Hamptons: Introduction: Cheat Sheet

So the Hamptons might be glammed-up farmland, but it’s precisely this combination of city and country living—of the chic and the rustic—that makes this summer colony so alluring.

Get the real story on the area’s hotels under Where to Stay and restaurants under Where to Eat, sights not to miss under What to See & Do, a guide to the shopping scene under Where to Shop and what to read before you go in Library.

INDAGARE’S TOP TEN

EXPERIENCE…the best of summer on any Atlantic beach at dusk

SPLURGE…on gypsy chic resort wear at Carleen Ligozio or Calypso in Southampton

EAT…at the uber-cool Surf Lodge in Montauk

DRINK…a black-and-white shake at the Candy Kitchen in Bridgehampton

SAVOR…the beautiful garden of artist Robert Dash at Madoo

SEE…celebrities ducking in and out of the Sagg Store for picnic supplies in Sagaponack

SHOP…with a conscience at Donna Karan’s Urban Zen, which opened in 2008 in Sag Harbor

KNOW…the farmer’s markets and local purveyors so you can cook at home, which is where insiders know the best meals are