Books, Perfume, Food, and More
New York is book country and always has been.
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street (between 5th and 6th avenues)
18th Street station (1 train)
1-800-207-6968
212-989-3270
The oldest and largest children's bookstore in New York City, this wonderful store has everything for your kids. It is world-famous for its amazing collection of
The Ladies' Mile, from Ninth to Twenty-third streets and Sixth Avenue to Broadway, was once New York's most fashionable shopping district. Competing department stores sprung up in the area in the mid-nineteenth century. Today much of the space has been converted into residential properties, but some retail space remains. Many of the buildings along this stretch are historical landmarks, including the unmistakable Flatiron Building.
Forbidden Planet
840 Broadway (at 13th Street)
14th Street-Union Square station (L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, or 6 train)
212-473-1576
You can find almost anything you could want in science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, and graphic novels here. There's a great collection of models, as well as figurines from television shows and movies. No matter what time you go, the store is always filled with teens.
Midtown Comics
200 West 40th Street (at 7th Avenue)
Times Square-West 42nd Street station (N, Q, R, S, W, 1, 2, 3, or 7 train)
459 Lexington Avenue (at East 45th Street)
Grand Central-East 42nd Street station (S, 4, 5, 6, or 7 train)
800-411-3341
212-302-8192
The megastore of comics — old comics, new comics, graphic novels, and everything in between — are on sale here. You'll also find action figures, statues, movies, books, posters, and collectibles. Looking for something in particular? They have an unbelievable 500,000 back issues. Open Monday to Saturday, 11
The Strand
828 Broadway (at East 12th Street)
14th Street-Union Square station (L, N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, or 6 train)
212-473-1452
Another New York phenomenon, this is one of the largest book-stores in the world. The Strand has 2.5 million books, more than eighteen miles worth. There are always books on sale outside for $1, but it's the rows and rows of new, used, and rare books inside that will amaze you. A sacred tradition, book reviewers have been selling their advance copies here for decades, so you can sometimes get a popular title before it's officially published and at a 25 percent discount.
Hours are Monday to Saturday 9:30
Lush
1293 Broadway (between West 33rd and West 34th streets)
West 34th Street-Herald Square station (B, D, F, N, Q, R, V, or W train)
212-564-9120
2165 Broadway (between West 76th and West 77th streets)
West 72nd Street station (1, 2, or 3 train)
212-787-5874
A fabulous British soap and beauty store, Lush sells the most divine and creatively designed chunks of soap, bath products, fragrances, and hair and skin care products at fairly affordable prices and in wacky colors and shapes. New stores have been added at 529 Broadway, and 7 East Fourteenth Street in Union Square.
New York is famous for its designer sample sales when overstock is sold at a fraction of cost. Sometimes you can find a sign announcing a sample sale outside a building while walking through the garment district in the west thirties, but the best way to find one of these sales is to go online and search using the keywords “sample sale New York.”
Sephora
2103 Broadway (at West 73rd Street)
1149 Third Avenue (at East 67th Street)
10 Columbus Circle (Eighth Avenue)
711 Lexington Avenue (at East 57th Street)
1500 Broadway (at East 43rd Street)
597 Fifth Avenue (at East 48th Street)
130 West 34th Street (at Broadway)
300 Madison Avenue (at East 47th Street)
555 Broadway (at Spring Street)
45 East 17th Street (at Broadway)
150 Broadway (at Liberty Street)
119 Fifth Avenue (at East 19th Street)
Staten Island Mall
The original store opened on the Champs Élysées in Paris, and the chain has expanded into the United States. This cosmetics department store offers the wares of almost every makeup manufacturer in the world. You'll find hundreds of alphabetically arranged perfumes and plenty of lipsticks, eye shadow, mascara, and eyeliners to choose from here. There are bath products as well, and Sephora has its own brand. Samples are always on hand to try on with plenty of cotton balls and swabs. There are thirteen Sephora stores in New York.
Citarella
2135 Broadway (at West 75th Street)
West 72nd Street station (1, 2, or 3 train)
1313 3rd Avenue (between East 75th and East 76th streets)
West 77th Street station (6 train)
424 6th Avenue (between West 9th and West 10th streets)
West 4th Street-Washington Square station (A, B, C, D, E, F, or V train)
461 West 125th Street (near Amsterdam Avenue)
West 125th Street station (A, B, C, or D train)
212-874-0383
Cheeses, foie gras, meat, seafood, caviar, homemade pastas — Citarella's has been a gourmet food-lover's paradise since 1912. Fill a shopping bag and carry it home on the plane with you. Citarella has four locations in Manhattan.
Zabar's
2245 Broadway (between West 80th and 81st streets)
79th Street station (1 train)
1-800-697-6301
212-496-1234
Zabar's is the ultimate deli/gourmet/good eats emporium. It's 20,000 square feet — almost a full city block of cheeses, deli meats, fish, caviar, breads, cakes and pastries, homemade salads, nuts and fruits, desserts, housewares, gifts, and signature products. It's open 365 days a year, and there is always a Zabar family member in the store. Store hours are Monday to Friday 8
