GET CARRIE-D AWAY IN NEW YORK

 

FABULOUS WRITER EIMEAR O'HAGAN LIVES IT UP SEX AND THE CITY STYLE IN THE BIG APPLE - AND ROAD-TESTS A BUDGET ALTERNATIVE, TOO

 

DO WANT TO GET CARRIE-D AWAY YOURSELF? CLICK HERE TO WIN A TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY

 

 

GETTING THERE

BLOWOUT Lie back, kick off your Manolos and travel in style on a Silverjet flight from Luton to Newark, New York. Enjoy champagne and gourmet food before you snuggle under the blankets on your 6ft 3in bed or watch a film on your personal entertainment system. With a powder room on-board and free Champney’s products, you’ll arrive looking a million dollars and awake enough to hit the shops.

Silverjet flies to New York and Dubai from London Luton. Return flights cost from £1,099. Call 0844 855 0111 or visit Flysilverjet.com.

BUDGET Virgin offers economy flights from London Heathrow to New York’s Newark and JFK airports from £297 return. OK, so you don’t get a bed, but the food is good, the seat-back TV shows scores of movies, and just think of all the money you’ve saved for shopping.

Visit Virginatlantic.com or call 0870 380 2007.

 

STAYING OVER

BLOWOUT If money’s no object, it just has to be the ultra-chic Bryant Park Hotel, located near the designer shops in Midtown, and with fine views of Manhattan’s iconic skyline. Carrie and co filmed scenes for the movie here, and it’s the place to be seen during Fashion Week. Celebrity guests include J-Lo and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Prices for a luxury suite start from £430 per night. See Bryantparkhotel.com.

BUDGET Club Quarters Hotel is just two blocks from the bright lights of Times Square, and a short totter on your Jimmy Choos from the shopping mecca of 5th Avenue. Clean and comfortable, it’s the perfect pit stop after a hard afternoon pounding the pavements.

Prices start from £183 per night via Opodo. Call 0871 277 0090 or visit Opodo.co.uk.

 

HAVING BRUNCH

BLOWOUT In the original SATC series, the fab four were spotted

brunching in Pastis in the Meatpacking District – consequently it was swamped by tourists. Born and bred New Yorkers prefer Balthazar (Balthazarny.com), in trendy Soho. This Parisian-style brasserie serves brunch to the beautiful people of the city – celebrities spotted there include Bono and Björk.

BUDGET For a brunch with no frills but plenty of flavour, head to Katz’s Deli (Katzdeli.com) in New York’s Lower East Side. It’s been a favourite with generations of New Yorkers, and was the location for Meg Ryan’s riotous fake orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally.

 

SHOPPING

BLOWOUT As a SATC fan, shops are likely to be high on your to-do list. Your first stop should be SJP’s obsession – Barneys department store on Madison Avenue. To indulge in a pair of legendary Manolo Blahniks, check out the West 54th Street store, or invest in Christian Louboutin heels at 59 Horatio Street in Greenwich Village.

Don’t miss the boutique department store Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue, and stop by the Ferragamo store at 655 Fifth Avenue – Charlotte loves their pretty floral dresses.

BUDGET For discounted designer labels head to Century 21 (C21stores.com) at 22 Cortlandt Street, opposite Ground Zero. It’s a New York institution and an absolute must-visit. Come prepared to rifle through rails of clothes and to haggle over handbags.

 

COCKTAILS

BLOWOUT For a night of cocktail-fuelled dancing, visit Tao (Taorestaurant.com), the über-fashionable bar next door to the Four Seasons Hotel. The bathroom is where Carrie had a run-in with Big’s date, but it’s swarming with celebs too, including Britney, Beyoncé and Paris Hilton.

For a more sedate evening, follow in the footsteps of Carrie and her new assistant (played by Dreamgirls’ Jennifer Hudson) in the movie, who toast their working relationship at The Carlyle Hotel’s Bemelmans Bar (Thecarlyle.com). With live jazz and expensive champagne, it has an old-school Manhattan vibe.

BUDGET For $4 Lychee Martinis that will blow your mind but not your budget, try Verlaine (Verlainenyc.com) in the Lower East Side, a cosy cocktail bar popular with the arty set, which serves cut-price cocktails and delicious South East Asian tapas.

Photography: PCCASEY KELBAUGH/WPN, Rex. All prices correct at time of going to press.

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