Hey

I am visiting to New York from Sweden for a meeting in about three weeks, and will have some time left for shopping.


I will have (roughly) from 8pm on a Friday to 3pm Sunday to do whatever i have time for.
I will stay at Omni Berkshire Place.
My main goal is to do some shopping, and if i have the time visit places like Empire State Building. I would like to go to stores that we don't have here in Sweden, like Macy's Bloomingdale's and Saks.
So what i wonder is, do i have time for all three of them? Is there any other stores i really should visit?

I am also planning to buy some american candy while there. I have found a lot of stores that seems good, but witch ones are recommended?

Also, are there any good places close to the hotel where i should eat?

My budget is around 3000$ as i am planning to buy quite a lot of new clothes as well as some gifts for the holidays.

Your hotel is at 48th and Park Ave, so it will be easy for you to get to the three stores you mentioned and see midtown Manhattan while you're at it. Macy's is at 34th and 7th, Saks is at 50th and 5th and Bloomingdale's is at 60th and Lexington, pretty much forming a circle around your hotel. To see and do it all, walk from your hotel to Bloomie's, shop. Head back toward 5th Avenue on 59th or 60th - see a little of Central Park (the Plaza Hotel is right there, too). Walk down 5th Avenue, taking in Bergdorf's, Tiffany , etc until you reach St. Patrick's Cathedral - go inside. After that continue to Saks, see the Xmas windows, shop. Then cross the street to see the Rockefeller Center skaters and Xmas tree. If you want a skyhigh view (including a view of the Empire State Bldg., go up toTop if the Rock. Continue down to 38th and 5th - stop to see the Xmas windows at Lord & Taylor. Head west to 6th Ave. and Macy's, more Xmas windows and more shopping. Voila!

There's certainly no reason you couldn't visit all three stores in the time you've allotted. Your only real limitation is going to be how much time you decide to spend in each store. Saks is located only about 2 or 3 blocks from your hotel so getting there is quick. Bloomingdales is a bit further away (maybe 10 or 12 blocks) while Macy's is the furthest (about 15 minutes by cab).

The stores are normally open from around 9AM or 10AM till either 9PM or 10PM (some have extended hours during the Christmas season) so you'll have plenty of time to shop - go to the store's respective websites for hours of operation. With a budget of $3,000US and the time you have you should be able to "shop till you drop".

FYI - Your hotel is located just off of Fifth Avenue which is one of the most famous "shopping streets" in the world - there are literally hundreds of stores selling everything imaginable.

Have fun - you are going to a shopper's paradise.

You should define what price range you are looking for. Macy's s the largest store in the world and can be overwhelming (escalators can be so crowded that they have "facilitators" to pull people off at the bottom - otherwise some walk too slowly and risk causing a pile up of the other people trying to get off behind them). All stores will b crowded - but Macy's is so much more so it is scary at times. It is in the modest to moderate category

Saks and Bloomies are both in a more upscale category -with a significant amount of true desgnger goods (although many major designers have thier own stores on Madison aveneu up from 57th street). There are other moderate specialty stores on Fifth Ave from 42nd up to 57th - as well as some upscale specialty sores (Cartier's, Tiffanys', etc

So - you really need to decide your price range and what sort of things you want before you decide where to go.

Do NOT do the ESB - lines can be hours long. Instead do Top of the rock - views are at least as good and the wiat is rarely more than a few minutes.

Not sure what type of candyyou want. Most american chocolate is poor to mediocre in comparisonto european chocolate - so I would not buy that here (Swiss and Belgian is much better except for a very few specialty places in the US).

Walk to Macy's! It's 15 by cab, or 20 minutes by foot, and you'll get to stop along the way.

Thanks for all the great help and tips!

As for the candy, i am lloking for the brans that are close to impossible to get a hold of in Sweden, like Jelly Beans and stuff from Hershey's, Reese's and Twizlers. I also head that M&M has a shop in NY?

Well, you get bags and bags filled M&M's, Hershey's, Reese's and Twizlers plus many more varieties at any of the grocery stores, drug stores and convenience stores all around NYC (there are probably 20 stores selling that type of candy within a few blocks of your hotel - really they sell that kind of candy "everywhere"). Jelly Beans might be a little more difficult to find but if you ask the concierge at your hotel he/she should be able to direct you to nearby vendors.

Well each to his own taste - but Herhsey's is really quite poor quality chocolate - I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. If you want a huge selection of "fun" candies try Dylan's at 60th & Third - behind Bloomies. It has practically everything you can think of in the way jelly beans of about a billion flavors, Twizzlers etc. But, honestly - you can get all of the basics at any large drugstore (Duane Reade or CVS - which you will find every couple of blocks all over the city.)