Off to New York, help me plan please....

[FabMum1]

I'm off to New York and am hoping you lovely ladies can help me....

I'll be doing a little shopping and sight seeing and would love some suggestions of

• best places to shop for jeans, boots, coats, bags, sunglasses and make up (pretty much anything really)
• lovely places to visit for sight seeing

Oooh Macy's definitely! I went in Feb, you can get a tourist/visitors (?) discount there. You need to show if i recall correctly your passport. Bring lots of warm clothes

Oh thank you yesyestisme, didn't realise I could get a discount. That's a bonus, will be paying Macys a visit

There's a great outlet centre called Woodbury Common but it's a bus ride away, so it depends how much time you want to dedicate to shopping.

Macy's have a fantastic Christmas store but I found the rest of it a bit overwhelming - it's soooo big! An entire block I think.

For sight seeing, we just stuck to all the mainstream stuff and had a fabulous time - Empire State, Staten Island ferry, Top of the Rock, Brooklyn Bridge, and just wandered around all the districts in Manhattan. We also really likes The High Line which is a converted railway, which is now a park running through West Manhattan. We didn't do much in the evenings as we were a bit knackered, but there were lots of touts in Times Square selling Broadway tickets, and we went to a comedy club which was pretty good.

I'm super jealous. I loved New York!

It's so big aswell, everything you want under one roof... and so many bargains! You will love it. I went with a large suitcase roughly one third full and came home with it full

Find a Century21 shop and browse. Or better, find a TJMaxx. They have more name brands. Or Marshalls or Burlington Coat Factory (much more than coats)

Me too!! I'm going on sunday. I was wondering about deisel jeans are they american not sure? Have a good time fabmum!!

The museum on Ellis Island is absolutely fantastic. So well done and so interesting. If you do go then make sure you watch the film / video they show there. Not many people do (or at least not many did when we went) but it is just excellent.

Hi OP! Love NYC last visit there was in July. We took DD too (18months now) so our days were a bit shorter than we'd have liked! When you visit make sure to see a show and have some nice dinners out. So many good shops, Bloomingdales is one of my faves for denim. They have a machine that will scan your entire body and tell you which brands/styles will look best. First time I did it I realised I'd been wearing the wrong size for years! Also did my bra size correctly Central Park is a must too but as it's freezing cold this time of year maybe just do a buggy ride. Best place to get some is outside the Plaza hotel (a great brunch venue!)
Have a wonderful time!

Go to a drug store (Duane Reed, for eg), and buy up on Maybelline and the other budget beauty brands. Fab, and much cheaper than you can buy them here.

Another vote for the Burlington Coat Factory for bargains!

I didn't like macys. I was expecting Selfridge's and got Debenhams.

Gindrinker, I agree. Bloomingdale's is more Selfridges.

I loved the Tenement museum on the Lower East Side, a great follow on from Ellis Island.

and another vote for Woodbury Common if you have time.

Read Suzy Gershon's Born To Shop NYC. Very good.

Oh thank you for so many suggestions

Has anyone been to Sephora?
What about an ice hockey match?

Are vans and converse reasonably priced?

One word: Sephora

I paid $39 for Converse in the shop on the opposite corner from Macy's last year so not super cheap unless you can find an outlet store. That seemed to be the price everywhere I looked.

What about watches n purses, how do their prices compare to ours

Has anyone been to a show?
Is it better to buy tickets before we go?

Wrap up warm! New York in winter is perishing, and I think they've already had their first snow!
Macys is very like Debenhams, but the flagship store is in NY and they often do great discounts, esp with the 10% they'll give you if you get their card for foreign visitors.
Barney's is in the same area. Otherwise, there's J Crew, Banana Republic,
Anthropologie, Ann Taylor and Loft (cheaper, more casual Ann Taylor).
Coach is the handbag of choice for a lot of American women, they are everywhere.

If you're taking kids (darn it, even if you're not) I'd check out Dylan's Candy Store. Like being in the chocolate factory with Charlie!

When are you going? Today was tshirt weather, last week there was a snow flurry, it's that changeable at the mo. By December onwards, it's normally freezing, especially with the wind howling down the avenues.

How long are you going for and what is it you want from the experience? Personally, I think everyone on their first trip to NYC should kind of put the shopping on the backburner (ie buy stuff if you see it, but don't waste hours trying to find several particular stores that dotted all over the city).

The Upper East Side and Midtown have all the famed high end department stores. Personally, I hate Macy's and am not a big fan of Burlington Coat Factory - that place sells falls apart seconds and smells really weird, wherever you go to it!

For purses and handbags, there are all the big names in all the department stores, and they all have their own flagship stores. However, if you go to Canal Street, you can get really soft leather knock offs for as little as $20. Buy 10 of them in every colour! Then head down to Chinatown for Dim Sum and soup.

Other than that, research what you want to do and just do that. Walk as much as you can to get a feel for the city. Get a rickshaw ride as they are crazily fun (and just the right side of dangerous). Each area has it's own unique thing to offer, so you should just find out where you think you would fit. I like the UES to grab lunch or coffee and plastic surgery people watch. I like the UWS as that is where I would live if I didn't have to live in the suburbs. I like the LES as it's a bit grimy and there are great restaurants. I like the Meatpackers as I like to party. I like SoHo as its funky and the shopping is quite contained. Etc etc!

I just think NYC is so many different things to so many people that you need to work out what it is that you want from it. And, if you want easy shopping in one location that can be done in a small amount of time (for less money), I would just get a train to the mall in Jersey City or White Plains or Paramus and do all the shopping in one place, in a very small amount of time, and then go back to the city and enjoy it.

Sorry, this was a longer essay than I was planning!!

Thank you ladies, so much info, it's brilliant

I'm off at the beginning of December for a week. I want to do a little shopping, take in a show and do some sight seeing.

There's just so much on offer it's very difficult to know what is best to do and the best places to shop. I don't want to come away and think 'oh I wish I'd done.........'

I rate Bloomindales, visit the management suite and they'll give you a discount. Much better than Macy's and further down its arse than Saks.

Century 21 used to be good for jeans, but frankly it's a slog to get to and a big disappointment when you get there.

Here's my tip. Go for US brands that way you tend to pay roughly the same in $ as £ if that makes sense: Abercrombie, Banana Republic, Penguin, victorias Secret and Levi for example.

Tiffany 5th Avenue is a must stop. Call into St Patricks Cathedral and Grand Central Station: look up!!!

I prefer shopping down in Greenwich than 5th Avenue, also nicer restaurants for lunch etc.

Do the Liberty tour, and the Highline when you visit the WTC site. That sans you're staying in the southern tip of Manhatten getting more covered in one fell swoop.

Upper East side for top high end shops (and attitudes

Upper West side for Dakota Building, Strawberry Field in Central Park and the Met and Natural History Museum.

Midtown: Times Sq, Empire State, Rockerfeller Centre all super Christmassy.

If you can go to the Christmas Show at Radio City, it'll knock your socks right off.

Have fun.

Also don't forget they add sales tax at the till, it's not included in the ticket price.

Cosmetics are cheap at JFK.

Barneys is imho the best department store in NYC (or at least it was last time I visited it).

Not sure about your style, but my fav american chain shop is Madewell.