A New York Day in the Life of ‘Gossip Girl’

Gossip Girl, affectionately referred to as the Greatest Show of Our Time by New York, is gearing up for Season 2, debuting on September 1. Last season's ad campaign, OMFG, has reached new heights, turning criticism towards the show on its head by using quotes like the Boston Herald’s “Every parent’s nightmare” on their billboards. Sure, we already showed you the wining and dining, but get ready for the drama and let life imitate art: Take a tour of New York, Gossip Girl style.

Stay
The New York Palace. Home base for the Van der Woodsen-Bass clan, the Palace is instantly recognizable as the scene of many an awkward interaction betwixt Serena and Nate, Serena and Dan, Serena and Chuck ... well really, Serena and anyone-else-in-the-GG-cast.

11 a.m.
Stop at the local Dean & Deluca on 85th & Madison, grab some organic yogurt, and head over to eat your GG breakfast on “The Steps” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, home of the scenes of the many Blair vs. Serena vs. Jenny showdowns.

11:45 a.m.
Walk the 10 or so blocks uptown to get a good look at the Russian Orthodox Synod of Bishops, which moonlights as the fictional exterior of the Constance Billard and St. Jude’s School for Boys. Think about Chuck smirking in his scarf.

12:15 p.m.
Walk west until you hit Central Park. Head south along the Jackie O Reservoir as you remember Nate racing his cokehead father in the park, Nate and Chuck smoking doobies in the park, and sad sad Serena dialing Dan early in the a.m. while walking in this very same park.

1:15 p.m.
Walk, cab, or take your personal town car the 30ish blocks to have lunch at Geisha. Reminisce about the GG pilot and see if you can spot the exact table where Blair and Nate have their first super awkward dinner.

3 p.m.
A few blocks away is Blair-favorite Henri Bendel. Stop, shop, and when in doubt think, WWBWD?

5 p.m.
It’s got to be happy hour somewhere. Time for drinks at The Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Terminal, owned by real life Upper East Sider Mark Grossich. Flashback to the fateful scene where S + N betray B and get it on amongst a medley of champagne bottles, barstools, and a leering Chuck Bass.

7:30 p.m.
Dinner at Butter. Start an argument about whether or not Blair really would have fallen for the fake invitation to Butter when she was on the outs, and Jenny was making a run for Queen Bee.

9 p.m.
Walk by the fictitious “Eleanor Waldorf” shop on 14th and Hudson, a.k.a. Rubin Chapelle. Cackle as you recall Jenny locked in, alarms wailing. Cackle again when you remember how she outsmarted Blair to get out of that particular caper.

10 p.m.
Live it up at Marquee and relive the “truth or dare” scene where Jenny and Blair one-up each other, smashing couples left and right.

11:30 p.m.
The Lower East Side is awash with yet more GG hotpots. Walk by Sunshine Cinema, scene of aborted date between Dan and Serena. Keep it local and catch the later show at the Box, a.k.a. “Victrola” on GG. Think of Blair shimmying around on stage in her nightie, then getting banged by Chuck Bass in the back of his car. Yehaw! If luck is on your side, maybe you’ll meet a real life Bassinator Sebastian Nicolas, part owner of the Box.

1 a.m.
Roll back to The Palace late night and belly up to the bar at in-house restaurant Gilt to order the infamous grilled fontina cheese sandwich with truffle oil. That’s right—Chuck ordered this sandwich for Serena moments before trying to rape her in the kitchen, and now you can too! (Eat the sandwich that is, not get all rapey.) Gilt has turned fiction into a $50 truffle-oiled reality. Enjoy.

Extra Credit
In case you haven’t had enough, feel free to hop boroughs and check out:
● The Foundry, in Long Island City, scene of “The Kiss on the Lips Party.”
● Fictional gallery de Rufus Humphrey, a.k.a. the Front Room, located in real Williamsburg, as opposed to the “Williamsburg” that the Humphreys live in—which is consistently shot with views of the Brooklyn Bridge, real-life neighborhood of DUMBO.
● Communitea, also in Long Island City, the coffee shop where Vanessa works.

See the future with these Season 2 soon-to-be-scenes-of-drama, as the GG crew has been spotted shooting at the following locations:

● STK
● R&L Restaurant
● Packer Collegiate in Brooklyn Heights
● Fort Tilden Beach
● Roslyn Claremont Hotel
● Planting Fields Arboretum