New York City has no shortage of famous filming locations for tourists to visit, but the ones creating the most buzz this month are the sites for “The Devil Wears Prada” and its just-released sequel.
Travelers who would like to recreate the slice of Manhattan depicted in both films are in luck: On Location Tours has launched a new experience that takes guests to some of the most famous sites across the “Devil Wears Prada” franchise.
The newly reimagined bus tour seamlessly weaves together shooting locations from both the first and second movies into a two-hour excursion. Led by a tour guide who also works as an actress in New York, the experience is filled with photo ops, behind-the-scenes facts, and trivia about the filming of both movies that die-hard fans are sure to appreciate.
Here’s a look at a few of the locations fans get to visit as part of On Location’s new “Devil Wears Prada” tour.
50 Hudson Yards
On Location’s upgraded tour kicks off where one of the first scenes of the sequel takes place. The sleek building at 50 Hudson Yards is used in the second “Devil Wears Prada” movie as the exterior of the Dior office where Emily (Emily Blunt) now works as one of Runway magazine’s biggest advertising clients. A memorable scene unfolds just outside the building when Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) gives Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) one of her trademark, icy tirades and dramatically departs in her private car, only to leave Andy to take the 7 train from the subway station across the street.
Museum of Natural History
This iconic museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is the location for the “Devil Wears Prada” version of the Met Gala in both films. In the sequel, its elegant stairs are bedecked in a cerulean blue carpet that Miranda ascends in order to attend the party, whose theme is “spring florals.” (Groundbreaking.) As part of On Location’s tour, guests get a photo op in front of the museum and have a chance to climb the stairs themselves.
Waldorf Astoria New York
The sequel takes viewers into the glamorous, newly restored interior of the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel. Here, Nigel (Stanley Tucci) and Miranda’s new assistant, Amari (Simone Ashley), meet at the hotel’s iconic clock inside the grand Peacock Alley to confer about a brewing scandal about to hit Runway. Guests of On Location’s tour will glide by the hotel’s exterior while learning some behind-the-scenes trivia.
129 East 73rd Street
This gorgeous Neo-Renaissance home on the Upper East Side dates back to the turn of the 20th century and plays Miranda Priestly’s luxe townhouse in both the first and second movies. Viewers will remember this spot as the location where Andy drops off “the book” in the first film, and in the second movie, she also pops in on Miranda here, too. Both the exterior and interior were used as Miranda’s plush residence; however, visitors on the tour only get to view the stately facade of the building.
Hermès NYC Flagship Store
Fans will recognize Hermès as the fateful location in the first movie where Emily has an untimely collision with a taxi cab as she’s frantically picking up silk scarves for Miranda. Emily breaks her leg and is no longer able to go to Paris (although Andy had already stolen that opportunity behind her back). On the tour, guests are escorted to the charming brick exterior of Hermès’s Madison Avenue flagship for a photo op.
Central Park’s Gapstow Bridge
The tour dips into the southeastern corner of Central Park for a stop at the quaint Gapstow Bridge, an arched stone pathway that spans the park’s scenic pond. This idyllic oasis in the heart of Midtown is the location of the “urban jungle” photo shoot scene from the first movie. Visitors on the tour get to walk to the area where the scene was filmed for a picturesque photo op.
1221 Avenue of the Americas
On Location’s tour ends with a grand finale: a visit to the Runway magazine offices themselves. The building used as the exterior of Runway headquarters is located on the Avenue of the Americas, just across the street from Rockefeller Center. The Devil Wears Prada movies use the entrance and lobby on 49th Street as the main entrance to the Elias-Clark building that houses Runway. At the end of the tour, visitors get a photo op outside the entrance and can even step into Andy’s shoes by going inside the building’s public lobby.
Private tours start at $160 per person and can be booked on On Location Tours’ site.
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