Hotels near Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue is New York's most famous shopping street, a procession of flagship stores, jewellers and department stores running through Midtown toward Central Park. The stretch from Rockefeller Center to the park takes in Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co, the Apple Fifth Avenue glass cube and the windows that draw crowds at Christmas.

It is also studded with landmarks: the Gothic spires of St Patrick's Cathedral, the marble lions of the New York Public Library a few blocks south, and the Plaza Hotel at the avenue's northern end. Even without spending a cent, the architecture and people-watching make it a fine walk.

Pro Tip: Window-shopping costs nothing, and the holiday displays in late November and December are a free spectacle in themselves. Start at the library on 42nd Street and walk north to Central Park to take in the cathedral and the best store windows on the way.