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LovelyNYC · Shopping

Where to Shop in New York

The streets worth walking, the grand stores, the shops you can only find here, and the rule that takes the sales tax off most clothes.

The gold R.H. Macy & Co. clock above the Broadway entrance of Macy's Herald Square
Macy's Herald Square, the store that fills a whole city block on 34th Street.Ingfbruno · CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Shopping in New York is less about any one store than about the street it's on. Fifth Avenue is a parade of flagships, SoHo is cast-iron lofts turned into boutiques, Madison Avenue is quiet money, and Williamsburg is where the vintage racks and record crates are. Pick the street that matches what you're after, and walk it.

Below are the streets, the great department stores, the shops that exist nowhere else, the best secondhand, and the markets, plus the outlet day trip and the tax rule every visitor should know before buying clothes.

Shopping guideDowntown Boutiques: SoHo, Nolita & the Lower East SideShopping guideWhere to Buy It in New YorkShopping guideShopping Deals in New York

Shop by street

The shopping streets

Each of these is a walk in itself. Start at one end, follow the sign, and give it an afternoon.

Midtown, Manhattan

Fifth Avenue: the flagships

From Rockefeller Center up to the corner of Central Park, Fifth Avenue is the city's showroom: the biggest stores of the biggest names, two great department stores, Tiffany's flagship and Apple's glass cube at the top. Walk it north, on the east side going up and the west side coming back, and duck into Rockefeller Center on the way.

Best for Flagship stores, luxury, toy stores with kids, and the December windows.

  • Uniqlo Fifth Avenue660 Fifth Ave at 53rd St

    The Japanese basics brand's huge flagship, for warm layers at sensible prices if New York turns colder than you packed for.

  • FAO Schwarz30 Rockefeller Plaza

    The toy store from the movies, back in Rockefeller Center.

  • Nintendo New York10 Rockefeller Plaza, 48th St between Fifth & Sixth Aves

    Nintendo's own flagship store. Some launch days and events need a free reservation.

  • Tiffany & Co. The Landmark727 Fifth Ave at 57th St

    Tiffany's Fifth Avenue flagship, renovated and renamed The Landmark.

  • Apple Fifth Avenue767 Fifth Ave at 59th St

    The glass cube on the plaza is the entrance; the store is underground. Apple lists it as always open, 24 hours a day.

Subway B/D/F/M to 47–50 Sts–Rockefeller Ctr; E/M to 5 Av/53 St; N/R/W to 5 Av/59 St. · More on Midtown →

SoHo, Manhattan

SoHo: boutiques in cast iron

Broadway between Houston and Canal is the busy spine, lined with the big fashion chains. The real SoHo is a block west: Greene, Mercer, Wooster, Prince and Spring Streets, where boutiques fill the ground floors of nineteenth-century cast-iron buildings, some on cobblestone streets. It's the best place in the city to browse without a plan.

Best for Fashion, independent brands, design shops and bookstores, on foot.

  • Pearl River Mart452 Broadway, between Howard & Grand Sts

    The Chinatown emporium founded in 1971: lanterns, slippers, teaware and gifts that cost less than you'd expect on Broadway.

  • McNally Jackson Books134 Prince St at Wooster St

    The neighborhood's independent bookstore, a calm hour away from the crowds on Broadway.

  • Bloomingdale's SoHo504 Broadway, near Broome St

    Bloomingdale's downtown store, with its Forty Carrots café on the second floor.

  • Housing Works Bookstore Cafe126 Crosby St, between Houston & Prince Sts

    A donated library with a café and a mezzanine balcony; every purchase supports the charity.

Subway R/W to Prince St; 6 to Spring St; C/E to Spring St; B/D/F/M to Broadway–Lafayette St. · More on SoHo →

Upper East Side, Manhattan

Madison Avenue: quiet luxury

North of 59th Street, Madison Avenue is where the European fashion and jewelry houses keep their townhouse boutiques, between galleries and old-school cafés. It's calmer than Fifth: fewer crowds, doormen, and windows built for strolling. Walk it north from 59th and turn west to Central Park when you've had enough.

Best for Designer boutiques, window shopping, and a stroll that ends in the park.

Subway N/R/W to 5 Av/59 St; 4/5/6 to 59 St; 6 to 68 St–Hunter College or 77 St. · More on Upper East Side →

Midtown South, Manhattan

34th Street: Macy's and the big chains

Herald Square is shopping at full volume. Macy's takes up a whole city block at Broadway and Seventh Avenue, and 34th Street running east toward Fifth is lined with the big mid-priced chains. It isn't charming, but it is efficient: if you need jeans, sneakers or a coat in an afternoon, this is where to go.

Best for Mid-priced chains, one-stop shopping and Macy's.

  • Macy's Herald Square151 W 34th St at Broadway

    The store behind the Thanksgiving Day Parade, on a full city block.

Subway B/D/F/M/N/Q/R/W to 34 St–Herald Sq; 1/2/3 to 34 St–Penn Station.

Financial District, Manhattan

Downtown: Century 21

Century 21 reopened in 2023 across from the World Trade Center site, and it's once again the city's best-known designer discount store: racks of brand-name clothes, shoes and bags marked well below their original prices. Be ready to dig. It pairs well with a visit to the 9/11 Memorial next door.

Best for Designer labels at discount prices, if you have patience.

  • Century 2122 Cortlandt St, between Church St & Broadway

    Now the chain's only store, reopened in 2023.

Subway R/W to Cortlandt St; E to World Trade Center; 2/3 to Park Place. · More on Financial District →

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg: vintage, records and makers

One stop into Brooklyn on the L, the blocks around Bedford Avenue and toward the river are full of independent boutiques, vintage shops and record stores. On weekends, the makers and vintage dealers of Artists & Fleas fill a warehouse on North 7th Street. Come on a Saturday, and stay for dinner.

Best for Vintage, records, independent designers and weekend markets.

  • Artists & Fleas70 N 7th St, between Wythe & Kent Aves

    Several dozen makers, vintage dealers and record sellers, indoors on weekends.

  • Beacon's Closet74 Guernsey St, Greenpoint

    One neighborhood north: Brooklyn's warehouse of buy-sell-trade vintage.

Subway L to Bedford Av; G to Nassau Av for Greenpoint. · More on Williamsburg →

The grand stores

The department stores

New York's department stores are destinations in their own right: whole city blocks of floors, famous windows, and in December, the city's best free show.

Macy's Herald Square

151 W 34th St at Broadway

A full city block of floors, and the store behind the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The holiday windows go up in November.

Saks Fifth Avenue

611 Fifth Ave, between 49th & 50th Sts

The flagship faces Rockefeller Center across Fifth. From Monday, November 23, 2026, its holiday windows and facade light show face the tree.

Bergdorf Goodman

754 Fifth Ave at 58th St

The most rarefied of them all, at the corner of Central Park, with the city's most artful holiday windows. The men's store, Goodman's, is across the avenue at 745 Fifth.

Bloomingdale's

1000 Third Ave at E 59th St

The 59th Street flagship, between Lexington and Third Avenues: fashion, cosmetics and housewares under one roof. There's a second store in SoHo at 504 Broadway and a Bloomingdale's Outlet at 2085 Broadway, and out-of-town visitors can ask for a 10% savings pass at the Visitor Center.

Nordstrom NYC

225 W 57th St at Broadway

The newest of the big stores, at the foot of Billionaires' Row, a short walk from Columbus Circle.

November and December bring the window displays: this year’s holiday windows and lights, with dates →

Worth the trip in themselves

Shops you'll only find here

Family businesses and institutions that have outlasted the chains around them. Each is worth a visit even if you buy nothing.

  • Books Kinokuniya1073 Sixth Ave, between 40th & 41st Sts

    Japanese books, manga, stationery and art supplies across from Bryant Park.

Secondhand

Vintage, thrift and flea

New Yorkers sell their clothes rather than throw them out, so the secondhand racks here turn over fast and run from cheap and cheerful to properly collectible.

  • Housing Works Thrift Shop143 W 17th St, Chelsea

    The charity's Chelsea thrift shop, one of several around the city; sales support its work.

  • Chelsea Flea29 W 25th St, between Broadway & Sixth Ave

    Antiques, vintage and collectibles in an open-air lot, every Saturday and Sunday all year.

  • Brooklyn Flea in DumboDumbo Archway, under the Manhattan Bridge

    Weekend vintage and makers under the bridge arch through December; check the dates before you go.

Stalls and makers

Markets

For food to carry home, gifts from local makers and, from late October, the holiday markets.

  • Chelsea Market75 Ninth Ave, between 15th & 16th Sts

    Food halls and shops in the old Nabisco factory, including a Pearl River Mart. Good on a rainy day.

  • Union Square GreenmarketUnion Square, 17th St & Union Square West

    The city's best-known farmers market, year-round on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8am–6pm. Look for maple syrup, honey, cheese and cider to take home.

  • Winter Village at Bryant ParkBryant Park, W 42nd St between Fifth & Sixth Aves

    Glass-kiosk holiday shops around the free-admission rink, Oct 28, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027.

  • Grand Central Holiday FairVanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Terminal

    About forty handmade artisan booths indoors, Nov 9 – Dec 24, 2026.

  • Columbus Circle Holiday MarketCentral Park's Merchants' Gate, W 59th St & Central Park West

    A compact makers' market at the corner of the park, Dec 1–31, 2026.

Every holiday market for 2026, with opening dates and hours →

Day trip

The outlet day trip

Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, at 498 Red Apple Court in Central Valley, New York, is the big outlet center most visitors mean when they say "the outlets": brand outlet stores in an open-air village north of the city.

The easy way there is the ShortLine bus run by Coach USA from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, about an hour and ten minutes each way, with departures through the day. Buy tickets from the bus company, not the outlet center. Construction at Port Authority has been disrupting departures since October 16, 2026, so leave extra time.

Give it a full day and go on a weekday if you can. One catch: the clothing tax rule below is New York City's. Woodbury Common is in Orange County, which charges 4.125% sales tax even on clothes under $110. For more outlets, off-price stores and the sale calendar, see our deals guide.

Good to know

Shopping in New York, answered

Do you pay sales tax on clothes in New York City?

Not on most. In New York City, clothing and footwear priced under $110 per item or pair are exempt from all sales tax: state, city and the transit-district tax. At $110 or more, the full NYC rate of 8.875% applies. Costumes, rented formal wear and athletic or protective gear don't count as exempt clothing. Source

What are New York sample sales?

Short sales where designer brands sell off samples and extra stock at a discount, usually for a few days. 260 Sample Sale runs many of them in its own spaces, including 260 Fifth Avenue and 468 Broadway; the venue changes by sale, so check its calendar. Source

Where can you shop in NYC when it rains?

The Shops at Hudson Yards, at 20 Hudson Yards, has more than sixty stores under one roof, open Monday–Saturday 10am–9pm and Sunday 11am–7pm. Chelsea Market and, from November 9, the Grand Central Holiday Fair are indoors too. Source

Is the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue open 24 hours?

Yes. Apple lists Apple Fifth Avenue, at 767 Fifth Ave under the glass cube, as always open, every day of the week. Source

When do the holiday windows open on Fifth Avenue?

Saks Fifth Avenue's windows and facade light show begin on Monday, November 23, 2026. Most other stores unveil their windows in mid-to-late November; our holiday windows guide lists each one as it's announced. Source

Addresses, rules and dates checked against each store’s or agency’s own site on 2026-10-27. Store hours change often, especially around holidays; check before you make a special trip.

For your next trip

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