Fantrippers, what is it ?

Nicolas, 38 years old, tell us his trip to New-York

Before even setting foot in New York, I had the feeling I already knew the city. I had seen it so many times at the movies or on television, in film or series. And then, on the occasion of a business trip, I got the opportunity to visit this legendary city.

In my imagination, New York was intimately tied to Ghostbusters, Friends, How I met your mother, Mad Men, The Godfather, Superman, Spiderman, Daredevil, Sex and the city and many more. I was naturally eager to discover these places on the spot.

Thanks to Fantrippers, I was easily able to create my Fantrip, my customized tour to follow the tracks of my favourite heroes.

Ghostbusters, my all-time greatest

First of all, I wanted my Fantrip to take me to see the locations from Ghostbusters. This movie had a real impact on many people of my generation and I was able to notice on the spot that, more than 30 years after its release, the famous fire station used as headquarters by the heroes remains very popular among tourists! The well-known logo is even still displayed inside! And, thanks to Fantrippers, I was also able to find the building where Dana Barrett lives, the exact places at Columbia University where Peter Venkman and Raymond Stantz decide to create their business, the huge and magnificent room in New York Library where they meet up with Egon Spengler to seek their first ghost. And even a subway entrance from which a ghost escapes. But this is really for big fans! I chose not to include it in my Fantrip, like many other locations nonetheless interesting and mentioned in the DailyTrippers’s article on the topic, but I lacked time.

Friends’ building

As my stay was quite short, I chose to mainly see the significant locations. It’s very easy with Fantrippers : my searches show me right away where all the must-see places are and the addition to my tour is very simple. There are so many : the still very popular Monica's building in Friends, the restaurant where Meg Ryan fakes an orgasm in one of the most iconic scenes from When Harry Meets Sally, Will Smith’s house in I am Legend, the headquarters of the Men in Black, the bar in How I met your mother… I found out on Fantrippers that the Irish Pub essentially inspired the series, filming was done in a studio. Oh well, just across the street is the famous Soup man in Seinfeld!

The cupcakes from Sex and the city

I decided to jump back in time and to go even further. I wasn’t disappointed, some Fantrippers had indicated where the apartment from It takes diff’rent strokes was located, others the police station in Kojak and even the famous subway grate, where Marilyn Monroe’s skirt blows up in The Seven Year Itch. There was something for every taste. On my way, I decided to please one of my friends who is a fan of Sex and the City and I took a picture of Carrie Bradshaw’s brownstone and Magnolia Bakery where the characters buy their famous cupcakes. Well done, they are delicious, pass by when you are in the area! I also added a few locations visible in Gossip Girls and the Central Park zoo where begins the animated film Madagascar, I thought for my friends’ kids.

Surrounded by fictional locations

As I saw on the Fantripper’s map that I wasn’t far from where Marathon Man trains, I seized the opportunity to take a picture of myself there. Then I took a little break at the Museum of Natural History where Night at the Museum was filmed. But it was a lot less dangerous! ;-) When I found a wifi connection, I immediately uploaded the pictures taken up to now on Fantrippers so that the community could enjoy them. This really helped me to create my Fantrip and it seemed logical to participate myself. And it’s very simple to do. I also added as a comment a small clarification about Marilyn’s famous subway grate as I was a bit disappointed by this place.

All the superheroes are here

But New York is also the city of superheros ; The Daily Planet where Superman works is worth the detour, as well as the buildings that Spiderman, the Fantastic Four and The Avengers use as their playground or the Wall Street clash scene in Batman The Dark Knight Rises. A fan of the Marvel series on Netflix, I was pleased to discover thanks to Fantrippers places seen in Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and even Iron Fist that I watched just before leaving. It’s also at this point that I realized that, if the series is supposed to take place in a specific neighborhood, scenes are often shooted in another one. Thanks Fantrippers as I could never have guessed this!

Brooklyn is becoming more and more trendy. This is where is located, for instance, the law firm Nelson & Murdock and Josie’s bar in Daredevil, as well as the famous view from the Manhattan bridge in Once upon a time in America. I went a little further to see the Godfather’s house on Staten Island. Coming back on the ferry, I caught sight of the Statue of Liberty and on the other side the Brooklyn bridge that we both can see in many movies, as well as the marina where the yacht in The Wolf of Wall Street is moored.

The Sopranos’ restaurant and rooftop in Friends with Benefits

In one day, I saw plenty of locations engraved in my personal pop culture. I decided to end my day in the same spirit, by sitting down on the bench on which Diane Keaton and Woody Allen watch the sunset on the Queensborough bridge in Manhattan by Woody Allen. This scene inspired the poster of the film.

And then, to conclude this trip on the tracks of my favourite heroes ; I went for dinner in the Italian restaurant where the Sopranos have their habits when visiting New York, before having a drink on the rooftop from Friends with Benefits with a spectacular view on the Empire State Building that cinema often uses as scenery. What a day!

Of course, I didn’t see it all. I still have so many places to discover: those in Mad Men, Martin Scorsese’s movies, Leon, The Great Gatsby, Birdman, Casse-tête chinois, the bar in Cocktail, the golf green in Very Bad Cops, Home Alone, The Departed, Jason Bourne, Orange is the new black, Vanilla Sky, The Office, Nurse Jackie, Empire…

This is worth another trip that I will without a doubt plan with Fantrippers!

Nicolas's favourites Fanspots in New-York