Friends and How I Met Your Mother
STOP 1 OF 10
The Friends building, 90 Bedford Street
Village & Downtown · From outside
The corner building that played the friends’ apartment block in the establishing shots. People live here, and The Little Owl restaurant fills the ground floor.
EThe editors · 2 Sitcom New York lists — switch
Friends and How I Met Your Mother
The Friends building, MacLaren’s real-life model, Ross’s museum and the places the gangs name, Village to Columbia.
10 placesA full dayRead the guide ↓
- 1. The Friends building, 90 Bedford StreetThe corner building that played the friends’ apartment block in the establishing shots. People live here, and The Little Owl restaurant fills the ground floor.Friends (1994–2004)Village & DowntownFrom outside15 minutesFree
2. Corner BistroA dark, cash-only burger bar on West 4th Street. It topped the Zagat burger ratings when the episode aired.How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014) · S4E2 “The Best Burger in New York”Village & DowntownFood & drink45 minutes with a burger$10–20, cash only
3. Washington Square ParkNYU’s buildings ring the park, and NYU is where Ross ends up teaching from season 6.Friends (1994–2004) · Season 6Village & DowntownFree to visit30 minutesFree
4. The Friends ExperienceThe official Friends exhibition: two floors of replica sets, props and costumes, with a Central Perk that serves coffee.Friends (1994–2004)Midtown & FlatironPaid entry1–1½ hoursFrom about $50
5. Madison Square GardenThe arena above Penn Station, home of the Rangers and the Knicks.Friends (1994–2004) · S1E4 “The One with George Stephanopoulos”MidtownFrom outside10 minutes outsideFree outside; games ticketed
6. McGee’s PubThe Irish pub the How I Met Your Mother creators drank in while writing for Letterman. MacLaren’s was modelled on it, mural and all, though nothing was filmed here.How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)MidtownFood & drink1 hour$10–30
7. Bloomingdale’s, 59th StreetThe 59th Street flagship of the department store, a short walk from the bottom of Central Park.Friends (1994–2004) · S3E11 “The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister”MidtownFree to visit30 minutesFree to browse
8. Gray’s PapayaThe last Gray’s Papaya, a stand-up hot dog counter at 72nd and Broadway.How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014) · S1E11 “The Limo”UptownFood & drink15 minutesUnder $10
9. American Museum of Natural HistoryThe natural history museum on Central Park West. Ross’s museum on Friends is fictional, but this is the one it is based on, and How I Met Your Mother held a gala here.How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014) · S6E8 “Natural History” +1UptownPaid entry2–3 hours insideTicketed; pay what you wish for NY, NJ and CT residents
10. Columbia University, Low Library stepsThe Morningside Heights campus where Ted becomes a professor. The show used a Los Angeles campus for the shots, but the Low Library steps are the real thing.How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014) · S5E1 “Definitions”UptownFrom outside30 minutesFree
Watch before you go
Official clips and trailers from the studios’ own channels. They load only when you tap play.
The guide
How to do it: Friends and How I Met Your Mother
Neither show filmed in New York, but both are full of real places. Friends borrowed one Greenwich Village corner for its apartment and sent Rachel to Bloomingdale’s; How I Met Your Mother took its bar from a Midtown pub and its gang to Gray’s Papaya and the Natural History museum.
The route goes north from the West Village to Columbia. Walk the downtown part, then use the subway between Midtown and the Upper West Side.
- The order to do it in
- 90 Bedford Street, Corner Bistro, Washington Square, The Friends Experience, Madison Square Garden, McGee’s, Bloomingdale’s, Gray’s Papaya, the museum, then Columbia.
- When to go
- Start mid-morning on a day the Friends Experience is open (it closes on Tuesdays). Finish at McGee’s or Gray’s Papaya in the evening if you prefer.
- Getting there
- 1 train to Christopher St–Stonewall to start. Later legs: 6 train to 23 St, then 1/2/3 to 34 St–Penn Station, 59 St for Bloomingdale’s, 1 train up to 72 St, 79 St and 116 St–Columbia University.
- What to bring
- Cash for Corner Bistro, a booked time slot for The Friends Experience, a subway card.
- What it costs
- Free to walk; The Friends Experience is the one big ticket.
Worth knowing
- Central Perk, Monica’s apartment and MacLaren’s were all sets in Los Angeles. The Friends Experience is the only place you can sit on the orange couch.
- At 90 Bedford Street, cross to the opposite corner for the photo rather than standing in the road.
Researched and written by us from Wikipedia — The Soup Nazi, Wikipedia — The Original Soupman, The Original Soup Kitchen — official site, Wikipedia — Tom’s Restaurant, Wikipedia — The Opposite and Wikipedia — The Strike (Seinfeld), among others. Episodes checked against episode guides; places and access checked October 2026. Private homes are view-only from the street.