Six Best Places to Shop in New York City

One of the reasons why Raevian love New York is because there are so many great places to shop here. Therefore, I was resigned to the fate of accompanying her on her numerous shopping sprees in the Big Apple. Below is a list of Raevian’s six favourite places to shop in New York!

1. 34th Street

34th Street is arguably the most popular shopping district in Manhattan. There are over 175 shops here! We visited Macy’s Herald Square, the biggest department store in USA. Over here, we saw a myriad of retail stores selling clothes, shoes, bags, accessories and more. The nearby Victoria’s Secret & PINK branch is huge with a fantastic selection, though it was very crowded when we went. We also saw many other popular mass brands / retailers such as Foot Locker, Forever 21, Uniqlo, Zara, Target, and more. My memories of this place mostly consists of scrolling through my Facebook feed while waiting for Raevian to finish her shopping.

2. Century 21 (22 Cortlandt Street)

This one is for the bargain-hunters! Century 21 is known for selling high-end designer items at deeply discounted prices. There are many Century 21 branches, but the one at 22 Cortlandt Street in downtown Manhattan has the largest selection and highest turnover. This is because new items are always arriving and therefore prices are slashed in order to move inventory. Raevian managed to find a few designer items at fantastic prices here. However, the place is usually extremely crowded and you will need luck and excellent rack-searching skills to find hidden gems.

Century 21 (Downtown Manhattan)
Address: 22 Cortlandt St, New York, NY 10007, USA
Phone: +1 212 227 9092
Opening Hours: | Mon to Wed: 7.45am – 9pm | Thur to Fri: 7.45am – 9.30pm | Sat: 10am – 9pm | Sun: 11am – 8pm |

3. Fifth Avenue

Located at a prime location in Midtown Manhattan, Fifth Avenue is a great shopping district with mid-market brands like Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M and Gap. There are also many high-end boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Bottega Veneta, Tiffany & Co and more. Therefore, this area will appeal to everyone. We liked going to this shopping district because it was relatively near our hotel (Bryant Park Hotel). In addition, some of the stores have really beautiful facades and window displays. I was also really excited to see the iconic Apple flagship store. You can check out this list of shops in 5th Avenue.

4. Madison Avenue

Madison Avenue is known for its congregation of luxurious boutiques. If you have deep pockets, you will enjoy shopping here because there are lots of high fashion brands such as Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Hermes, Cartier, Bvlgari, Fendi, and more. For the less affluent, it is a nice experience to window-shop here too.

5. Soho

SoHo  (“South of Houston Street”) was once an arty district frequented by budding artists. Today, it has become a popular shopping district with retail stores located in old-school cast-iron buildings. We saw mass brands like Nike, Under Armour, American Eagle, luxury boutiques such as as Coach, Miu Miu, Mulberry, and more! Therefore, Raevian had a great time shopping here, while I busied myself with my Facebook feed to alleviate my boredom. You can check out this directory of shops in SoHo.

6. Woodbury Common Premium Outlets

Our favourite shopping spot is hands down Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. This retail hub is located an hour’s ride outside Manhattan, and has over 200 outlet stores! Some of the brands here include Gucci, Coach, Prada, Saint Laurent, Adidas, Under Armour, and many more. Most of the stores offer amazing discounts every day, with some discounts going up to 65%! Raevian had a great time shopping here, and I wasn’t that bored too because there were many male items on sale too. I managed to buy a pair of Geox shoes, Timberland boots, Nike running shoes, and a Coach wallet at great prices. It felt surreal to shop at an area surrounded by beautiful mountains and greenery. I would recommend spending at least half a day here; we spent one full day here and still barely had enough time to finish our shopping. For more details and information on how to get to Woodbury Commons, you can check out our full review of Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate New York Travel Guide for First Timers. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?