Apple Store Fifth Avenue

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Living up to its “Think Different” motto, Apple unveiled Fifth Avenue’s sole subterranean flagship in 2006. The opening of the 32-foot-tall glass cube across from the Plaza garnered almost as much attention as the subsequent iPhone. Today, Mac devotees, wide-eyed tourists, and lunch-breaking Midtowners continue to flock to the street-level vestibule, only to descend via the tubular elevator or floating spiral staircase to a bright, sprawling space crammed full of laptops, Bose sound docks, and iPod nanos. Those with malfunctioning Apple gadgetry head to the Genius Bar, an innovative information desk where rigorously trained staff members answer even the most obscure questions. A children’s enclave caters to mini Mac lovers. And unlike the Soho outpost, this location is a haven for insomniacs as well: The doors are open 24 hours every day of the year. — Caroline Callahan