Shopping in New York is an unmitigated pleasure. Those short of time should concentrate on three general areas: midtown, downtown and discount.
A midtown extravaganza should start with the star-spangled department store experience at Saks on 49th and Fifth (212 753 4000). Wander up Fifth to gaze into Bergdorf Goodman (212 753 7300) and Audrey Hepburn's Tiffany's for sheer window shopping joy.
Men with a fetish for continental European style at American prices love Faconnable on 5th and 54th while women can shop for Manolos before popping next door to St Patrick's Cathedral to atone for the sin of such shoe shopping.
Turn right on Fifth at 60th street towards Madison Avenue and Barneys (212 826 8900) for cosmetics and upmarket prices. Nicole Farhi opened last year opposite DKNY but remember that European brands are almost always more expensive in the US.
After a day of midtown shopping, head for the bar at the top of the Peninsular Hotel (55th and Fifth) for a drink with a view or go to the wonderful Grand Central station to recover.
Downtown shopping provides a more varied retail experience. SoHo, below Houston Street between 6th and Broadway, is worth exploring as is Canal Street for cheap jeans. Fifth Avenue below 23rd Street is also good for basics and branches of Banana Republic, Club Monaco, Gap and J Crew.
Trendier than either of these areas is Nolita, or North of Little Italy, where you can buy great things from Tracey Feith dresses to Tin Tin paraphernalia. Start north of Houston and wander south through Mott, Elizabeth and Mulberry streets.
End a shopping day downtown by heading to Union Square and its various watering holes. If your legs still work, visit Paragon sports on Broadway at 18th, a mecca for all sports goods.
Dedicated bargain hunters with a day to spare head for Woodbury Common, the ne plus ultra of discount outlets. Some 220 designer discount shops are reached on a 50-minute bus ride upstate.
Contact Gray Line Tours (212 397 2620) for details of buses that leave the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Otherwise, combine the World Trade Centre with a trip to the bargain basement of Century 21.
British Airways (0845 7733377) flies Gatwick-JFK return for £278.90 inclu tax. Virgin Atlantic (01293 511 581) flies Gatwick to Newark return for £278.60 including tax.
