Fifth Avenue – or the 5th, if you prefer. A name familiar to every traveller and a place you simply cannot miss. This avenue, over 10 km long and stretching across Manhattan, ranks amongst the world’s most famous streets and is one of New York’s iconic landmarks.

Top 10 luxury hotels in New York

Fifth AvenuedividesManhattan into its western and eastern parts; its journey through the city begins in the south at Washington Square Park and ends 6 miles further north in Harlem.

The section between 34th and 59th Streets is considered the most expensive shopping district in the world, and the street is often compared to London’s Oxford Street or Paris’sChamps-Élysées.

Luxury boutiques

5th Avenue is undoubtedly best known for its shopping opportunities.

You’ll find shops of all kinds practically all along the street, but the main hub is in the Midtown district between34th Street and 59th Street, or between the Empire State Building and Central Park.

In this section, you’ll find boutiques and shops belonging to virtually every luxury brand in the world. Among the largest and most enticing shops on 5th Avenue arethe Tiffany & Co. flagship store, Bulgari, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and the Lindt Swiss chocolate shop.

You’ll also find the Microsoft Store and the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue.

The luxury department stores Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are also famous.

Museum Mile

Another famous stretch of Fifth Avenue runs along the eastern edge of Central Park and, thanks to its extraordinary concentration of museums, is nicknamed Museum Mile. Here you can visit institutions such as:

• The MET – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• The Guggenheim Museum
• The Africa Centre
• El Museo del Barrio
• The Museum of the City of New York

Other attractions on Fifth Avenue

Thanks to its length and central location, Fifth Avenue also boasts a number of other landmarks and attractions that are simply unmissable during a visit to New York. Right on Fifth Avenue, look out for these attractions, for example:

• Empire State Building
• Central Park
• Rockefeller Centre
• Flatiron Building
• St Patrick’s Cathedral
• New York Public Library

From the street of the wealthy to the shopping district

From the very beginnings of New York, Fifth Avenue’s central location meant it was destined to become the city’s main boulevard. As early as the 1880s, opulent residences for New York industrialists and businessmen began to be built on 5th Avenue, gradually joined by flats and houses belonging to famous celebrities and politicians.

This is one of the reasons why Fifth Avenue was nicknamed ‘Millionaire’s Row’ at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

This affluent residential area inevitably began to attract luxury shops, which gradually sprang up along the avenue from the early 20th century onwards. This primarily residential neighbourhood in the central part of Manhattan (Midtown) naturally evolved, with increasing construction, population and transport links, into the heart of New York, offering endless shopping opportunities.

Hotels on 5th Avenue

Living right in the heart of the action, in a location known throughout the world. If this is your idea of the perfect place to stay, then 5th Avenue comes highly recommended – provided you’re prepared to pay a premium.

Among the best hotels on Fifth Avenue are the Andaz 5th Avenue ****, directly opposite the library, and the stylish The Sherry Netherland ***** on the corner of Central Park.

On 5th Avenue, you’ll also find the very most luxurious and famous hotels in the whole of New York:

• The Plaza – I stayed here and wrote a review of my stay
• The Peninsula New York
• The Pierre

Transport to 5th Avenue

Although there is no underground line running directly beneath Fifth Avenue, there are countless stations within a 5-minute walk along the entire length of the avenue.

One street over, beneath 6th Avenue,the orange-coloured B, D, F and M undergroundlines run north-south.

Conversely, running east-west across Fifth Avenue arethe yellow lines N, R, Q and W;the blue lines E and M; the purple line 7; and the grey line L.

A number of bus routes also run along the street, but as 5th Avenue is a one-way street, they only travel southbound. In the opposite, northbound direction, services run one block over on Madison Avenue.

Find out more about getting around New York in the Transport and Metro sections.

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