Thanksgiving Thanksgiving weekend is upon us, and that means New York is at its prime. With changing leaves and typically brash New Yorkers suddenly filled with holiday cheer, the city hums with life at this time of year. Autumn bids its last farewell in the form of pumpkin pies and warm apple cider, while fairy lights and bedazzled Christmas trees begin to twinkle along 5th Avenue.

Hop on a last-minute flight and head to Frank Sinatra's playground for a long weekend of autumnal strolls through the West Village and bargaining your way through Black Friday sales at Saks. If you try hard enough, you might even get to crash a local's Thanksgiving dinner.

If you've ever watched Gossip Girl (come on, we know you have), you know that the Upper East Side is the go-to spot for a dramatic Thanksgiving meal complete with chic Bottega Veneta dresses.

The hotel is just a stone's throw away from Central Park for romantic evening wanders (and giving the ice skating rink a go if you're up for it). It's also just off Madison Avenue, so you'll be in a prime location for people-watching and winter coat shopping. Stop by Sant Ambroeus around the corner to pick up a latte for fuel. We recommend stopping by the Ralph Lauren mansions (one for women, one for men) five blocks down. The shops' holiday decorations, complete with frosty pine trees, chandeliers bedecked with sparkling icicles and giant teddy bears, will have you giddily setting up an impromptu Christmas card photo shoot upon arrival. For an artistic afternoon, head to the Neue Galerie, an Austrian and German museum set in a townhouse facing the park. Head up the spiral staircase and you'll find yourself face-to-face with Gustav Klimt's Woman in Gold. For something more contemporary, check out the Upper East Side's Lévy Gorvy Gallery, also set in a stunning townhouse.

Home to the legendary Friendsgiving dinner, the West Village is one of our favourite spots in the city this time of year. Residents take to festively decking the steps leading up to their impressive brownstones, and the quiet tree-lined streets carry a dusting of red and orange leaves. Adorable boutique versions of shops from Annick Goutal to Marc Jacobs' Bookmarc bookshop line Bleecker Street for laid-back gift shopping. When you start to feel a bit peckish after a morning of exploring on foot, stop by Buvette (which has sister locations in Paris and Tokyo) to warm up with a steaming croque monsieur.

Soho - a shopper's dream come true on Thanksgiving weekend. To spend the day like a pro, start with the eggs Norwegian at Balthazar before hitting the boutiques on Mercer, Spring and Greene Streets. We suggest avoiding Broadway on Friday if you don't want to get trampled. To end the day, stop by the Blond at 11 Howard for the best moscow mule in the city (they also have free wine and prosecco on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 6-7PM).

Being in Flatiron will allow you to be close to the heart of the Thanksgiving action while avoiding getting stuck right in Midtown. You'll be close enough that you can venture to Bergdorf's and Bloomingdale's to partake in the Black Friday frenzy, but will also have a slightly calmer recluse to return to in the stunning area surrounding Madison Square Park.

When you manage to pull yourself away from the variety of oh-so-cosy options in the hotel, head a few blocks south to Gramercy Tavern for a spontaneous holiday meal. If you can't manage to snag a booking in the restaurant's dining room, the Tavern only takes walk-ins, and you'll still be able to indulge in their Thanksgiving chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Need we say more?

If you're looking for an authentic and chilled last-minute holiday, take the time to explore the East Village. The area is teeming with must-try bars such as Mother of Pearl, Death & Co. and Please Don't Tell, which you can only access by entering a secret code into a phone booth at a hole-in-the-wall hot-dog restaurant. When you're not stumbling upon hidden treasures in the evenings, the neighbourhood is packed with laid-back cafés, vintage shops and record stores reminiscent of the area's rock'n'roll days.