"World’s largest department store?" Top 5 Page for this destination Macy's Tip by toonsarah

We didn’t particularly come to New York to shop (it’s not Chris’s idea of a holiday and in any case the fast changing exchange rate made things less of a bargain than they had been in the past). But we couldn’t pass by Macy’s without checking out what claims to be the world’s largest department store. A New York institution since it first opened in the mid nineteenth century, Macy’s has occupied this prime spot on Herald Square since 1902. Although it is now a huge company with many outlets, this flagship store retains something of that sense of history, including the old wooden escalators from that time.

Macy’s also hosts a number of events during the year. We didn’t spot anything particular happening on this visit, but we still have special memories of the 1982 exhibition staged here – Touch the Moon at Macy’s. The star exhibit was a piece of moon rock which visitors were permitted to touch so I can genuinely claim to have touched the moon! Macy’s also of course sponsors the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and other big annual events such as 4th of July fireworks.

What to buy: We were coming towards the end of a long day’s sightseeing on this occasion so we had a fairly quick look round. But I did take the time to stock up on some of my favourite Clinique products as they were quite a bit cheaper than in the UK and a little less than Duty Free prices.

Address: 151 West 34th Street, New York 10001
Directions: On the west side of Herald Square – it’s huge, you can’t miss it! Herald Square subway station is served by lots of lines
Phone: %s3 %cb (212) 695-4400
Theme: Department Store
Website: http://www.macys.com