travel
We stayed… In the heart of Manhattan, at the iconic New York Palace on Madison Avenue. Te Palace reigns over Midtown directly across the street from St Patrick’s Cathedral and within easy reach of the Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Broadway and some of the world’s finest shopping.
Te landmark Villard Mansion serves as the grand entrance to the 55 story tower containing the guest rooms. Book a Tower Room and you’ll find yourself on one of the top 14 floors with amazing views all around – we stayed on the 43rd floor, and the huge cathedral below us looked like a miniature toy! Our room was comfortably elegant, and with Acqua di Parma amenities, plush robes, huge TV and oversized marble bathroom it was the perfect place to relax after a hard day’s shopping and sightseeing.
If the hotel looks familiar, you might also know it as the beautiful backdrop to Gossip Girl – the Van der Woodsens lived in one of the stunning penthouses, and Serena and Blair are regularly seen sipping martinis and scheming at GILT Bar. We dined at GILT, the Palace’s signature two Michelin star restaurant and were blown away by the innovative Modern American cuisine and superb wine list. Te restaurant is elegant without being pretentious, and the service was faultless.
We got around… Manhattan is deceptively small and we found that we covered a surprising amount of ground on foot, but if you want to save the Manolos then there are plenty of modes of transport to choose from. Taxis are cheap and plenty, but some can be quite a rollercoaster ride, and the subway gets you from one end to another quickly, however the complimentary house car service offered by the New York Palace was by far our favourite - we travelled in style in one of their shiny black Mercedes.
We shopped… Our hotel was perfectly situated for some of the world’s finest shopping. On Madison Avenue we visited Barneys, and a block away 5th Avenue is home to all of the top fashion houses from Gucci to Pucci, as well as Abercrombie & Fitch, Sephora, Saks and Bergdorf Goodman. Te iconic Bloomingdales is also nearby on Lexington Avenue. For a different experience we headed downtown to SoHo, where there are more independent stores and boutiques, as well as known brands such as Hollister, Victoria’s Secret, Prada, Banana Republic, Vera Wang and Miu Miu.
AUTUMN.10 PORTER MAGAZINE 43
Instead of wasting hours queuing to go up the Empire State Building, head for Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Centre – no queues and you can see the Empire State Building!
FAVORITE THINGS TO DO…
* VISIT CENTRAL PARK ZOO – SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED, AND DON’T MISS THE HILARIOUS SEA LION SHOW!
* TRY OUT THE ENDLESS RESTAURANTS NEW YORK HAS TO OFFER
– SOMETHING FOR EVERY TASTE. WE LOVED RUBY FOO’S IN TIMES SQUARE, FOR FANTASTIC PAN-ASIAN FOOD, AND DOS CAMINOS ON 3RD AVENUE FOR AUTHENTIC MEXICAN CUISINE.
* VISIT THE VAST METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART – ART AND ARTEFACTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY – INCLUDING AN ENTIRE EGYPTIAN TEMPLE.
* TAKE THE FREE STATEN ISLAND FERRY FOR A GREAT VIEW OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, ELLIS ISLAND AND THE MANHATTAN SKYLINE
* WANDER AROUND THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF MANHATTAN - WALL STREET, THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE AND GROUND ZERO.
* TAKE THE WEIGHT OFF YOUR FEET WITH A HORSE AND CARRIAGE RIDE AROUND CENTRAL PARK.
Words by Annabel Goldie-Morrison
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