I was almost overwhelmed by the amount of cute shops in Fredericksburg. It’s definitely one of those shopping destinations, perfect for a girlfriend’s weekend or to get some unique Christmas gifts. Our visit, the weekend following Thanksgiving, every store was packed, and there were people everywhere. That’s not my thing, so it did reduce my enjoyment a little, but, it was shopping, so I still enjoyed it.
The vast majority of shops in Fredericksburg are located along Main Street. So, once you find a parking spot, you will be able to walk to almost anywhere you want to go. We walked as far down as the Pioneer Museum on both sides of the street and saw a lot of shops. Some are in historic buildings which is very cool. There are lots of benches along the way too, for those who’d rather people watch than go inside.
Here’s my opinion of Fredericksburg shopping – there were some cool spots and some places that to me, were just not interesting. If you really like poking around in little, cute shops, you’re going to love it. If your spouse does not love it, you will do better to leave them at home because there is a full day of shopping possibilities. Overall, I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would, but I think it had some to do with the crowds of people. When you can hardly stop to look at something in a store because the people behind are impatiently waiting to move forward, it’s just not fun anymore. A weekday, or less busy time of year might make it more enjoyable for me.
Fredericksburg is a bit different at Christmas time too. Some stores, instead of adding Christmas merchandise to the mix, almost completely replace their store inventory with Christmas items. I was so excited when the first store we encountered was a Texas themed store. Unfortunately, when we got inside, the majority of the Texas items had been replaced with Christmas ornaments. There was a small display of Texas themed items, and at least one Christmas tree with Texas ornaments, but I was definitely disappointed that the regular inventory seemed to be out of sight.
Our next stop was the Fredericksburg General Store. Again, I was excited. We’ve seen some pretty cute General Stores both in Jefferson and Gruene. Unfortunately, as soon as we walked in, I knew this General Store was pretty much the same as what we had seen in Gruene only the day before. I was expecting to find beer steins and some German themed items but overall it was full of trinkets, ornaments and some Texas-themed items. Almost exactly what we had seen in Gruene, except for one small shelf of beer steins. Had I seen this shop before the one in Gruene, I might’ve still thought it was cute, but it was so full of people I couldn’t really look around much at all.
There were some high points though. Don’t take away my girl card, I did enjoy some of the shopping. Red was probably my favorite stop of the day. A quirky mix of old and new with some funky thrown in, it was a lot of fun. The staff was friendly, not caring at all if we sat on the comfy couches and just regrouped for a little while. The store had everything from couches and linens, to DIY cardboard antlers and Airstream trailer books.
I also really enjoyed the InSight Gallery, housed in the historic Hoerster Building, which has a wide variety of art both local and otherwise. There are many galleries in Fredericksburg, and most of them showcase local artists and artisans. Those are always my favorite type of shops to visit – like Brieger Pottery in Blanco.
I also stopped in Dogologie in the hopes of finding a nice treat for our dog. Full of cute doggie shirts, leashes, collars, toys and treats, I was disappointed to find only treats that would be appropriate for our bigger dog (she’s a full grown Lab). There were a few collars and leashes that might’ve worked, but no shirts that I found and no toys that were tough enough for our powerful chewer. But, it’s a cute little shop and they great every dog with a cookie. If you bring your dog to Fredericksburg, make sure to stop in.
I will say this – there is a full spectrum of shopping in downtown Fredericksburg from fine art pieces and beautiful antiques down to inexpensive trinkets and treasures.
