“Sex and the” Sightseeing: A Guide to the TV Show’s Locales

“Sex and the City” Location Guide

A feature revealing the filming locations of HBO’s smash hit TV series, “Sex and the City”

Cosmos. Manolos. Manhattan. “Sex and the City” may be off the air, but in lives on in the hearts of its fans and in – of course – New York, New York! Whether you’re a Carrie, a Samantha, a Charlotte, or a Miranda, you’ll simply adore visiting the sites seen on the show.

Over 40% of “Sex and the City” was shot on location, so there are plenty of places to visit, and most of them are just the same as they were on the show! Since New York is a big city, we’ve organized this guide to help you navigate NYC more easily.

Let’s start with the Upper East Side, which Charlotte and Carrie call home. Charlotte lives at (the fictional address of) 700 Park Avenue and Carrie’s (fictional) address is 245 East 73rd Street but you can see her brownstone at 66 Perry Street. At 93rd Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue is where Aidan proposed to Carrie! Carrie’s favorite shoe spot, Jimmy Choo’s, is at 645 Fifth Avenue. The Central Park Boathouse at East 72nd Street & Park Drive North is where Big and Carrie fell into the water in Season 3. Samantha used Lucy Liu’s name to get an expensive Birkin Bag at the Hermes Boutique (691 Madison Avenue). The corner of Madison Avenue and 63rd Street near Central Park East is where Big picked up Carrie in his car and told her, “you’re not the marrying kind.” Contrarily, Charlotte bought her wedding gown at the Vera Wang Bridal Boutique, at 691 Madison Avenue. Miranda gave birth to Brady at Mt. Sinai Hospital (98th Street to 102nd Street between Madison & Fifth Avenues). Another classic episode involves Miranda trading sex for chocolate, after eyeing cakes at Payard Patisserie & Bistro at 1032 Lexington Avenue. Carrie read a poem for a wedding at the famed Plaza Hotel at Fifth Avenue & East 59th Street. Don’t forget the landmark of Tiffany and Co., at Fifth Avenue at East 57th Street, which is where Trey bought Charlotte her engagement ring.

From there, head over to the Upper West Side, which Miranda calls home before her move to Brooklyn with Steve and Brady. Miranda’s fictitious address is 331 West 78th Street.

Next, pop down into Midtown. Carrie and Ray the jazz player ran into Big and his model-cokewhore girlfriend at Tao, 42 East 58th Street and Brassiere 8 ½, where Lynn Cameron (played by Margaret Cho) asked Carrie to be in her fashion show – where Carrie would later become “fashion road kill” – is at 9 West 57th Street. The ladies attend Fashion Week at Bryant Park, and nearby is the northeast corner of 41st Street & Broadway, where Charlotte and Trey had their fateful meeting that led to their marriage. (Charlotte and Trey got married at the Church of the Holy Trinity, at 316 East 88th Street.) At 11 Madison Avenue you’ll find the restaurant where Big told Carrie he was engaged to Natasha. Carrie and Big also went to The Monkey Bar at 60 East 54th Street.

Now it’s over to Union Square. Charlotte and Trey awkwardly bed-shopped with Bunny at ABC Carpet & Home at 888 & 881 Broadway, and Charlotte went to brunch with her fight-happy date at the Blue Water Grill (31 Union Square West). And The Coffee Shop at 29 Union Square West is where Samantha met her sports-addicted beau. Carrie and the new Yankee went to Old Town Bar at 45 East 18th Street.

Chelsea and the Meatpacking District are home to trendy haunts as well – Samantha lives in the MPD, so how could it not be fabulous? (Her address is 300 Gansevoort Street, which isn’t a real address.) Bungalow 8 is in Chelsea on West 27th Street. Carrie had brunch with Oliver at Pastis, 9 Ninth Avenue. Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda shopped for vibrators together at Pleasure Chest at 156 Seventh Avenue South. At 818 Greenwich you’ll find the Furniture Company, where Aidan displayed and sold his furniture. Who could forget Aidan and Carrie coming face-to-face with Big and Natasha, and Carrie spilling hot coffee on Big before he told her he was getting out of his marriage?

Magnolia Bakery is at 401 Bleecker Street and is where Miranda and Carrie ate cupcakes – remember Miranda stuffing hers in her mouth? Sarah Jessica Parker lives with her husband Matthew Broderick and son Henry at 57 Charles Street in the Village.

The Church Around the Corner in the Murray Hill area is where Samantha met “Friar Fuck” and continued to fantasize about him.

Downtown you’ll find D&G, where Carrie and Charlotte went to a party with the new Yankee and the ball-grabber, respectively, at 434 West Broadway. At 145 West Broadway is Nell’s, where the girls played drag queen bingo and ran into Samantha’s transvestite ex, who’d modeled himself after her. The SoHo Grand is at 310 West Broadway and is where Richard Wright’s black-and-white ball was held. Charlotte felt uncomfortable around all the other naked women at the Helena Rubenstein Beauty Gallery at 135 Spring Street. The Hotel Venus at 382 West Broadway, owned by “Sex and the City” costumer Patricia Fields, is where Carrie and Charlotte shopped for lingerie. Everyone remembers Carrie’s ill-fated 35th birthday at Il Cantinori on East 10th Street – nobody but Carrie showed up! Joe’s Pub at 425 Lafayette Street is where Carrie and Big go – as friends – to enjoy some jazz, when Carrie meets Ray the jazz player with ADD. Charlotte’s gallery was actually Louis K. Meisel Gallery at 141 Prince Street, used as a stand-in. The scenes of Steve’s bar, Scout, were shot at O’Neal’s Speakeasy at 174 Grand Street. Patricia Field (“Sex and The City” costume designer) has a shop at 10 East 8th Street. At 142 Greene Street is Paul Smith, Inc. where Miranda took Steve suit-shopping and they fought over money.

And of course all four girls took the Staten Island Ferry to head over to S.I., where they drank Staten Island Iced Teas, ogled firefighters, and Carrie met the sexy politician who later asked her to pee on him.

- Christina LeBlanc, Executive Editor