Help navigating New York!?

Question

I am going on vacation to New York with a few girlfriends for the first time soon. We are staying at the Sheraton Manhattan and were wondering whether the pictures in our head of easy and amazing shopping was a reality. Where is the best shopping and food, and where in reality is it in comparison to our accomodations?

Answer 1

Your hotel is in Times Square - there is no good shopping in the immediate area. Try to do your shopping as you visit various areas:

One of my favorite restaurants near your hotel is Costa del Sol If you like Spanish food (from Spain, not Mexico - it's an entirely different cuisine), Costa del Sol on 50th Street and Ninth Avenue is wonderful - for $25, you get a complete dinner with a ton of choices - AND IT's GOOD! You get a choice of soup or salad - (I never order salad when there's another choice, so I can't comment). My favorite soup is the Caldo Gallego - from Galecia Spain - a delicious hearty soup with bacon, chorizo sausage, white beans, kale and other vegetables; you can also order the cold gazpacho or a chicken soup with noodles. You have a choice of more than twenty entrees - at least six different shrimp dishes - my favorites are the very lightly floured shrimp with wine sauce and the garlic shrimp - HUGE portions. You can also order salmon, paella, a whole lobster with butter sauce, various chicken dishes, mixed seafoods, veal., pork chops. These come with saffron rice and string beans - large platters on the table for everyone. You also get dessert and coffee - the cheesecake is good, but you can have flan or rice pudding or ice cream. As if all this food weren't enough of a bargain, if two of you order this three course dinner, you can get a bottle of red or white wine for only $6 more ($3 each)
http://members.aol.com/cdelsol/


These are some stores that make New York a shoppers' paradise:Century 21
http://www.century21deptstores.com/... (incredible store - clothing, shoes, household furnishings, etc) - the store is downtown - across the street from where the World Trade Center stood. Shop at Century 21, see the exhibit at Trinity Church, walk on the promenade along the water, see the World Financial Center (anyone with a sweet tooth? - Go to Custard Beach in the Financial Center - if you're lucky, one of the featured flavors of the day will be creme brulee). It's not a far walk to the Staten Island ferry - the ride's free and you will get a great view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.

Loehmann's is in the Chelsea area
http://www.loehmanns.com/skipintrofinal....

Daffy's there is one next door to Macy's
http://www.daffys.com/index.cfm...
Be sure to go to Macy's and Lord&Taylor; they have great sales and, the clearance racks at the back of the departments have unsold clothing at up to 80% off the original price. This is the garment district and, if you are really serious shoppers, (I don't have the patience to do this), walk up and down the streets - 35th street, walk west from Broadway to about Ninth Avenue - look for stores that say they sell retail - some stores say wholesale only - pass those by, but, you can get some excellent deals at the shops who welcome retail buyers. Walk uptown on Ninth Avenue to 36th Street, walk east to Broadway, etc. - just check out several blocks that way.

Filene's Basement in Chelsea
http://www.filenesbasement.com/master.ht...

Barney's in Chelsea
http://www.barneys.com/b/;jsessionid=dkj...

Chelsea also has the usual chain stores - Bed, Bath & Beyond, Old Navy, etc. Wonderful restaurants there - try a Cuban sandwich at Chelsea Havana on Eighth Avenue and 20th Street; get some wonderful Puerto Rican rice and beans at Taz D'Oro at Eighth Avenue and 15th Street. Cola's on Eighth Avenue and 15th Street has excellent Italian food. A fun, inexpensive restaurant is East of Eighth on 23rd and Eighth; they serve a two course lunch for $9 and an early three course dinner for about $18 - the waiters are so charming and so much fun!
http://www.eastofeighth.com/
Visit the Chelsea Market - Ninth Avenue and 15th Street - a huge space that used to be the old Nabisco factory where they made Oreos and Mallomars - lots of interestng shops (foods, not clothing) - get a free sample at Fat Witch Brownies (they are delicious), The fish market makes a good lobster roll and their soups are excellent. A good place to stop for a snack and it's such an interesting building - stone walls, like being in a furnished cave.
http://www.chelseamarket.com/


The East Village has lots of little shops/independant designer boutiques. Try Tokio 7 at 64 East 7th Street at First Avenue - it's a designer consignment shop. It can get very crowded, but you can find things here you won't see anywhere else. If you like Denim, look at Famous Friends at 616 East 9th Street (between Avenues B and C) The East Village has the most interesting, inexpensive restaurants in the city - be brave and try something new.

Your hotel is right near a few buses and trains - our public transportation system is excellent - runs frequently and all night. For travel directions, either ask your hotel concierge, use hopstop.com or, between the hours of 6:30 am and 10:30 pm, call the Transit Authority's information number at 718] 330-1234. The clerks in the subway who sell the MetroCards can be helpful; ask for free subway and bus maps - they are easy to navigate.

Wear your most comfortable shoes and have a great time.

Answer 2

If that's the Sheraton at Time Square, you're staying in the best possible place. You can walk or catch a cab anywhere. Shop 5th avenue and definitely Soho, walk through Central Park, eat in TriBeca (Nobu is a must but expensive). For Chinese food you must go into China Town-pass all the Chinese restaurants until you find one in a basement called "WoHop"--all locals, no tourists know about it. For Deli food go to Carnegie Deli...don't be offended by the rude waitstaff. If you can't get in, try Stage Deli, it's a close second.

Have fun! Can I go with you all?

P.S. Don't ask the concierge. Ask locals.

Answer 3

The Sheraton Manhattan is at Times Square, the heart of the city, as it were. There is plenty of shopping right outside your door. Other shopping is Madison Ave above 60th street, and there are a zillion other shopping places, depending on what you are shopping for. New York City is a huge, huge place with a wide variety of areas and neighborhoods. The best food? Oh, my, well, there are gobs and gobs of places all over the city - Chinatown, Little Italy, the Villages, and on and on.....

Answer 4

For trips over 30 blocks, take the subway. You'll have no traffic jams and it is safe and effective. For under 30 blocks, take a cab. They arn't too expensive. For everything in your vicinity - get out and walk. New York City is a vibrant place with a lot of energy. It feels good to walk in the streets and be a part of everything. ------------------ For timesquare to Central Park - either walk or take a taxi depending on your energy level. For timesquare to the WTC memorial and Statue of Liberty, take the e, a or c trains at the port authority station (8th ave & 42nd st) and get off on the southern tip of Manhattan. There will be plenty of maps, it should be self explanatory.

Answer 5

we stayed in the sheraton manhattan when we went to new york too! it was a great hotel...right down the street from times square! i would definitely recommend hitting 5th avenue for the shopping - and make sure to go to the 9-story macy's..we didn't buy anything there, but we just wandered the 9 floors and gawked at it! as for food, we went to john's pizzeria in manhattan (the times square area), and the pizza was really good - plus it's actually an old church converted into a restaurant, so the atmosphere is beautiful with stained glass windows and everything.

Answer 6

Clothes at good prices, Century 21 downtown by the WTC,
H & M SE corner of 34 st and 7ave across the street from Macy's, Fake designer stuff on Canal St.

Answer 7

You should be able to get information like that at a travel agency. And perhaps on New York related websites. Some Google searching would help you as well.

Answer 8

1

Answer 9

you didn't say where the sheraton is....best shopping, Madison ave between 60th and 77th st. also good, SOHO.
Go to the West Village, lots of great shops in Bleeker between Christopher and Hudson Street.

Answer 10

The best source for information is the Concierge, at the hotel where you will stay. Have fun and enjoy NYC.