Can’t afford a European tour? Try NYC instead

updated 4:14 p.m. ET March 11, 2009

NEW YORK - On a recent day, I gazed at the Arc de Triomphe, visited the world's largest gothic cathedral, dined on Viennese schnitzel and spaetzle, saw a few Rembrandts, and shopped at one of Spain's largest fashion retailers.

Well, truth be told, it wasn't the Arc de Triomphe in Paris; it was the marble arch in Washington Square Park, in Greenwich Village, which architect Stanford White modeled on the famous French monument.

And I wasn't on a whirlwind tour of Europe. I was on this side of the Atlantic, sampling European art, architecture, food and shopping in Manhattan. Here are some ways in which New York can be oh so continental.

Shopping
Shop like you're in Spain, Paris, Sweden or London, all in one day in New York. Here are some recommendations from Elise Loehnen, editor at large for Lucky magazine:

• The Spanish chain Zara sells "really beautiful things, mostly clothing, some accessories, nice office separates, and really beautiful printed blouses," Loehnen said. Zara's locations in Manhattan include 34th Street near Sixth, Soho at 580 Broadway and Fifth Avenue near 54th Street.
• Mango, one of Spain's largest fashion retailers, at 561 Broadway in Soho, "is a little more va-va-voom, a little sexier," said Loehnen. The store has a raised catwalk with mannequins posed like strutting models. Designs by Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and her sister Monica include a $70 little red dress, a $70 peasant blouse and a $150 black-and-white jacket.
• Swedish retailer H&M, known for fun trendy clothes and low prices, has locations including 34th and Broadway, 51st and Fifth Avenue and 558 Broadway.

For boutiques, Loehnen recommends Comptoir des Cotonniers' "easy-to-wear, south of France, low-key chic staples" at 155 Spring St. and Ludivine at 172 W. Fourth St., which Loehnen said sells "small French labels and beautiful items you won't find anywhere else."

Loehnen said the fashion world is eagerly awaiting the April opening of Topshop's first U.S. store at 478 Broadway. "It's probably the most popular High Street chain in London, really on-trend," she said.

And of course all the big European designers are already here. Giorgio Armani's new emporium at Fifth Avenue and 56th includes an Italian restaurant. Stella McCartney's shop is at 429 W. 14th St.

Art
New York's museums and galleries house thousands of European works of art. My husband and I once took visitors from Paris to the Museum of Modern Art, where they were astonished — almost outraged — to find so many important European paintings on this side of the Atlantic, from Monet's "Water Lilies" to Rousseau's "The Sleeping Gypsy" to Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon." MOMA's collection also includes Surrealist works by Magritte and Duchamps, Impressionism by Cezanne and Matisse, and many other famous pieces.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is itself a European-style institution with a neoclassical facade, and art and artifacts from around the world, in the tradition of grand repositories like the Louvre and the British Museum. The Met's European holdings range from ancient classical statues and urns in the New Greek and Roman Galleries to Medieval armor and weapons (sure to please fidgety kids) to 2,200 European paintings. They include works by Renaissance artists like Titian and Botticelli, Old Masters like Rembrandt and Goya, and 19th-century paintings by Van Gogh and Renoir. The Met also has five Vermeers, the world's largest single collection of the Dutch artist's work.

A short walk from the Met at Fifth Avenue and 86th Street is the Neue Galerie, which specializes in German and Austrian art, including Gustav Klimt's "Adele Bloch-Bauer I," a portrait elaborately decorated with the artist's trademark geometric designs.

Uptown, The Cloisters, in Fort Tryon Park, was literally built from stones from medieval monasteries in France. The Cloisters houses the Met's medieval European art, including the famous 15th-century Unicorn Tapestries.

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