Spotted: On Location Tours, driving through the Gossip Girl’s stomping ground of the Upper East Side. It’s not surprising that the hit show Gossip Girl takes place in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in New York City. On Location Tours shuttles enthusiastic fans of the popular show around the city, making stops at famed destinations where the series is filmed.

Stepping into the neighborhoods where ‘Queen Bee’ Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen, Nate Archibald, and bad boy Chuck Bass live and play is an exciting way to get behind the scenes access to film locations, as well as sightsee throughout New York City. This three hour ride around the city allows visitors and locals alike to find their way into the prep school world where social gossip reigns supreme.

A bubbly tour guide, who immediately admits to being a self proclaimed die hard fan of the show, is the perfect person to narrate the tour around town. The tour guide on the bus makes everyone feel comfortable, as she encourages people to participate throughout as she asks questions about the series. She knew the ins and outs of the show, as well as the affluent neighborhoods visited.

On Location Tours’ Gossip Girl Sites tour is an exciting way of sightseeing in Manhattan while learning about hidden knowledge of where the show is filmed. With exclusive in-the-know facts about Gossip Girl, participants of the tour can see first hand where the actors and film crew create their favorite show.

A unique aspect of the tour is that clips of Gossip Girl are shown throughout the bus ride, accompanying the real life spots. Fans of the show are able to watch short scenes from their favorite episodes right before seeing those locations in person. Dozens of locations are visited throughout the tour, including iconic buildings that are synonymous with Gossip Girl such as The Empire Hotel and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fans are immediately sent into excitement when they see the famed building where the Bass and Van Der Woodsen families resided. Other New York City staples are also seen during the tour, such as the Empire States Building and Lincoln Center. The prep schools in Gossip Girl are often times the epicenter of juicy drama that unfolds on the show. The fictional settings of the Constance Billard School for Girls and the St. Jude’s School for Boys are both filmed in the Upper East Side.

These two locations drew excited gasps as dozens of cameras flashed while the tour bus drove slowly by. The bus unloaded at the location of the Constance Billard School for Girls for a few minutes, giving everyone the chance to take their picture in front of the famed prep school.

Shopping in the Upper East Side is synonymous with Madison Avenue’s collection of designer boutiques and shops. Many of the scenes shot in Gossip Girl frequently showcased the storefronts of these internationally known designers, including Ralph Lauren, Christian Louboutin, and Vera Wang.

For more designer decadence, the Gossip Girl tour makes a stop on New York City’s legendary Fifth Avenue, where everyone is given a chance to shop through Henri Bendel’s extensive headband collection that Blair would love, and admire the beautiful diamond jewelry in the window displays at neighboring Harry Winston.

All of the Blair and Serena fans who want to recreate their own pictures on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art have the perfect chance to do so when the tour bus stops for the photo opportunity on Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile. Not far from this location is where many of the television show characters live. As the tour continues on, fans pass by Blair’s apartment building, as well as Nate’s large townhouse.

An outdoor oasis for many living in this affluent residential area is neighboring Central Park. As one of the most iconic New York City spaces filmed in both movies and television shows, Central Park has made its way into episodes of Gossip Girl as well. As the bus passes by, visitors can catch a glimpse of where scenes with Blair and Nate were filmed by a small pond.

While a good majority of the indoor sets are built and filmed in Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens, the Gossip Girl sites that are visited in the On Location Tour are absolutely perfect in getting a sense of how everyone’s favorite prep school students spend their days in the prestigious Upper East Side.

The Gossip Girl Sites tour runs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at noon. For more information on reserving a spot on an upcoming Gossip Girl tour, visit On Location Tours.

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About the author

Sarah Dayan
I'm a Brooklyn native with a strong love for New York City, traveling, photography, writing, and music. I have my Bachelors degree in psychology and communication, and my Masters degree in school counseling. Through my writing, I want to share all my fun experiences in New York City.