Where Was Breakfast At Tiffany's Filmed?

The Short Answer

Breakfast at Tiffany's was filmed mostly on location in New York City. Exterior scenes include the Tiffany & Co. flagship on Fifth Avenue, Holly's brownstone at 169 East 71st Street, and several Central Park spots. Interior scenes, including Holly's apartment and the famous party sequence, were shot at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.

The 1961 film put New York on screen with unusual fidelity for its era. Rather than recreating Manhattan entirely on soundstages, the production shot its exteriors on the actual streets, and several of those locations look much the same today as they did when Audrey Hepburn wandered past them.

Principal photography ran from October 2, 1960, to February 1961. The result splits neatly into two halves for visitors: a walkable cluster of Manhattan locations, and a studio lot in Los Angeles that can be seen on a guided tour.

Every Location At A Glance

Location	Where	What was filmed	Access
Tiffany & Co. flagship store	New York City	Opening sequence with Holly Golightly window shopping and eating breakfast; some interior shots	Free to see
169 East 71st Street brownstone	New York City	Exterior of Holly Golightly's apartment building	Outside only
New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)	New York City	Exterior during library visit scene with Holly and Paul	Free to see
Conservatory Water, Central Park	New York City	Scene where Paul watches model boats and is followed by Doc Golightly	Free to see
Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park	New York City	Doc Golightly tells Paul about Holly's past	Free to see
Park Avenue and East 52nd Street fountain	New York City	Holly and Paul sit by the fountain and talk	Free to see
Sing Sing Correctional Facility	Ossining	Exterior establishing shot for prison visit scene	Private property
Central Park Mall	New York City	Paul and Doc walk south toward the Mall	Free to see

Filming Locations Map

8 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Location By Location

The film's opening sequence shows Holly Golightly window shopping and eating a croissant outside the store, and some interior shots were filmed here as well. Tiffany & Co. opened its Fifth Avenue store on a Sunday for the shoot, the first Sunday opening since the 19th century. The store is public and open during business hours, and it has hosted an exhibit called The Audrey Experience since a recent renovation. Budget time to browse even without buying.

This brownstone served as the exterior of Holly Golightly's apartment building, one of the most photographed film addresses in Manhattan. It remains a private residence, so access is exterior only and viewing from the street is the whole experience. The building is a popular photo spot and carries a plaque marking its cinematic history. It sits on the Upper East Side, an easy walk or short ride from Central Park.

The exterior appears during the library visit scene with Holly and Paul, though the interiors were filmed on a studio set. The building is a free public library with the famous lions guarding the entrance, making it one of the easiest locations on this list to visit at length. Combine it with the Fifth Avenue Tiffany store, which sits a short distance away, for a compact filming-location walk.

This model boat pond near Kerbs Boathouse is where Paul watches the model boats and is followed by Doc Golightly. It is a public area of Central Park, free to visit at any time, and the boathouse still rents model sailboats in warm months, so the scene plays out in miniature daily. It is an easy pairing with the Central Park Mall and the Naumburg Bandshell, both within a short walk.

The bandshell is where Doc Golightly tells Paul about Holly's past, one of the film's quieter turning points. It sits within the Central Park Mall area and is fully public, hosting occasional concerts today. Visitors exploring the Mall promenade will pass it naturally. Together with Conservatory Water, it makes Central Park the densest cluster of Breakfast at Tiffany's locations anywhere.

Holly and Paul sit by this fountain and talk in one of the film's conversation scenes. The spot sits in the Seagram Building area, where Park Avenue meets East 52nd Street, and it remains a public stretch of street and plaza. It is the most incidental of the Manhattan locations, a quick stop for completists rather than a destination, but it fits easily into any Midtown itinerary.

An exterior establishing shot of this active maximum-security prison in Ossining, New York, stands in for the prison visit scene. The facility is private and cannot be entered, with viewing limited to what can be seen from public roads nearby. It sits north of Manhattan and only makes sense for dedicated fans tracing every scene. Most visitors skip it without missing much.

Paul and Doc walk south toward the Mall in the scene following the Conservatory Water encounter. The Mall is a public tree-lined promenade and one of Central Park's most recognizable stretches, framed by American elms. It requires no ticket and no planning beyond a walk through the park. Film fans can cover the Mall, the bandshell, and Conservatory Water in a single loop.

The Studio Side

While the exteriors came from real Manhattan locations, the interiors were shot at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. Holly's apartment was a set, including the wild party scene, which took seven days to film on Paramount Stage 9. The studio lot is visitable today through guided tours that pass through working soundstages and backlot areas, making it the closest a traveler can get to where those interior scenes were built.

Tours That Visit These Locations

Only one of the locations connected to the film can be visited through a bookable tour: the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, where the interiors were filmed.

Hollywood Studio Lot Tour, Los Angeles

Paramount Pictures Studio Tour

A guided tour of the Paramount Pictures lot, home of the soundstages where Holly's apartment and the party sequence were built. The tour covers working stages and lot locations tied to nearly a century of filmmaking, including this production, and is the only way to step inside the studio side of the film.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Visit The Tiffany & Co. Store From The Film?

Yes. The Fifth Avenue flagship is a public retail store open during business hours. It has also hosted an exhibit called The Audrey Experience following a renovation, so there is more to see than jewelry counters.

Is Holly Golightly's Apartment Building Open To Visitors?

No. The brownstone at 169 East 71st Street is a private residence. Visitors can view and photograph the exterior from the street, where a plaque marks the building's role in the film.

Where Were The Apartment Interiors Filmed?

On sets at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, not in the Manhattan brownstone. The famous party scene alone took seven days to shoot on Paramount Stage 9.

Which Central Park Locations Appear In The Film?

Three of them. Conservatory Water is where Paul watches the model boats, the Naumburg Bandshell is where Doc Golightly reveals Holly's past, and Paul and Doc walk south toward the Central Park Mall promenade.

Can You Tour The Studio Where The Film Was Made?

Yes. Paramount Pictures offers a guided studio tour in Los Angeles that covers soundstages and lot locations, including stages connected to this production.

When Was Breakfast At Tiffany's Filmed?

Principal photography ran from October 2, 1960, to February 1961, with the film released in 1961. Exterior shooting took place in New York City during that window.

For most travelers, the Manhattan locations are the heart of a Breakfast at Tiffany's pilgrimage, and they cost nothing to see: a storefront on Fifth Avenue, a brownstone on East 71st Street, and a compact cluster of Central Park spots within walking distance of one another. Add the Paramount studio tour if the Hollywood side of the production appeals, and the film's two worlds are both covered.