New York pulled in 65 million visitors in 2025, spending $55.6bn — and a good chunk of that went on shopping. But with the city this big, knowing which street to start on makes all the difference. Advice from top hotel concierges and managers cuts the guesswork: pick your neighbourhood first, then shop.

Fifth and Madison Avenues on the Upper East Side remain the addresses for the big international fashion houses. SoHo is the spot for newer flagships and design-led stores, while the Meatpacking District, West Village and Tribeca suit slower browsing among independent boutiques. Midtown and Hudson Yards pack the biggest names into the smallest radius.

The new generation of flagships is worth planning around. Louis Vuitton's temporary home at 6 East 57th Street spans five floors and 36,000 sq ft — the largest LV retail space in the US — complete with the brand's first American café and chocolate atelier, a library, private salons and a New York-exclusive capsule collection including monogrammed skateboards. Down the street, Prada's expanded menswear store at 720 Fifth Avenue offers made-to-measure and a US-only made-to-order service in silk, cashmere and calfskin. SoHo's Dries Van Noten flagship — a decade in the making — mixes the rails with a Tracey Emin work, a Gaetano Pesce armchair and a 17th-century portrait. Thom Sweeney and Burberry have also opened notable Madison and 57th Street spaces, and Manolo Blahnik remains a pilgrimage for shoe lovers.

Department stores carry their own weight here. Bergdorf Goodman, founded in 1928 to feel like an elegant private home, overlooks Central Park, and its famous windows alone justify the trip. Printemps, Dover Street Market and Bloomingdale's round out the well-curated options.

Don't overlook homeware. ABC Carpet & Home's Flatiron flagship stocks over 5,000 one-of-a-kind rugs; Ralph Pucci's 33,000-sq-ft showroom has skylit galleries and a working sculpting studio; Jonathan Adler's SoHo space includes a live pottery studio. For linens, Sferra sells out of an 1853 Italianate townhouse, while Christofle's 57th Street boutique has even displayed vintage silver made for the ocean liner Normandie in 1935.

For travellers, this is a city where shopping doubles as sightseeing — the stores themselves are attractions, and concierges at hotels like the St. Regis and Mandarin Oriental will happily point you further. Give a full day to Midtown's flagships, a separate half-day to SoHo, and leave room in the suitcase.