Sex and the City's New York

Retracing the footsteps of Carrie Bradshaw and her friends



Carrie Bradshaw apartment building

Carrie Bradshaw's apartment building - ©UCityGuides.com


You were glued to the TV screen for each fresh episode, probably own the entire DVD collection, and the movies just made you want to go around New York looking for those "Sex and the City" hotspots. You think of paying for an organized Sex and the City tour -- but you don't have to. Since the SATC girls went all over Manhattan, you'll come across their favorite haunts by simply walking around the city while sightseeing or shopping. These are the places to look out for (although if you'd like to go on an organized tour, you can click here to find out how: Sex and the City Hotspots Tour



One of the first places they gather at (on episode 9) is The Pleasure Chest (on 7th and Charles), as they browse through "man substitutes." Charlotte ends up buying what she calls her "rabbit" and goes into hibernation with it. In the same episode Carrie and her gay friend Stanford go to a ballet performance of "Sleeping Beauty" at Lincoln Center (where she also sees Big with his fiancée much later, on episode 37).

And you remember when Big serenaded Carrie in their second go-round (episode 20). He did it at Da Marino Restaurant on 49th and Broadway. In the same episode, Miranda met Steve. He served her red wine at Collins Bar on 46th St. and 8th Ave. In the following episode she was buying him a fancy suit at Paul Smith Inc. on 5th Ave. and 16th St., and the girls played Drag Queen Bingo at Nell's on 14th St. between 7th and 8th Ave.

But of course Carrie and Big end up going their separate ways, and by episode 34 Carrie is kissing a new beau on the Chelsea Piers (23rd St. and Hudson River). It's only a matter of time until she bumps into Big, however. He's just gotten married, and that encounter happens on episode 39 at the Stanhope Hotel on 3rd Ave between 85th and 86th. And he returns again, with both trying to rekindle by episode 48, at the Boathouse of Central Park.

Meanwhile, in episode 31 Charlotte's latest knight picks his second fight with a stranger, this time at the Blue Water Grill (16th and Broadway). So she moves on and by episode 39 she already has Trey. He takes her to Tiffani and Co. on 54th St. and 5th Ave. She's not proposed to then, but on episode 42 she is already preparing her wedding at Vera Wang Bridal House Limited on 39th and 7th Ave., and her wedding takes place in the Church of the Holy Trinity (82nd and Broadway). Too bad Trey has a certain sexual dysfunction that she only finds out right before the wedding, but she hopes to solve that on episode 46 by looking for something exciting in Hotel Venus on West Broadway between Broome and Spring St.

Before that on episode 33, Samantha was blacklisted from Helena Rubenstein Spa, a high-end spa on Spring and Wooster St., and Carrie can't seem to throw her smoking habit on episode 39 (or able to resist the cupcakes of Magnolia Bakery on 11th and Bleeker St.)

As for Miranda, she has "hurry dates" from hell at The Globe on 28th and Park on episode 42. Carrie also meets a fun new guy behind the counter of St. Mark's Comics on 8th St and 2nd Ave on episode 45, but he lives with his castrating mom... So by episode 46 Carrie is sharing her wisdom with the other fed-up single women at the Monkey Bar on 54th and Madison. That's also where, on episode 51, she meets the jazz musician. They then go for drinks at Tao (58th and Madison), where she also runs into Big... That's two episodes after being stood up by her friends on her birthday at Il Cantinori (E10th St. and University Pl.) She is crushed as she returns to her apartment supposedly on 245 East 73rd St., although what is seen on screen is actually 66 Perry St.

Later, on episode 63, she is the one who crushes someone's spirit, as she tells Aiden by the fountain of Columbus Circle that she's not ready to marry him. When he eventually finds a rebound girl by episode 72, Carrie shares her worries about his reviews of her at the City Bakery on 18th St. and 5th Ave. In between all of this, on episode 68, Samantha is throwing a drink in Richard's face at Sushi Samba on Barrow and 7th.

Carrie eventually meets Berger, who lets the girls know how to look for signs when "he's just not that into you" during episode 78. Miranda is particularly glad to have learned this lesson, which she shares with bystanders outside the NY Public Library on 42st St. and 5th Ave. In the following episode Carrie and Berger go on their shopping trip together, at the Prada store on 575 Broadway and Prince St. in SoHo. On episode 83 we see Carrie shopping again, this time for shoes at Manolo Blahnik on 54th St. between 5th and 6th Ave, because she had hers stolen!

And finally, in the last episode Carrie is standing outside Bergdorf's (57th and 5TH), when she gets a call from Big on her cell phone, revealing his first name -- John.

Other SATC locations: The Louis K. Meisel Gallery which is where the interior of Charlotte's gallery was filmed. You'll find it at 141 Prince St.
Carrie's favorite shoe store Jimmy Choo is located at 645 Fifth Avenue, in the Olympic Tower.
And where did much of the girls' wardrobe come from? From costume designer Patricia Field, and her shop is on 10 East 8th St.


Book your "Sex and the City" Tour:


Want to join a group of other SATC fans and follow the footsteps of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda? Book here:

Sex and the City Hotspots Tour


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