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SPIDER-MAN

If you love Spider-Man, you can’t miss checking out the historic NYC landmarks and monuments featured throughout the original trilogy, the 2012 reboot, and the current Marvel Cinematic Universe films! Even though much of the actual film was shot in other cities, the story is set in New York, and it’s here that you can experience the massive skyscrapers and striking skyline that provided the backdrop for Spider-Man’s daring stunts.  For a guided tour of many of these locations, take the Super Tour of NYC or the NYC TV & Movie Tour.

Classic Upper Manhattan and Midtown

Midtown Manhattan is chock full of locations used in the Spider-Man films. Home to many of the city’s skyscrapers, historical architecture, and NY’s most famous buildings, Midtown provides the ultimate setting for Spider-Man’s action scenes!

  • One of the most popular Spider-Man settings is Times Square. In the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) saves Mary Jane from the Green Goblin at the Unity Festival.
  • Two movies later in Spider-Man 3, Peter runs into Stan Lee in the middle of Times Square.
  • In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter, this time played by Andrew Garfield, fights Electro (Jamie Foxx) in a recreation of Times Square created at a soundstage at Long Island.
  • Featured in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Grand Central is the setting of the opening scene, where Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) leads his construction crew in cleaning up the alien weapons after the Battle of New York in The Avengers.
  • Spidey mourns the death of his Uncle Ben on the top of the Chrysler Building in midtown
  • The New York Public Library, where Peter tells Uncle Ben he is going to study but is actually going to a wrestling match.  Uncle Ben is later killed outside the library while waiting to pick Peter up.
  • The quaint bridge, nestled in Central Park, where Spider-Man and Mary Jane share a scene in Spider-Man 3
  • The Empire State Building, which is the site where Spider-Man battles in mid-air with Harry Osborn in his updated goblin suit. This famous building can be seen in several other movies, including Sleepless in Seattle, An Affair to Remember, and, of course, King Kong.
  • The Tudor City apartment complex plays the role of the Osborn mansion throughout the original trilogy
  • In the comics, the Daily Bugle is located at the intersection of 39th Street and Second Avenue
  • The Metlife Building services as the place where Happy Hogan (John Favreau) is packing up and relocating Iron Man’s technology throughout the film to a new Avengers headquarters upstate.

Two of our favorite places, however, are much more leisurely. Bryant Park and City Hall Park are lovely places to relax during a day of sightseeing. Beautiful Bryant Park is famous for hosting New York Fashion Week, and boasts an almost Parisian feel. City Hall Park, which contains New York’s historic City Hall, is a small park with impressive landscaping and architecture.

Trendy Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan includes many pocket-sized neighborhoods, each with a unique character. The Lower East Side was a favorite haunt of Spider-Man and his friends. Spend an evening in this diverse, eclectic neighborhood, and it just might become yours, too! Peter’s apartment in the original trilogy is located at 187 Chrystie Street on the Lower East Side – as you may remember, he spent much of his time there avoiding the pesky landlord. Just a few blocks north, you’ll reach the East Village, also a colorful area. Home to a variety of festive bars and restaurants, this trendy neighborhood is another great option for a fun evening exploring New York.

Sights to check out in Lower Manhattan (not necessarily included on tour) include:

  • The rooftop where Spider-Man deposits Mary Jane before swinging away in the first Spider-Man
  • The building that housed the Science Library benefit in Spider-Man 2. This was the scene of Mary Jane and John Jameson engagement announcement, as well as Harry and Peter’s fight over Peter’s loyalty to Spider-Man.
  • Spider-Man stops some criminals outside the American Indian Museum in The Amazing Spider-Man
  • A bar where a major Spider-Man 3 action scene took place
  • Joe’s Pizza (233 Bleecker Street), the pizza place (famous for some of the best slices in town) where Peter worked – and got fired!
  • The diner where Mary Jane worked when she wasn’t pursuing her dream of becoming a Broadway actress
  • Peter saves a group of kids in Madison Square Park in Spider-Man 2
  • Peter and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) go on a date in Union Square in The Amazing Spider-Man 2
  • Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter reconnect over coffee at a Starbucks in Astor Place in Spider-Man 2
  • In Spider-Man 3, Peter kisses Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) before being attacked by the Sandman in Foley Square
  • At the last stop of The Super Tour, you can see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. This is where Peter struggles to keep the Staten Island Ferry together with his webbing after an attack from the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) comes to help out

The Flatiron Building: The Daily Bugle

Seen in all three Spider-Man films (and on the TV & Movie Sites Tour), the Flatiron Building houses The Daily Bugle, a fictional newspaper. Wedged between Broadway and Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District, the odd shape of the building has made it iconic. The building is the setting for many of Peter Parker’s scenes as a “normal” person. The Daily Bugle hired him only because he is the only person who can produce quality photographs of Spider-Man.

The Queensboro Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge

In one breathtaking Spider-Man scene, the Green Goblin forces Spider-Man to choose between protecting his own Mary Jane and looking out for the citizens of New York. The setting is the striking Queensboro Bridge. The Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe, throws Mary Jane off the bridge, distracting Spider-Man from a falling tram full of passengers. After Spider-Man saves both Mary Jane and the tram car, a civilian yells, “You mess with him, you mess with New York!”

Want a closer look at the bridge? The tram in this memorable scene actually exists! Called the Roosevelt Island Tram, it runs from 2nd Avenue along the Queensboro Bridge, all the way to Roosevelt Island. Many have called it “the best view of the city”. While not included on the tour, the tram offers incredible views of various NYC landmarks and is worth a visit!

Another iconic bridge featured in the Spider-Man films is the Brooklyn Bridge. In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the Brooklyn Bridge is where Spidey spells out “I LOVE YOU” in webbing to Gwen Stacy. In the comics, it’s where Gwen Stacey tragically dies after the Green Goblin throws her off the bridge and Spider-Man fails to save her.

Peter’s Spider Bite at Columbia University and the Hearst Building

Peter Parker’s world changes when he gets bitten by a mysterious spider while on a school field trip. The setting is Columbia University, a prestigious school that also happens to be one of the oldest sites in New York City. In Spider-Man, a group of high school students obediently follow their tour guide through Columbia’s Low Memorial Library. Peter, more curious than his classmates, is bitten by one of the specimens in the lab they are visiting. Apparently the event didn’t leave a bad impression on Peter – in the next Spider-Man film, he will become a Columbia student himself.

Though not visited on our tour, Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus is a destination in its own right, featuring beautiful Beaux Arts architecture by McKim, Meade, and White. Stroll through the charming campus, a haven in busy Manhattan that was once home to innumerable illustrious students. With alumni like Alexander Hamilton, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Langston Hughes, and more recent graduates like Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Stiles, and Amanda Peet, Columbia has years of history within its walls.

In the reboot version, Andrew Garfield is bitten by the spider in the Hearst Building near Columbus Circle. This building is prominently featured in the NYC TV & Movie Tour. Although the outside of the building was recreated digitally, parts of the film were shot inside the lobby.

Other New Spider-Man Films

Venom: Although it doesn’t feature Spidey himself, this spinoff features popular villain Venom and it broke box office records when it opened in October 2018.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Released in December 2018, this animated action film centers around Peter Parker mentoring a teenager from Brooklyn, New York, and ultimately crating multiple Spider-People in the process. The film was released to astounding critical acclaim and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

Spider-Man: Far From Home: A sequel to the acclaimed Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom Holland (and NYC!) returned in the newest film in the franchise in July 2019. This time, the story takes Peter and the gang overseas as they deal with the devastating events of .

* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

TAKE THE TOURS THAT FEATURE SOME OF THESE FILMING LOCATIONS!