10 things to buy in New York

If you go on a trip to New York do not forget to buy some souvenirs for yourself or for your loved ones before returning home. In New York you will find stores at very good prices compared to European rates. And if you go on a trip to the best outlets in New York you will also find reduced prices on luxury brand items.

The city is full of tourist souvenir stores, but if you are looking for something different, in this post I tell you 10 things to buy in New York in unique and original places. You will love them!

The MoMA Museum Store is like a shopping magnet. Whenever I walk down 53rd Street or through Soho I go into the MoMA Design Store. I can spend hours and hours browsing all its shelves, especially the prints and fascinating books on art. After all, MoMA is the world's most important museum of modern art. I tell you more in this post about the famous art gallery.

What to buy?

Although the price is a bit high, if you want to buy someone who loves art and design an original gift at the MoMA Design Store, you're sure to get it right. They have for sale from lithographs, puzzles and things for the home to furniture, designer jewelry or Vans sneakers inspired by MoMA itself.

In short, all kinds of souvenirs for the curious and design enthusiasts. I'm sure you'll want to take everything because many of the things they sell you won't find in other stores.

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If you're traveling to New York for an NBA or NHL game, you'll need to be dressed for the occasion and to cheer on your team. However, the price of official merchandise for these teams is often exorbitant.

One store that offers the same quality assurance, but at much more affordable prices is Modell's Sporting Goods. It has everything from Knicks and Nets jerseys and hats to Mets and Yankees, the New York baseball teams. If you're looking for an NFL Giants-related item, you can also find it at Modell's Sporting Goods.

And if you're thinking of buying a gift for someone who's really into sports, another idea is regulation footballs that you can take home deflated comfortably in your suitcase. And if you have tickets to Madison Square Garden, don't hesitate to visit the official merchandising and souvenir stores inside.

Old Navy

Speaking of sports equipment, another store that also has series dedicated to baseball, soccer or basketball at a good price is Old Navy, a brand that belongs to the same group as GAP. It is another option if you are looking for your outfit to go to a game in New York.

However, if to show off your trip you prefer to take home a souvenir that has the striking logo of "I Love NY" printed on T-shirts, sweatshirts or clothing accessories, take a tour of Old Navy as they have many original models with the name of New York of good quality and at interesting prices.

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So many movies and series have been filmed in New York that the city has become a great film set. Surely when you walk through its streets you will feel that sensation of having been here before thanks to these productions set in the City of Skyscrapers.

If you are passionate about the subject, during your trip to New York I recommend that you take a tour of movies and series around the city because you will discover many anecdotes and curiosities that you may not have known about your favorite titles. I tell you more about this tour in this post.

In addition to all the pictures and videos that you can take during the tour as a souvenir, you may want to take some souvenirs about that series you like so much. Mine is "Friends" from NBC, which in case you didn't know has a store in Rockefeller Center where you can buy items related to this show and many others produced by this TV network.

What to buy?

I took a couple of coffee mugs of those that the main characters of "Friends" used when they met at Central Perk and a tote bag with the logo. But there are many other things in the NBC Store, such as T-shirts, key chains or caps from other NBC star shows like "Saturday Night Live", notepads, magnets or sweatshirts from the series "The Office", "Seinfeld" or "Law & Order", among many others.

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If you are looking to buy some souvenirs of your trip to New York that are original, have a careful design and are far from the most typical, the New York Public Library Shop is the place to go.

It has a multitude of gifts for all tastes so it will be very easy to choose yours. While you can find the perfect gift for a literature enthusiast here with a huge selection of classic and contemporary books, the New York Public Library Store also has some amazing items.

What to buy?

From Jane Austen and William Shakespeare-inspired home and office items, vintage calligraphy sets, themed jewelry and accessories, to postcards and beautiful gift editions of classics like Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, Emma and Frankenstein, I got the The Little Mermaid book and I'm keeping it like gold!

Special Collections

You may be more familiar with the Rose Main Reading Room, the main reading room of the New York Public Library, for its ostentatious decoration with hanging lamps, frescoes on the ceiling and for being the size of a soccer stadium. It is so famous that the Public Library's own store has dedicated a collection of souvenirs to it: umbrellas, puzzles, scarves, costume jewelry...

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In an increasingly globalized world, where can you find a different souvenir that you can't find anywhere else? My suggestion is Artists & Fleas, a flea market that brings together local artists, young designers and collectors where you can find paintings, accessories, jewelry, clothing and other unique items that are made by artisans to ensure that they are special pieces.

The Artists & Fleas market is located in the Soho and Williamsburg neighborhoods, although the Chelsea Market is also linked to the fabulous food market in this building in the Meatpacking District. If you don't know Chelsea Market, I recommend you to read the article I wrote about this market.

Did you know that in Chelsea Market Oreo cookies were invented? It is the old cookie factory of the Nabisco company converted into a market, where the beautiful original industrial style of the building with high ceilings and exposed brick walls has been preserved. In addition, you can order snacks from the fast food stalls (sandwiches, noodles, tacos, sushi, pasta, donuts...) if you work up an appetite while shopping.

What to buy?

Among its stalls you can find everything, so it will be hard to resist shopping. I tell you from experience! I got a beautiful poster of New York, but there were many other things, from decorative candles and bags with messages to natural skin care products.

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One of the things I like most about New York is that walking through its streets you get carried away and end up discovering amazing places, as is the case of Fishs Eddys in the Flatiron neighborhood, very close to Union Square and the Flatiron Building.

It is a beautiful country chic style store that has become a real paradise for lovers of decoration and in particular of kitchenware with an original and vintage design.

What to buy?

Among tourists, any item that refers to New York is a best seller. The most successful collection is the tableware decorated with the Manhattan skyline and the tablecloths with the East River bridges printed on them are almost museum pieces. They are so beautiful that it's a shame to stain them.

As a curiosity, at Fish Eddys you will also find shot glasses dedicated to American presidents such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison or more recent figures such as Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

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If there's one thing I like about Strand Bookstore, it's that it's a family-owned bookstore that has been resisting the big chains in New York since 1927, which is unheard of in this day and age. It has been open for so many decades that it boasts of stocking almost 30 kilometers of books on its shelves, or in other words, almost three million used, new, unique editions and best sellers.

If you're a literature lover you'll lose track of time at Strand Bookstore because there's so much to see and read at its Broadway and 12th Street location, just steps from Union Square. I'm not exaggerating. When you arrive you'll see the outside of the store filled with carts of dozens of well-priced books. There's a little bit of everything, so I recommend you check them out because you can find bargains.

Inside, much more awaits you... three floors crammed with books in a variety of genres! Whatever you're looking for, you're sure to find it at Strand Bookstore. Whether it's for yourself or as a gift.

What to buy?

As if books weren't enough, Strand Bookstore is also a hotbed for souvenirs. They have a lot of curious souvenirs such as packs of socks dedicated to writers and their works, music boxes, mugs, notebooks, key chains ... Strand Bookstore has many gifts of its own production!

Personally, I like their tote bags because they are very original and perfect for carrying all your stuff around the city throughout the day. They have a lot of variety in terms of sizes and designs. But if you are looking for the typical souvenir about New York, I advise you to take a look at their section of books dedicated to the Big Apple.

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You know those kinds of stores where everything is so pretty and cool that you'd buy it all without thinking? Kikkerland is that kind of place. Since 1992 they have been making fun products for the home, toys, office gadgets and technology that aim to bring a smile to their customers' faces.

Kikkerland 's designers traveled all over the world to take inspiration and create each product with a funny aesthetic that gives an original and different touch to the decoration of your home or office.

At first, Kikkerland was a wholesale manufacturer of gift products, but they were so successful that now they opened this little shop located in the West Village. As soon as you walk in you will want to lose yourself in every aisle looking at all the shelves. They have a lot of curious products and you're sure to find an endearing gift to give to your friends or yourself.

What to buy?

There is a lot of variety in terms of travel items, which are very practical if you are a person who likes to travel a lot: pillows, anti-snoring kits, portable luggage weights to avoid airport surcharges, eye masks to sleep better on planes...

However, Kikkerland has a wide variety of products that you should take a look at because they are very original things.

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A sweet treat will always be a sweet souvenir of your trip to New York. In the city there are many stores to buy candy but Economy Candy is unique for its variety and its prices, which are not as high as in other stores.

Economy Candy has a curious history. It began as a business that was dedicated especially to fix hats and shoes. However, at the door of the establishment the owners had a cart where they also sold candy. With the depression of the 1930s, the candy cart began to generate more income than the other products and the business was eventually converted into a candy store.

Today it is a store known as a candy paradise for New York's sweet tooth and a must visit, especially if you go with children. They will be amazed! It is located in the Lower East Side neighborhood and despite its small size is packed with products of all shapes, colors and flavors, so it will be easy to find a souvenir to give as a gift. After all, nobody's bitter for a sweet, right?

What to buy?

Variety is the spice of life. There are chocolates, candies, chewing gum and sweets of every kind you can imagine. In addition to selling by weight, you will also find original tins of candy and boxes of chocolates ideal for gifts.

At Economy Candy I was very impressed by the fact that they had a section with jars of sweets from each decade. I thought it was a very original idea. There is even a table full of items at only $0.99. With that price it will be very difficult to resist the temptation.

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A fantastic souvenir store that really surprised me when I discovered it is the Tenement Museum, located in the Lower East Side. It is a museum that tells the story of those immigrants who came to the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to build a better future. In fact, it is located in an apartment building that between 1863 and 1935 was home to more than 700 immigrants from 20 different countries.

The museum guide will show you this chapter of New York's history and some of the six apartments that were restored to their original state. It is a very interesting way to learn about the history of the city and its anonymous protagonists.

Back to the tourist souvenirs, access to the Tenement Museum store is free, although I recommend that you visit it after seeing the museum as it is very interesting and worthwhile.

What to buy?

The Tenement Museum store reminds me a lot of the New York Public Library, because they have souvenirs that are out of the ordinary and a nice section of vintage posters and novels set in New York.

Practical information