See New York City through the eyes of "Friends"

12.07.2024 - 17:04 / lonelyplanet.com / Warner Bros / Ralph Lauren

Jul 8, 2024 • 5 min read

Any Friends fan worth their salt knows the series was filmed in Los Angeles, but some of its most memorable exteriors were shot on-site in New York.

Over 22 years after the last episode was broadcast, fans – including a new generation who have caught up thanks to on-demand services – continue to return to snap photos at its iconic filming locations. From legendary landmarks to lesser-known locales, here are our favorites.

The famous fountain memorialized in the show's opening credits can be found on a Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California – and a Boston-inspired one, at that. But that minor detail hasn't stopped fans from seeking out watery doppelgängers around New York City. Central Park's Cherry Hill Fountain is often mistaken for its onscreen counterpart, while Pulitzer Fountain at Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza is regularly cited as the inspiration for the one in those iconic scenes.

The West Village building that served as the exterior of Monica, Rachel, Chandler and Joey's pre-war walk-up needs little introduction – it has its own tag on Google Maps, after all. Located at 90 Bedford St, on the corner of Grove, the so-called Friends Apartment looks much the same as it did in the show's heyday, fire escape and all, though you won't find Central Perk on the ground floor. Instead, there's a classy neighborhood joint called Little Owl, which slings its signature meatball sliders in lieu of macchiatos at breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. 

Ross cycled through three apartments during the course of the show, only two of which made it to the screen. Until he married Emily and moved out in season five, he lived at Washington Square Village, described by Village Preservation as a "modernist superblock of apartments built by Robert Moses in the late 1950s just south of Washington Square Park." After their divorce, he floated around a bit before landing at Ugly Naked Guy's apartment. On the show, it's across the courtyard from Monica and Rachel; in reality, it's across the street at 17 Grove. 

In the season seven episode "The One With Joey's New Brain," Phoebe found a cell phone at Central Perk, and when its owner called to retrieve it, she gave him her address: 5 Morton St, a brick building on a quiet, tree-lined block, just a few minutes' walk from the rest of the gang on Bedford.

After a disastrous stint as a waitress at the coffee shop and before she landed a plum position at Ralph Lauren, Rachel scored a job at Bloomingdale's as an assistant buyer – until her department closed down and she was demoted to personal shopper. While the sales team at the department store's Third Avenue flagship won't let you walk in her shoes, they'll let you buy a few pairs… along with all