NY this weekend! Shopping, tax saving & eating advice please :)

[smilesandsun]

Hi,

I'm off to my and am looking for last minute tips please. I've got dinners booked up but not breakfasts or lunch. Amy ideas most welcome.

I read something on here before regarding visitors saving in tax jn some stores?? I can't remember the details though.

Any must go shopping experiences please too .

Thx

Macys will give you a tax saving card

Balthazar for breakfast - amazing (though now in London too!)

I like shopping on Bleecker Street (was there last week!). Much more civilised than the hustle and bustle of the more touristy areas. Century 21 is v popular but I hate it (like a giant TKMaxx) - only worth popping into if you are in the financial district already. If you're there for some time a day trip to Woodbury Common (outlet shopping) is usually worthwhile - you can get a bus there easily.

I was there a few weeks ago, I would go to Soho wander around the lovely boutiques or the bit of 5th Ave just south of the Flatiron which has j crew, madewell, club Monaco, Kate spade, Sephora, etc. I wouldn't bother with the dept stores or the part of 5th around the Rockerfeller centre. It's exactly like Oxford St, nothing there that you can't get at home.

Agree with Balthazar, loved it there

We were there a few weeks ago! I like this place for breakfast/brunch.
Not too touristy, and an easy walk to Central Park after you've eaten!

The Westway diner just off Broadway for your breakfasts. Has won numerous awards for its breakfasts over the years.

YY to Balthazar for breakfast. Restaurants and bars are always opening in Manhattan though, its like London - ever evolving. Look at Timeout NYC and the Village Voice for ideas. Williamsburg in Brooklyn is a nice area for brunch or drinks, too. There are some cool hotel bars, too. Google rooftop hotel bars in NYC - there are quite a few.

YY to SoHo for shopping. Its a nice area to wander around, grab lunch or a drink etc. West Broadway, some bits of Greenwich Village, Midtown and Fifth Ave for big chains, designer, departments stores.

Stock up on anything American branded, basically, as it will be cheaper (often the same price in dollars as it is in pounds here). I tend to stock up on Victoria's Secrets lotions and bodysprays, Bliss products, Mac makeup, Levis curve jeans, trainers.

Also LOVE digging around in the big drugstores (Duane Reade is a major chain in NYC) for bargain beauty and make up stuff. SO much choice!

Jealous.