Fifth Avenue: Shopping and Sights You Shouldn’t Miss

Fifth Avenue is New York's most famous street, a symbol of the city and of its cosmopolitan way of life.

It's one of the first places you should visit, since many of Manhattan's classic attractions are right around it. Here's what you shouldn't miss.

What to see on Fifth Avenue

Along its blocks you'll find classic Manhattan attractions like Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

There are also spots that draw plenty of curious visitors, like Trump Tower (721 5th Ave), President Donald Trump's private residence, which you can walk into during business hours.

It's a building full of mirrors and gold shine, kitsch taken to the limit, and it's quite an adventure to wander its galleries and endless escalators without getting lost.

Another Fifth Avenue landmark is the exclusive Plaza Hotel (you'll remember it as the hotel from Home Alone).

Museum Mile

Farther north, where Fifth Avenue runs through the elegant Upper East Side, you'll find the Museum Mile, a run of blocks packed with major museums such as the Met, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of the City of New York.

Events on Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue is known as the route for many traditional events, and for protests of all kinds too.

Among the most popular parades are the St. Patrick's Day Parade in March, the Easter Parade at Easter and the Thanksgiving Day Parade in November.

At Christmas it's one of the most visited places in New York, because the buildings and store windows fill up with lights and holiday decorations.

Shopping on Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue is famous for its concentration of high-end stores like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Versace, Cartier and more.

Decades ago, so much elegance in one place turned heads, which is how it became the icon of Western luxury.

One of the most beautiful stores is Tiffany (727 5th Ave), which you can walk into freely to marvel at the diamonds (don't miss the second floor with the engagement rings).

But today it's very different, and anyone can shop on Fifth Avenue, since stores for every budget have moved in, like Europe's H&M.

The great part is that they keep their usual prices, just in spaces adapted to the luxury that reigns on Fifth Avenue.

Now, if you're looking to treat yourself, head to Madison Avenue, where New York's most exclusive boutiques have migrated.

Apple Store

Another thing to see on Fifth Avenue is the Apple Store, whose cutting-edge design has become part of the streetscape of this famous avenue.

This temple for Apple fans sits between 58th and 59th Streets, and you'll spot it right away thanks to its huge glass cube.

Walking Fifth Avenue

While Fifth Avenue crosses a good chunk of Manhattan (it starts in Greenwich Village and ends in Harlem!), the stretch between 49th and 60th Streets is the one that earned it worldwide fame. Those are the blocks to walk end to end.

At the northern end of Fifth Avenue, once you're into Uptown, the grand mansions of another era begin, many of them now museums clustered along the Museum Mile.

To the south, many blocks past Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral but still in Midtown East, the Empire State stands at the corner of West 34th Street.

Fifth Avenue in pop culture

Much of Fifth Avenue's fame has been fueled by Hollywood. Just one story to help you breathe in the atmosphere:

In the 1961 film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel Breakfast at Tiffany's, a frivolous Audrey Hepburn hunts for a man among New York high society who can bankroll her lifestyle and let her buy her beloved diamonds at Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue, the very same store you can walk into and browse.

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Address

The most famous stretch of Fifth Avenue runs from 49th to 60th Street in Midtown East.

How to get there

Lines B, D, F, V. Rockefeller Center station
Line F. 57 St station.