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It's almost impossible to measure how Sex and the City has altered the sex lives of its fans. Sure, there are women who insist that Samantha's fierce libido encouraged them to embrace their inner “trysexual” (someone who tries anything once). But a quantifiable increase in sex? Do tell.

A much easier case could be made for the HBO series' role in legitimizing footwear addictions and deifying shoe designers Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo.

But the show's greatest achievement has to be the way it depicted New York as the ultimate place to live, love and let loose. Locating the real-life stomping grounds of the four main characters – Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte – is not at all difficult, whether you take a bus tour or explore the shops, restaurants and neighbourhoods on foot – comfortable shoes recommended. And thanks to the Sex and the City movie opening May 30, there's more buzz than ever about Manhattan, the show's fifth and most fabulous star.

Though I lived there for three thrilling years, and many of the show's locations (Coffee Shop, the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, Luna Park) are the same ones I frequented, I

devoted a recent trip to all things SATC.

I kicked off my pilgrimage with breakfast at Pastis, which wasn't the actual setting for the foursome's coffee klatches (shot at the Silvercup Studios in Long Island City) but appeared on the show a few times. Some say this Meatpacking District simulacrum of a French brasserie is past its prime, and Pastis has always served up better ambience than food. No matter. My egg-white omelette – Charlotte's default order – provided the perfect sustenance to begin the day.

The best way for Big Apple newbies to get a taste of Carrie and the gang's cosmopolitan life is to take the Sex and the City Hotspots tour, a gimmicky/glam idea conceived by Georgette Blau, whose nine-year-old company, On Location Tours, also shines a spotlight on The Sopranos and Central Park.

For $40 apiece, the mostly international and almost entirely female tour group hopped on a bus outside the newly restored Plaza hotel and listened to a “sexpert” point out such crucial plot spots as SoHo House (where the gals sneak up to the rooftop pool), Onieal's (the bar of choice for Miranda's hubby, Steve, and Carrie's one-time fiancé, Aidan) and a West Village Banana Republic (where Carrie and a fling make out in the fitting room).

Natasha Malinsky, my tour's bombshell guide, possessed plenty of behind-the-scenes knowledge (Sarah Jessica Parker got to keep all her shoes, and there is a major blooper in the opening credits) and worked the double entendres like a stand-up comedienne – informing us, for instance, that we would be “getting off” at several stops.

This was certainly true at the Pleasure Chest, ground zero for all things titillating. Charlotte bought her pink Rabbit vibrator here, and the gals on the tour swarmed the battery-operated pets with enthusiasm.

Magnolia Bakery, where the girls would often go to indulge – and is now so famous that it requires a bouncer during peak hours, was a highlight that followed a slow crawl up Greenwich Street.

Cathy Epstein, the director of marketing for On Location Tours, said ticket sales for the 31/2-hour tour have increased as much as 20 per cent since September, when the film began production.

“We're sold out seven days in advance as opposed to four days,” she said. “Onieal's is pouring 1,000 cosmos a week.”

The haute pub is the last stop on the tour. Epstein said more locations will be added once the movie opens.

Ask any New Yorker and they'll tell you they've noticed scenes being filmed en plein air, but only the cast and crew know which locations have made the final cut. The buildup is like foreplay.

“From our perspective, Sex and the City is probably the best commercial that's ever been made for the city of New York,” said George Fertitta, chief executive officer of NYC & Company, the city's official tourism organization. “The backdrop of the city, the role the city plays, the beauty, the glamour, the excitement, the energy – it's just wonderful to have other people promote the city like that.”

Can a film prompt a spike in tourism?

“I absolutely believe that it becomes an additional reason or a reminder for people to come to New York,” Fertitta said from his office just north of Times Square, adding that the number of tourists in the first quarter is already up a million, to 91/2 million, over the same period last year.

In response, hotels such as the Gansevoort, in the Meatpacking District, have created special packages that include store discounts, free cocktails and passes to nightclubs. Suzi DeAngelis, director of sales for the Gansevoort, said this is the first time the hotel has pegged a promotion to something as mainstream as SATC, but the district is perfect for today's likeminded gals.

“Down here, it's all about being young and chic,” she said, revealing that Christian Louboutin and Diane von Furstenberg have been guests.

For most New York locales, the benefits of having an association with SATC outweigh the drawbacks. One exception: nightclubs that are already thick with wannabes.

Lotus, a Meatpacking mainstay, appeared literally or in conversation three times throughout the show's run. Co-owner Jeffrey Jah, a 20-year veteran of the business, says the crowd he cultivates includes “tomorrow's next fashion designer, next artist, next poet and next rock star.” Translation: Poseurs need not apply.

But a shop or restaurant isn't guaranteed immortality just because it has been featured on the show. The oft-cited Moomba, a popular lounge in the late 1990s, closed years ago, and all attempts to turn the space into something else have failed.

The beloved French diner Florent, one of the first decent foodie destinations in the Meatpacking District patronized by a who's who of celebrities, including Sarah Jessica Parker, will close next month. No amount of namedropping will save it from an obscene rent increase – from a reported $6,000 a month to nearly $42,000.

Then there's Patricia Field, the show's eccentric costume designer and red-mopped merchant, who shuttered her West Broadway store and reopened it in the newly hip Bowery.

Currently occupying Field's SoHo space is a shoe store called Té Casan, which features a collection designed by actress Natalie Portman. At least that's a fitting fate – Carrie adores shoes – and a sales associate told me that an orange bag from the store will be in the movie.

Indeed, I spent much of my trip trying to suss out places or things that would be worthy of the SATC movie. In my imagined plot line, Carrie and Big meet for lunch at Insieme, a new midtown restaurant that serves authentic Italian fare, to discuss the wedding. She wants a blowout party, but he would much prefer inviting friends and family to Adour, Alain Ducasse's gorgeous and ambitious homage to France at the St. Regis Hotel.

Meanwhile, Samantha pays a visit to Kiki de Montparnasse, the ne plus ultra of specialty stores for lingerie. She purchases a pair of gold handcuffs and satin panties, which she shows off to her man Smith after their night at 1 Oak, the latest playground for pretty young things, which Jah opened last winter with fellow club kings Richie Akiva, Scott Sartiano and Ronnie Madra. The place boasts wood-barrelled ceilings, a black lacquered bar, murals by Roy Nachum and an area of staged seating for voyeurism. Says Jah, “You really have to know one of the owners to get in, or you have to have some amazing style or approach that wins the doorman over.”

Over to Charlotte, who spends the afternoon with her daughter at the New Museum in the Bowery – children are never too young to begin appreciating art, after all.

And Miranda has made reservations for herself and Steve at the newest Blue Ribbon outpost in Six Columbus, the modish addition to the Thompson Hotel empire. She orders omakase (chef's choice), and despite eating miso cod and baby sea eel sushi, he's still hungry, so en route back to Brooklyn they stop at Marlow & Sons, a Williamsburg canteen, where they share a meaty sandwich and a dram of Scotch before returning home to find son Brady sound asleep.

Of course, a stop at Manolo remains a must for these gals. Tourists too, says George Malkemus, the company's U.S. president. “She's a part of our lives. We have busloads of people who come outside and take pictures.” He says the inclusion of the shoe was never about product placement and he does not begrudge the inclusion of other labels. “If a woman only looks at one thing, it becomes boring.”

It's worth noting that when the series wrapped, the characters had all settled down somewhat. Less serial dating could potentially mean fewer retail and restaurant cameos. Privy to some SATC spoilers, Epstein of On Location Tours suggests a total of 14 locations. “You have to remember that the series took place over six years and the movie is two hours,” she says.

It didn't take me long to fall in love ... with an electric blue pair of Christian Louboutins.

Shortly afterward, an attractive young man called out, “I like your shoes.” Who knows where the red-soled heels will take me. Suffice to say they offer a better shot at meeting Mr. Right than a vibrating Rabbit.