Fifth Avenue (Pátá Avenue in Czech) runs through the center of New York’s Manhattan, which is considered the most expensive shopping area in the world. Already in the past, it was a symbol of wealth, and the area around it was a sought-after millionaire’s district with luxurious residences.
Fifth Avenue stretches from the southern end of Central Park to the northern end of Manhattan. Everything that lies to the east of it is called the East Side, everything that lies to the west, then the West Side. The street begins at Washington Square in Greenwich Village, where, like Wall Street, you can still see the crooked streets of the old colonial days. Other Manhattan streets are straight, intersect at right angles, and bear numerical designations instead of names.
Although Fifth Avenue today bears little resemblance to the time when it was a millionaire’s residential area, the attentive tourist will still find traces of its glorious history. From an architectural point of view, a number of very valuable buildings and well-known objects can be seen here, such as the Grand Army Plaza, the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Guggenheim Museum and others. However, there are also many lesser-known institutions and monuments that are worth a visit. Fifth Avenue is mainly famous as the most expensive shopping area in the world and is often compared to London’s Oxford Street and Paris’s Champs-Élysées. The ranking is compiled annually by Cushman & Wakefield, a leading real estate consulting firm. Tenants pay around 17,000 euros per year to rent one square meter on this world’s most expensive shopping street. However, the amounts increase by several percent every year.
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While walking, you will come across dozens of boutiques of the world’s most famous fashion brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Italian Loro Piano, Valentino, Nike, Adidas and others. If you have small children, then you must not miss FAO Schwartz – a huge store of toys and children’s books. Every wife will surely be pleased with a gift from the jewelry store Tiffany & Co., which was originally located on Broadway. Inside you can find some interesting pieces at reasonable prices. Also, buying clothes in the USA is generally very advantageous, you can buy the goods for a fraction of their price in the Czech Republic, and you also get products that are not available in our country.
Currently, something unprecedented is happening even at this prestigious shopping address. Thanks to the economic crisis, luxury boutiques are tempting their customers with discounts of 40-70%. A number of branded stores are thus responding to the outflow of customers who have deeper pockets due to the current economic situation. The biggest discounts can be expected before the Christmas holidays. It can happen to you that a fashionable cashmere coat, which originally cost around 2 thousand dollars, can be purchased for an incredible 300 dollars. If you’re into designer goods, go shopping on Fifth Avenue.
You can also enjoy shopping in the Trump Tower building, which was built by the millionaire Donald Trump. The building is clad in bronze and brass colors and its interior is more than interesting. You can even see a waterfall in it, and the criss-crossing escalators that go from the atrium lined with mirrors to the higher floors with shops are also attractive. On the opposite side of the street you can see two exclusive hotels – the Peninsula New York from 1905 built in the Beaux Art style and the St. Regis from 1904, which is the work of John Jacob Astor. To admire Maxfield Parrish’s murals, visit the King Cole Bar and Lounge.
Another pearl on Fifth Avenue are two large houses from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which in 1917 the Cartier company transformed into its jewelry empire. Before Christmas, entire houses are tied with a big red bow and look like presents waiting to be unwrapped. A little further on you will find the headquarters of the design company Versace. It is located in a house built between 1902 and 1905 by architect George W. Vanderbilt. The Saks Fifth Avenue department store is also famous, offering luxury goods of all kinds. It has been housed in an important Renaissance building since 1922. A classic example of a skyscraper with receding upper floors is the Fred F. French Building. It was built in 1927, has colorful faience decoration and its unusual entrance hall catches everyone’s attention at first glance.
Fifth Avenue is lined with 68 condominiums that are jointly or cooperatively owned. Right here you will find the best and most prestigious New York addresses. An apartment with 14 rooms, including two kitchens and a dining room, with a view across Central Park to the shining skyscrapers here will cost about 18 million dollars, which is about 442 million crowns. You might think that this is no problem for many celebrities and famous people, but the opposite is true. To be able to live in this location, money is not the most important thing for you. The tight-knit community here is very strict about who they take in. And the more famous a person is, the harder it is for them – nobody here cares about famous actors or singers. Celebrities with paparazzi on their backs are literally banned from entering here.
