Most Instagrammable Filming Locations in NYC

New York 360

21 October 2019

Brooklyn Bridge looks as haunted as it probably is, and Queens is where aliens landed.

With tourists and fans now flocking to the "Joker Staircase" in The Bronx, New York City is as popular as ever for movie-goers to snap a photo of an iconic backdrop. But be smart about it, and make it worth your time. First of all, stop going to Times Square. Again: Stop going to Times Square. There is nothing there but cheap shops and too many tourists. It's not worth it. Second of all, leave Manhattan. For the love of god, spending the extra 15 minutes on the subway to see more than the Empire State Building will be the second best decision of your life (yes, second to not going to Times Square).

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From Queens to Brooklyn, make the extra trip to these instagrammable destinations from your favorite movies (read as: Manhattan sucks. Do better).

Ghostbusters fans know this building front anywhere. The active FDNY firehouse featured in the 1984 classic film, and for a photo op with other fans there's a NYC TV and Movie bus tour for $43.
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Maybe you forever have the amazing trainwreck of a film The Day After Tomorrow embedded in your brain. Maybe you're on a whole tour of Ghostbuster filming locations. Or maybe you're a die-hard fan of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sex and the City: The Movie or Spider-Man. No matter what brings you to 42nd Street's branch of the New York Public Library, maybe consider checking out one of their 8 million books after you post that selfie to Instagram.
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In Men in Black a giant spacecraft crushes this structure in Flushing Meadows, Corona Park. In reality, the 12-story stainless-steel globe has been standing since the 1964 New York World's Fair, for which it was commissioned to commemorate the space age and celebrate the theme of "Peace Through Understanding." It's also near The Mets' Citi Field and the Queens Zoo, so it's worth the trip out to Queens.
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What's this? Over 14,000 tons of man-made steel? 133 feet above the water? Renaissance-style arches? Where Miranda and Steve reunite in Sex and the City: The Movie? Aside from that last one, the Brooklyn Bridge is pretty remarkable. Built by over 2,500 construction workers using their bare hands and built into nothing more than sand beds, there's a strange mythos surrounding the bridge, which is one of the oldest of its kind.
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If you must, fine. Visit the admittedly palatial and picturesque hub of Grand Central, where chase scenes in North by Northwest and a gun battle in Carlito's Way may have carved themselves into your memory. It's also made cameos in The Avengers and plenty of other New York-based productions, but the hidden gem is actually underground. The Lower Concourse has an artisanal market and full food court to drift through on a lazy afternoon.
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Step One: Go to Brooklyn. Step Two: Go to the water front. Step Three: Sit down. Whether you find yourself on the Brooklyn Promenade, in DUMBO, or in Brooklyn Bridge Park, you've done it correctly. The idyllic and historic neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights has some of the oldest brownstones to find in the city, and the view overlooking the East River is as filmic as it gets. And yes, it's been filmed many times, from Saturday Night Fever to Moonstruck to Sophie's Choice.
Aside from that, Brooklyn Heights has been the home of literary greats like Truman Capote, Carson McCullers, Arthur Miller, H.P. Lovecraft, and many others. If you visit in September, you can attend the Brooklyn Book Festival.
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Fine, if you must. But as with most residential tourist attractions, the locals in the South Bronx neighborhood will hate you.
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