The Best Shopping Areas in Manhattan: Pros & Cons

What are the main shopping areas in Manhattan? Find out all the details and the pros & cons of each place.
  • SOHO
  • FIFTH AVENUE
  • HERALD SQUARE / 34th ST.
  • TIMES SQUARE
  • UNION SQUARE & CHELSEA
  • MEATPACKING
  • FINANCIAL DISTRICT
MY FAVORITE SPOTS & TIPS

TIME EFFICIENCY: when I want to shop in lots of massive brands I go to Herald Square because you have all the stores concentrated in just a few blocks, even though it can get crowded (especially on weekends) and it’s not the coolest spot to shop.

COOL & CHILL: when I want to shop around without anything specific to look for, Soho is a cool area because it’s nice and it has the brands I need. It’s better to go on weekdays to beat the crowds.

LESS CROWDED SHOPPING AREA: Union Square is also another spot I go when I wanna go to Forever 21, Reebok, DSW and a few brands located at 6th & Fifth Ave, such as H&M, Aldo, Marshall’s, Anthropologie, etc. I like it because it’s not as crowded as the other shopping areas.

Hope this article helps you to choose your perfect spot for your shopping needs in NYC 🙂

SOHO

AREA TO SHOP
  • Between Canal St. & W Houston St and 6th Ave. & Crosby St.
Pros Cons
Massive & Luxury Brands: great area for upscale shopping It may be a bit confusing finding all the shops in the parallel and crossing streets of Broadway
Spot where many celebrities go shopping 😉 Not too many restaurants around
Lots of cool furniture stores Might get very crowded on weekends
STORES IN SOHO

Click on the square at the top right of the map for a better view of the pins’ names.

  • Massive Brands 
  • Luxury Brands
  • Furniture
  • Boutique

FIFTH AVENUE

AREA TO SHOP
  • 5th Ave. between 42nd St. & 59th St.
  • Madison Ave. between 54th St. & 61st St.
Pros Cons
Massive & Luxury Brands: great place for upscale shopping Won’t find a big selection of items at a promotional price as in other locations
Nicest area of 5th Ave. Should be on your “To Do List” even if you don’t wanna go shopping You’ll have to walk a lot since the stores have some distance from one block to another. It may be exhausting.
If you start from 42nd St. up to 59th St. then you can relax at Central Park  Not too many coffee shops and restaurants around

You might want to check out Restaurants & Coffee Shops close to Rockefeller Center.

STORES ON FIFTH AVENUE

Click on the square at the top right of the map for a better view of the pins’ names.

  • Massive Brands
  • Luxury Brands (You’ll find upscale department stores such as Saks, Bloomingdale’s).
  • Furniture

HERALD SQUARE / 34TH STREET

AREA TO SHOP
  • 34th Street between 7th & 5th Ave.
  • Broadway between 32nd St. & 36th St.
Pros Cons
All brands concentrated in a few blocks (including Macy’s). The VS store is better at this location than in Soho One of the most crowded areas to shop
Very close to Times Square Not good for upscale shopping (you’ll find stuff at Macy’s though)
STORES IN HERALD SQUARE / 34th ST.

Click on the square at the top right of the map for a better view of the pins’ names.

  • Massive brands.

TIMES SQUARE

AREA TO SHOP
  • Broadway & 7th Ave. between 40th St. & 50th St.
Pros Cons
Some massive brands (big stores) Not a big selection of brands
Famous chain stores: Disney Store, M&M World, Hershey’s The most crowded area to shop
STORES IN TIMES SQUARE

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  • Massive brands.

UNION SQUARE / CHELSEA

AREA TO SHOP
  • 14th St. between 7th Ave. & 4th Ave (Union Square E)
  • Union Square West & Broadway between 14th St. & 21st St.
  • 5th Ave. between 16th & 23rd St.
  • 6th Ave. between 16th & 23rd St.
  • 14th to 21st St. between 7th Ave. and Union Square E (or Park Ave S)
Pros Cons
Massive brands Not a good spot for upscale shopping
One of the less crowded places to shop Brands aren’t concentrated in a few blocks
Lots of cool furniture stores Not a big selection of brands
STORES IN UNION SQUARE & CHELSEA

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  • Massive brands.

MEATPACKING DISTRICT

AREA TO SHOP
  • 10th Ave. between Gansevoort St & 14th St, and 14th St between 9th & 10th Ave.
Pros Cons
Cool place to shop Not a big selection of stores
Cool boutique stores Expensive area to shop
THE SHOPS AT MEATPACKING

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FINANCIAL DISTRICT

Check here the Top Things to Do in Financial District.

AREA TO SHOP
  • Broadway between Barclay St. & Liberty St.
  • Century 21: Cortlandt St. between Broadway & Church St.
  • Westfield World Trade Center Mall: Church St. between Cortlandt & Vesey St.
  • Brookfield Place Mall: Vesey St. or Liberty St. between West St. & Hudson River

Pros:

  • Massive brands
  • Upscale shopping at Brookfield Place
  • The best Century 21 store
  • Not as crowded as other areas
  • The Apple Store at Westfield is less crowded than the ones on 5th Ave. & Soho.
STORES IN FINANCIAL DISTRICT

Click on the square at the top right of the map for a better view of the pins’ names.

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I hope that you can choose your best place to shop in Manhattan based on this info! Please recommend and share 🙂

NewYorkerTips

Hi there :) I'm Jess and I came to NYC to pursue my dream and I feel I'm living it every day. New York is magical and you have to be open to everything because you never know who is sitting next to you on the subway or behind you in the line of the supermarket. I decided to create this blog about NYC because I realized how many powerful tips would have helped me if I knew them before coming to the city from someone who was living in NY! So I thought that it would be awesome to share with you some tips about New York from a New Yorker. I'm going to keep updating this blog so stay tuned :)