Channel your inner teen and live life like a Gossip Girl in New York City’s most chi-chi neighbouhood
Gossip Girl Wednesday 10.35pm BBC1, also on iPlayer
Alicia Miller - 15 August 2021
It’s back. Gossip Girl – the noughties teen TV hit – has had a reboot, returning to our screens nine years after the last episode aired. The original cult drama followed NYC private-school students as their dirty secrets were revealed via an anonymous blog. The new iteration takes us back to the slick Upper East Side, with a new cast and a distinctly 2021 flavour. Gossip Girl 2.0 is diverse, woke and reflects the current social media landscape, with the original blog replaced by – what else? – a scandalous Instagram account. And with travel to the US on the horizon, now’s the time to plan your stay in Gossip Girl’s swish stomping ground. Here’s our guide to the Upper East Side’s most fabulous corners.
SEE THE SIGHTS
If there’s one Upper East Side haunt that unites Gossip Girl episodes old and new, it’s the rambling stairs outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org; $25) – where the cool kids of Constance Billard and St Jude’s private schools hang out. They might stay alfresco, but you’re here for what’s inside: this is the city’s finest art museum, and its most diverse, hopping from Roman sculpture to Hokusai woodblock prints, Vermeer masterpieces to ancient Olmec greenstone masks. Reserve a full morning, and grab a map from the ticket desk to find your personal highlights; it’s almost impossible to see it all in one go.
The Upper East Side is known for other museums, too – the Guggenheim (guggenheim.org; $22), Frick Collection (frick.org; $22) and Cooper Hewitt (cooperhewitt.org; free) are all around the corner – but if you’re doing things the Gossip Girl way, stop off at the Museum of the City of New York (mcny.org; $20). In the series it stands in for both schools, but in reality this local history museum features everything from Broadway theatre history to Stanley Kubrick photography. Or try the Park Avenue Armory (armoryonpark.org), a Gothic Revival building used for visual and performing arts.
It plays a key role in the first episode of the new series: Julien (Jordan Alexander) walks in a fashion show, and has a falling-out with half-sister Zoya (Whitney Peak) here. Fashion is in the genes of Gossip Girl, and you’ve not been to the Upper East Side until you’ve hit its boutiques. Madison Avenue has a roll-call of chic favourites: Lanvin, Christian Louboutin, Prada, Oscar de la Renta… The swankiest bit is between 57th and 76th Streets, providing top window shopping (and peoplewatching) even if your wallet can’t stretch to a purchase. Now, for a walk that doesn’t cost a cent: through Central Park. The verdant stalwart of the Upper East Side, it’s a Gossip Girl fixture, too. Circle Conservatory Water, the model boating lake, then stroll down to the leafy Mall – lined with statues of famous writers – before looping up to angel-topped Bethesda Fountain. In half an hour you’ll have ticked off a clutch of the most recognisable filming locations from the series.
EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
The Upper East Side dining scene is gloriously eclectic, with a highlow mix that moves from grand Michelin-starred gastronomic temples to old-school diners and global bites. Swanky Daniel (danielnyc.com), from celeb chef Daniel Boulud, has been a splashy essential for nearly three decades, turning out an artfully plated French prix-fixe for $148pp. Looking for something more unbut toned? Try Mission Ceviche (missionceviche.com), home to zingy Peruvian cured fish and slow-braised short ribs or, for late-night bites to suit a party crowd, Sushi Seki (sushiseki.com), where you can down elegant ribbons of sashimi and lashings of sake until late. The GG teens are occasionally enticed south of Central Park – and so should you be. Channel old-school New York loveliness at Gramercy Tavern (gramercytavern.com) – hello, juicy burger with duck fat chips – or sink a Red Snapper (a Bloody Mary with gin) at the King Cole Bar in the St Regis. Or, dare we say, head to Brooklyn, which features in the new series. In waterside Dumbo district (short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), the Michelin starred River Café (rivercafe.com) blends old-school New York vibes with wagyu steak tartare and stunning views.
SLEEP LIKE A QUEEN
Glamour, on a dime? Good luck on the Upper East Side. If you’re feeling like splurging, though – or if Daddy’s a billionaire – this area is home to some of the city’s finest grandes dames hotels. At the Mark (themarkhotel. com; from $1,055), elegant cream-toned rooms are joined by a Jean-George Vongerichten restaurant. Book the Carlyle (rosewoodhotels.com; from $835), in a 1930 Art Deco-styled building, and suited bellmen will point you towards the atmospheric Bemelmans Bar, flooded with live jazz. Or, go full Gossip Girl and check into Lotte New York Palace (lottenypalace.com), south of the Park – its gilded interiors played host to the van der Woodsen home from the original series. It’s cheaper, too: rooms start at “only” $400 per night…
It’s back. Gossip Girl – the noughties teen TV hit – has had a reboot, returning to our screens nine years after the last episode aired. The original cult drama followed NYC private-school students as their dirty secrets were revealed via an anonymous blog. The new iteration takes us back to the slick Upper East Side, with a new cast and a distinctly 2021 flavour. Gossip Girl 2.0 is diverse, woke and reflects the current social media landscape, with the original blog replaced by – what else? – a scandalous Instagram account. And with travel to the US on the horizon, now’s the time to plan your stay in Gossip Girl’s swish stomping ground. Here’s our guide to the Upper East Side’s most fabulous corners.
SEE THE SIGHTS
If there’s one Upper East Side haunt that unites Gossip Girl episodes old and new, it’s the rambling stairs outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org; $25) – where the cool kids of Constance Billard and St Jude’s private schools hang out. They might stay alfresco, but you’re here for what’s inside: this is the city’s finest art museum, and its most diverse, hopping from Roman sculpture to Hokusai woodblock prints, Vermeer masterpieces to ancient Olmec greenstone masks. Reserve a full morning, and grab a map from the ticket desk to find your personal highlights; it’s almost impossible to see it all in one go.
The Upper East Side is known for other museums, too – the Guggenheim (guggenheim.org; $22), Frick Collection (frick.org; $22) and Cooper Hewitt (cooperhewitt.org; free) are all around the corner – but if you’re doing things the Gossip Girl way, stop off at the Museum of the City of New York (mcny.org; $20). In the series it stands in for both schools, but in reality this local history museum features everything from Broadway theatre history to Stanley Kubrick photography. Or try the Park Avenue Armory (armoryonpark.org), a Gothic Revival building used for visual and performing arts.
It plays a key role in the first episode of the new series: Julien (Jordan Alexander) walks in a fashion show, and has a falling-out with half-sister Zoya (Whitney Peak) here. Fashion is in the genes of Gossip Girl, and you’ve not been to the Upper East Side until you’ve hit its boutiques. Madison Avenue has a roll-call of chic favourites: Lanvin, Christian Louboutin, Prada, Oscar de la Renta… The swankiest bit is between 57th and 76th Streets, providing top window shopping (and peoplewatching) even if your wallet can’t stretch to a purchase. Now, for a walk that doesn’t cost a cent: through Central Park. The verdant stalwart of the Upper East Side, it’s a Gossip Girl fixture, too. Circle Conservatory Water, the model boating lake, then stroll down to the leafy Mall – lined with statues of famous writers – before looping up to angel-topped Bethesda Fountain. In half an hour you’ll have ticked off a clutch of the most recognisable filming locations from the series.
EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
The Upper East Side dining scene is gloriously eclectic, with a highlow mix that moves from grand Michelin-starred gastronomic temples to old-school diners and global bites. Swanky Daniel (danielnyc.com), from celeb chef Daniel Boulud, has been a splashy essential for nearly three decades, turning out an artfully plated French prix-fixe for $148pp. Looking for something more unbut toned? Try Mission Ceviche (missionceviche.com), home to zingy Peruvian cured fish and slow-braised short ribs or, for late-night bites to suit a party crowd, Sushi Seki (sushiseki.com), where you can down elegant ribbons of sashimi and lashings of sake until late. The GG teens are occasionally enticed south of Central Park – and so should you be. Channel old-school New York loveliness at Gramercy Tavern (gramercytavern.com) – hello, juicy burger with duck fat chips – or sink a Red Snapper (a Bloody Mary with gin) at the King Cole Bar in the St Regis. Or, dare we say, head to Brooklyn, which features in the new series. In waterside Dumbo district (short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), the Michelin starred River Café (rivercafe.com) blends old-school New York vibes with wagyu steak tartare and stunning views.
SLEEP LIKE A QUEEN
Glamour, on a dime? Good luck on the Upper East Side. If you’re feeling like splurging, though – or if Daddy’s a billionaire – this area is home to some of the city’s finest grandes dames hotels. At the Mark (themarkhotel. com; from $1,055), elegant cream-toned rooms are joined by a Jean-George Vongerichten restaurant. Book the Carlyle (rosewoodhotels.com; from $835), in a 1930 Art Deco-styled building, and suited bellmen will point you towards the atmospheric Bemelmans Bar, flooded with live jazz. Or, go full Gossip Girl and check into Lotte New York Palace (lottenypalace.com), south of the Park – its gilded interiors played host to the van der Woodsen home from the original series. It’s cheaper, too: rooms start at “only” $400 per night…
ALICIA MILLER