For decades the Hamptons have been the summer escape of choice for heat-frazzled New Yorkers.

Tens of thousands make the hundred-mile pilgrimage east from the city to lounge on the sandy beaches, linger in the pretty villages and luxuriate in the slow-paced lifestyle.

In recent years it has become a magnet for the rich and the famous; Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson, Paul McCartney, and Robert De Niro all own homes in the area.