls and little enclaves of specialized shops. You'll find everything here from the utilitarian to the unusual: a huge Sears department store, a Saks Fifth Avenue fronted by a 40-foot pair of cowboy boots, a mall with a river running through it, and some lively Mexican markets.

You can count on most shops around town being open from 9 or 10am to 5:30 or 6pm Monday through Saturday, with shorter hours on Sunday. Malls are generally open Monday through Saturday 10am to 9pm and on Sunday noon to 6pm. Sales tax in San Antonio is 8.25%.

The Shopping Scene

Most out-of-town shoppers will find all they need downtown, between the large Rivercenter Mall, the boutiques and crafts shops of La Villita, the colorful Mexican wares of Market Square, the Southwest School of Art and Craft, and assorted retailers and galleries on and around Alamo Plaza. More avant-garde boutiques and galleries, including Blue Star, can be found in the adjacent area known as Southtown.

Most mainstream San Antonians prefer to shop in the malls along Loop 410, especially North Star, Heubner Oaks, and Alamo Quarry Market. The city's newest large scale mall is out along the outer loop (Loop 1604), 14 miles northwest of downtown, just west of where the loop intersects I-10. This is now the fanciest mall in town, having secured the city's only Neiman Marcus and only Nordstrom, and it has plenty of smaller retail stores to match the same well-heeled customer base. More up-market retail outlets can be found closer to downtown in the fancy strip centers that line Broadway, where it passes through Alamo Heights (the posh Collection and Lincoln Heights are particularly noteworthy). Weekends might see locals poking around a number of terrific flea markets. For bargains on brand labels, they head out to New Braunfels and San Marcos, home to two large factory outlet malls.

Shopping A to Z

Antiques -- In addition to the places listed on this site, a number of antiques shops line Hildebrand between Blanco and San Pedro, and McCullough between Hildebrand and Basse.

Art Galleries -- ArtPace, in the northern part of downtown, and the Blue Star Arts Complex, in Southtown, are the best venues for cutting-edge art, but Finesilver Gallery, 816 Camaron St., Suites 1 and 2, just north of downtown (tel. 210/354-3333; www.finesilver.com), is a good alternative. Downtown is home to several galleries that show more established artists. Two of the top ones are Galería Ortiz, 102 Concho (in Market Square, tel. 210/225-0731), San Antonio's premier place to buy Southwestern art; and Nanette Richardson Fine Art, 555 E. Basse Rd. (tel. 210/930-1343; www.nanetterichardsonfineart.com), with a wide array of oils, watercolors, bronzes, ceramics, and handcrafted wood furnishings.

For more details on these and other galleries, pick up a copy of the San Antonio Gallery Guide, prepared by the San Antonio Art Gallery Association, at the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau, 317 Alamo Plaza (tel. 800/447-3372 or 210/207-6000). You can also check out the art scene online at the Office of Cultural Affairs' website, www.sanantonio.gov/art/website, with links to several local galleries, and schedules for events held during July's Contemporary Art Month.

Toys -- If your child is especially hard on playthings or your cash supply is running low, consider buying used toys at Kids Junction Resale Shop, 2267 NW Military Hwy. (tel. 210/340-5532), or Too Good to Be Threw, 7115 Blanco (tel. 210/340-2422).

Love Potion No. 9

Ask a proprietor of a botanica, "What kind of store is this?" and you'll hear anything from "a drugstore" to "a religious bookstore." But along with Christian artifacts (including glow-in-the-dark rosaries and dashboard icons), botanicas carry magic floor washes, candles designed to keep the law off your back, wolf skulls, amulets, herbal remedies, and, of course, love potions. The common theme is happiness enhancement, whether by self-improvement, prayer, or luck.

Many of San Antonio's countless small botanicas specialize in articles used by curanderos, traditional folk doctors or medicine men and women. Books directing laypersons in the use of medicinal herbs sit next to volumes that retell the lives of the saints. It's easy enough to figure out the use of the santos (saints), candles in tall glass jars to which are affixed such labels as "Peaceful Home," "Find Work," and "Bingo." Milagros (miracles) are small charms that represent parts of the body -- or mind -- that a person wishes to have healed. Don't worry that many of the labels are in Spanish as the person behind the counter will be happy to translate.

Papa Jim's, 5630 S. Flores (tel. 210/922-6665; www.papajimsbotanica.com), is the best known of all the botanicas (Papa Jim, who used to bless the various artifacts he sold, died a few years ago). Can't make it to the shop? Order online or get a copy of the more comprehensive print catalog by phoning or ordering through the Papa Jim's website.