Film and TV location tours since 2019

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Lower Manhattan skyline across the East River, seen past old pier pilings at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Destination guide

New York film location tours: the city on screen

Five days in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, on the streets the cameras have loved for a century, with a tour leader who lives in the city.

  • 1 tour
  • from $2,490 per person
  • Best months Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct
  • 5 filming locations
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The United States

New York City on screen

New York is the most filmed city in America that is not Los Angeles, and the difference is that here the locations are real streets you can walk down. The firehouse in Ghostbusters still sends out trucks. The diner whose sign opened every episode of Seinfeld still serves eggs on upper Broadway. Katz's Delicatessen still hangs a sign over the table where Meg Ryan made her point in When Harry Met Sally. You do not need a studio backlot here; you need good shoes, a MetroCard or a tap of your phone at the subway gate, and someone who knows which corner to stand on.

Our New York tours are designed by Desmond Hale and led by Marcus Bell, who lives in Queens and has spent years matching film frames to street corners. We keep the group to 14, mix the van with walking and the odd subway ride, and book tickets for the public NBC Studio Tour at Rockefeller Center and the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. We also tell you where we do not go: some screen addresses are people's homes, and the owners have asked fans to stay away.

The filming locations below, on the map.Map: Esri, OpenStreetMap contributors

Filming locations

The New York filming locations we visit

The red brick Hook and Ladder 8 firehouse on a corner in Tribeca, New York

01

The Ghostbusters firehouse, Tribeca

Hook and Ladder Company 8 at 14 North Moore Street is the firehouse the Ghostbusters bought in the 1984 film, and it came back for Ghostbusters II in 1989. Only the outside was shot here; the interiors were filmed at a fire station in Los Angeles. The building dates from 1903 and is still a working FDNY firehouse, so we stand across the street on the corner of Varick Street and keep the apron clear: when the doors go up, a truck is coming out. Firefighters are often happy to wave from the door, but they are on duty, so we never go in uninvited. We visit in the afternoon, when Tribeca's cobbled side streets are quiet and the light falls on the brick.

  • A working FDNY firehouse, built in 1903
  • The exterior from Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989)
  • Cobbled Tribeca side streets a block away
Best time
Weekday afternoons, all year

Tours that visit The Ghostbusters firehouse, Tribeca

Corner of Grove Street and Bedford Street in Greenwich Village with ivy covered townhouses

02

Greenwich Village

The West Village gave television two of its most photographed exteriors. The apartment building in the establishing shots of Friends (1994 to 2004) stands on the corner of Bedford and Grove Streets, with a restaurant on the ground floor; the show itself was filmed in Burbank. A few blocks east, Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street is where Carrie and Miranda ate cupcakes in a 2000 episode of Sex and the City. Washington Square Arch is where Harry drops Sally at the end of their drive from Chicago in When Harry Met Sally (1989). We do not go to the Sex and the City stoop on Perry Street: it is a private home, and the residents have chained the steps and asked fans to stay away. The Village is best on foot, so this is a two-hour walk.

  • The Friends corner at Bedford and Grove Streets
  • Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street
  • Washington Square Arch from When Harry Met Sally
Best time
Late morning, April to June and September to November

Tours that visit Greenwich Village

Two people crossing Bow Bridge over the frozen Lake in Central Park after snow

03

Central Park

Central Park has appeared in hundreds of films, and a few corners carry more than their share. Bethesda Terrace and its fountain are where Giselle leads the crowd in song in Enchanted (2007). The stone Gapstow Bridge near the southeast corner turns up in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), and Wollman Rink is where Buddy and Jovie skate in Elf (2003). Harry and Sally walk under the autumn trees here too. One myth to clear up: the fountain in the Friends opening credits is on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, not in this park. We walk about 2.5 miles through the southern half of the park, from the Plaza end to Bethesda and Bow Bridge, with benches along the way.

  • Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, from Enchanted
  • Gapstow Bridge and Wollman Rink
  • Bow Bridge over the Lake
Best time
Mornings in May, June, September and October

Tours that visit Central Park

The Plaza Hotel facade with its green gabled roof at Grand Army Plaza

04

Fifth Avenue and the Plaza

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) opens at dawn on Fifth Avenue, with Audrey Hepburn eating a pastry in front of the Tiffany windows at 57th Street. The flagship is still there and open to visitors. Two blocks north, the Plaza Hotel is where Cary Grant is kidnapped from the Oak Bar in North by Northwest (1959) and where Kevin talks his way into a suite in Home Alone 2 (1992). Across Grand Army Plaza, the old FAO Schwarz store at 767 Fifth Avenue is where Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia played the giant floor piano in Big (1988); the toy store has since moved to Rockefeller Plaza, and it has a floor piano again. We walk this stretch in the morning, before the sidewalks fill, and finish at Rockefeller Center for the NBC Studio Tour.

  • The Tiffany windows from Breakfast at Tiffany's
  • The Plaza Hotel, Home Alone 2 and North by Northwest
  • A short walk to Rockefeller Center
Best time
Early mornings; December for the holiday windows

Tours that visit Fifth Avenue and the Plaza

Manhattan Bridge framed between brick warehouses on Washington Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn

05

Dumbo, Brooklyn

Stand on Washington Street at the corner of Water Street and look north: the Manhattan Bridge fills the gap between two brick warehouses, with the Empire State Building framed under its arch on a clear day. Sergio Leone used this view in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), and the shot became the film's poster. Today the street is so busy with photographers that you may wait a minute for a clear frame, which is why we come early or late in the day. From here it is a few minutes to Brooklyn Bridge Park and Jane's Carousel on the waterfront. We arrive by van and walk back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge, about 1.3 miles on a wooden walkway, if the group wants to.

  • The Manhattan Bridge view from Once Upon a Time in America
  • Brooklyn Bridge Park and Jane's Carousel
  • The walk back over the Brooklyn Bridge
Best time
Early morning or the hour before sunset

Tours that visit Dumbo, Brooklyn

New York City film location tours for 2026 and 2027

Price per person sharing a double room; day tours per person. Flights to the start city are not included.

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1 tour

Getting around

How our tours get around New York City

01

A van, a driver and your feet

Manhattan traffic is slow, so we use our 14-seat Sprinter van for the long hops, like Midtown to Astoria or Tribeca to Dumbo, and walk the rest. Expect 5 to 7 miles on foot on a full day. The van carries your extra layers and shopping, and the driver meets us at the next corner.

02

The subway, now and then

Some trips are quicker underground, and the subway is part of the New York film experience anyway. Your tour leader carries tap cards for the group. We avoid rush hour and pick stations with escalators or elevators where we can.

03

Ferries and bridges

Brooklyn is part of the story, so one afternoon we walk back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge, about 1.3 miles on a wooden walkway, and anyone who prefers to sit takes the van or the East River ferry.

What is included

What our New York City tours include

In New York City

  • Tickets for the public NBC Studio Tour at Rockefeller Center
  • Entry to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens
  • A tour leader who lives in New York and knows the frame for each scene
  • Van with a professional driver between neighborhoods
  • Subway rides on tour days
  • Central Midtown hotels within walking distance of Times Square
  • Lunch at Katz's Delicatessen on the five-day tour

On every tour

  • Central hotels with daily breakfast on trips of two days or more
  • A named Scenes Found tour leader with the group from the first day to the last
  • Airport transfers on the first and last day of the tour
  • Hotel taxes, parking, park entry and local guide fees
  • Our 24/7 line while you travel, in every time zone

Not included: flights to the start city and home, meals not listed, drinks, tips and travel insurance. Each tour page lists exactly what is in the price.

Best time to go

Best time to visit New York City

Spring and fall are the best seasons for walking New York. In April and May days run 60 to 72 F, the trees in Central Park are in leaf and the light is soft. September and October are a little warmer at first, then crisp and clear, with the park turning gold in late October, which is the When Harry Met Sally look. July and August reach the high 80s F with heavy humidity, and the subway platforms are hotter still. November and December are cold, 40 to 55 F, but the Fifth Avenue windows, the Rockefeller Center tree and the Wollman Rink skaters make December the most filmed month of the year. January and February average around 33 F with occasional snow, so we do not run tours then.

  1. Jan: no departures
  2. Feb: no departures
  3. Mar: good months
  4. Apr: best months
  5. May: best months
  6. Jun: best months
  7. Jul: good months
  8. Aug: good months
  9. Sep: best months
  10. Oct: best months
  11. Nov: good months
  12. Dec: good months

Best monthsGood monthsNo departures

Practical

New York City at a glance

Best months
Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct
Airport
JFK is about 15 miles from Midtown, 45 to 75 minutes by car; Newark and LaGuardia also work. We meet you at the airport on day 1.
Getting around
The van between neighborhoods, the subway for short hops, and a lot of walking: 5 to 7 miles on a full day.
Time zone
Eastern Time (ET), 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
Weather
Spring and fall 55 to 75 F, summer in the high 80s and humid, winter around freezing.
Filming today
Film and TV crews work on New York streets most days of the year. You will often see trailers and orange parking signs; we keep moving and never cross a crew's line.
Location etiquette
Stand to one side on busy sidewalks, keep firehouse doors clear, and do not knock on or sit on the steps of residential buildings.
Book ahead
We book the NBC Studio Tour and the Museum of the Moving Image for you. Studio audience tickets for live shows are free but go by lottery; apply on your own months ahead.
Tipping
18 to 20 percent in restaurants, $1 to $2 a drink at bars, and for your tour leader and driver whatever you feel the trip earned.
Hotel tax
New York hotel taxes add close to 15 percent to the room rate. On our multi-day tours they are already in the price.

FAQ

New York City tour FAQs

More on the FAQ page, or call +1 (323) 641-2870.

Can we go inside the Ghostbusters firehouse?

No. It is a working FDNY firehouse, and the film's interiors were shot in Los Angeles anyway. We stand across the street and keep the doors clear. Sometimes the crew on duty chat with visitors from the door, but that is their choice, and we never ask them to open up.

Do you stop at the Sex and the City apartment?

No. The stoop on Perry Street belongs to a private home. The residents have put a chain across the steps and asked fans to stay away, so we leave it off the route. We visit Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street instead, which is a shop and happy to see you.

Can we see a TV show being taped?

Tickets to shows like Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show are free but given out by NBC through lotteries and standby lines, so nobody can sell them to you or guarantee them. The NBC Studio Tour, which we book, takes you through the building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza where those shows are made.

How much walking is there?

On the five-day tour, 5 to 7 miles on the busiest days, broken up by van rides, lunch and museum time. Shoes you have already walked in are the most important thing you pack.

Is New York good in winter for a film tour?

November and December are cold but lively: holiday windows on Fifth Avenue, the tree at Rockefeller Center and skaters at Wollman Rink, which is the Elf look. We run departures until mid December, then stop for January and February, when snow and 30 F winds make long walks miserable.

Can I combine New York with a European tour?

Yes. Many guests fly on from New York to London for our Harry Potter tour or to Rome. We add hotel nights between the two and help with the timing of the transatlantic flight, which you book yourself.

What about Friends? Was it filmed in New York?

Only the exterior shots of the apartment building. The show was filmed on a soundstage in Burbank, California, and the fountain from the opening credits is on the Warner Bros. lot there. In New York we stop on the corner of Bedford and Grove Streets, which is a public corner with a restaurant on the ground floor.

Nearby

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Travel guides

New York City guides to read before you go

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Planning

Hollywood studio tours compared: which lot to pick

Four public studio tours in Los Angeles, four very different mornings. What each one is like, how long it takes and how to choose, from a tour leader who has done them all many times.

Lena Kowalski ·  · 4 min read

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Tell us when you can travel, who is coming and the films and shows you love. A travel advisor replies within one business day with dates and prices.

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