Of all the iconic New Yorkers in pop culture, Carrie Bradshaw is among the most memorable—as is the woman behind the myth, Candace Bushnell. The best-selling author, TV producer, and Sex and the City creator is back in Manhattan this month to perform her one-woman show, True Tales of Sex, Success, and Sex and the City, for one night only, on May 16 at Sony Hall, located in the Paramount Times Square. “It’s about a woman who comes to New York and ends up making it. It’s also the origin story of Sex and the City—of why I invented Carrie Bradshaw—and what happened to me afterward,” Bushnell says, describing her evening-length performance, one that she’s taken on tour to cities like London, Prague, and Budapest.
While chatting with Condé Nast Traveler, Bushnell recalls the reactions to her work—her column for the New York Observer that inspired the hit TV show, her adult and young adult novels, and onstage performances—from fans all over the world: “It’s mostly women who come with their girlfriends, out for a celebration. They come up to me and say that Sex and the City changed their lives, or made a low point in their lives a lot better. They find it empowering, that they don’t have to feel bad about being single, wanting more from relationships, and not wanting to settle.”
Bushnell’s shows are presented with translated subtitles in tour stops where the primary language is not English, but she’s found that much of her material transcends cultural or language barriers. “Wherever they are, they understand these lessons about relationships: Lesson number one, If you don’t do it, somebody else will. Lesson number two: Men lie about everything, including their ages. Women understand that everywhere. These are things that are absolutely international.”
Decades into being a consummate New Yorker, Bushnell still keeps a home in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, but increasingly escapes out east: “I spend pretty much every weekend at my house in the Hamptons because I’ve got two big standard poodles and they need their space.” Still, she spends much of her working and social life in the city. Below, she shares with Traveler her most-visited haunts for meals, drinks, shopping, and where to get glammed up for her events all over town. A word to the wise: If you follow her recs, you might need to wear comfortable shoes. “I am definitely a New Yorker who thinks three miles away is walkable,” Bushnell says.
Where to eat and drink in New York City:
“First of all, I don’t eat lunch. I try to avoid lunch at all costs because it’s inconvenient for me. It comes at the time of the day when I’m really starting to get to work. But when I do, I go to the old standbys. I live on the Upper East Side, so I’ll go to Le Bilboquet. I’ve loved it since it was a tiny little restaurant in the East 60s, maybe 64th street. They’re in a bigger space now, but I’ve been going there since the ’90s. I do dinner, definitely. I like to go to The Corner Store in SoHo, but when I stay in the Upper East Side, I always get the veal piccata at Caravaggio. It’s in the space that used to be Coco Pazzo, an Italian restaurant from the ’90s, so I’ve been going to that address for 30 years. For drinks, I’ll take people to Casa Tua, the private club in The Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel, and the lounge and restaurant, which are public, are great too. But like everywhere in New York, the restaurant is really hard to get into. It’s like, what is going on? I think it’s TikTok. For coffee, I go every single day to Ralph’s Coffee because it’s near me on the Upper East Side—and at Christmastime, I’d see 150 people standing in line to get it while it’s 20 degrees out. It’s baffling to me. What are you all doing?”
Where to stay in New York City:
“There’s the Hotel Chelsea, which has been renovated now. I haven’t stayed in the new rooms, but my friends have and they love it. The thing that’s so interesting about that place is that, when they renovated it, they found all these rooms that had kind of been closed off for decades. They had all the original moldings and beautiful woodwork, so all of that has been restored—I love those sorts of delicious little spaces in a hotel. And of course on the Upper East Side, there’s The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel. I’ll go there for tea—and actually, I’ve performed my show there at Café Carlyle. Three times, three years in a row. I feel like I need to come up with a new show before going back.”
Where to go shopping in New York City:
“For shopping, you always can go down Fifth Avenue—to Louis Vuitton and all those places. But I usually stick around Madison Avenue. I walk up and down that street pretty much every day. There’s the Manolo Blahnik boutique, naturally, and Bergdorf Goodman on Madison and East 66th Street is always great. And every time I’m like, “God, I’ve gotta find something to wear,” I could pretty much always go to alice + olivia and find something adorable.”
Where to get red-carpet-ready in New York City:
“When I come to the city, I feel like I have to get my hair and makeup done once a week. I go to a lot of events, and there are always photographers. Sometimes when I go to things at Lincoln Center—or like, I went to a Cinema Society event last night—there’s always a little red carpet. Just lots of parties, you know? And then there’s Zooms or podcasts—I have to get in glam for podcasts now because they’re all video recorded now too. Oh yeah, the days of being a writer in your sweatpants are gone. So the place where I get my hair, nails, and all that done is Valerie Joseph Salon—they have locations on the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, and in the Hamptons. For spa treatments, I go to Tracie Martyn on Fifth Avenue; that’s downtown from me. For something closer, I like the Spa Valmont at the Carlyle.”
Where to go in New York City for a good time:
“I love seeing the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center. You know, I was once married to a principal dancer with City Ballet, so at one time, I went a lot. Recently, a girlfriend of mine was talking about going, and then I just remembered, like, ‘Oh yeah. I love it there.’ It’s just so transportive, with all the dancers moving to the live music. And I’ll go to the occasional Broadway show. I also live near The Metropolitan Museum of Art—it’s one of those places where I feel like I should go more often. You could spend the rest of your life just constantly going to the Met and seeing something new each time. And Central Park, of course: I take walks there every day and everyone should go to the Bethesda Fountain—every single time any production shoots in the park, they all go there. So you’re bound to see something interesting when you check it out.”
What Candace Bushnell brings while traveling:
“I have to travel so much for work that I am actually almost never on a vacation. That’s one of the reasons I have my house in the Hamptons—I just zip over there on the weekends and I can have a little mini-vacation. But when I do travel, I can’t go anywhere without a little travel pillow. Like, an actual square pillow, not one of those neck things. I love the one I have from Kumi Kookoon. No matter what hotel I’m in, I use that pillow. And lavender pillow spray—mine is from Cape Cod Lavender Farm. They’re based out of Harwich, Massachusetts, and their stuff is all-natural, which is getting harder and harder to find these days, I think.”
What keeps Candace Bushnell in New York City:
“It’s really the people. It’s a very social city, this place. I’ve always said this: It’s a city where you really can be single. It’s full of single people and there’s always something to do every night. You can be single here and have a very full life, absolutely. It’s easy to meet strangers, new people. Old friends, new friends, everyone passes through New York.”
Candace Bushnell will perform her one-woman show True Tales of Sex, Success, and Sex and the City for on May 16 at Sony Hall in New York City. Tickets available here.
