If you've ever wandered around the West Village with a look of slight confusion and a phone clutched in your hand, you're not alone. I’ve seen hundreds of people doing exactly that. They're all looking for the same thing. They want to know where is the Friends house located, or more accurately, the apartment building that served as the face of the most famous fictional home in television history.
It’s funny.
Most people expect to find a massive fountain or a wide-open orange couch sitting on a sidewalk. Instead, they find a quiet, leafy corner of Manhattan that feels surprisingly normal. Well, normal until a tour bus pulls up.
The Actual Address of the Friends Building
Let's get the logistics out of the way because that’s usually why people are asking. The building used for the exterior shots is located at 90 Bedford Street, on the corner of Grove Street in Greenwich Village.
It's a beautiful, six-story walk-up. It was built back in 1899. If you're coming from the subway, your best bet is taking the 1, 2, or 3 trains to Christopher Street-Sheridan Square or the A, C, E, B, D, F, or M to West 4th Street. It’s a short walk from either. You'll know you’re there when you see the crowds. Seriously, even decades after the finale, there is almost always a small cluster of fans taking selfies across the street.
But here is the catch.
Monica, Rachel, Joey, and Chandler never actually stepped foot inside 90 Bedford Street. Not once. Not for a single frame of film. If you tried to walk inside—which you shouldn't, people actually live there—you wouldn't find a purple door or a gold-framed peephole. You'd find a standard New York hallway and residents who are probably a little tired of people peeking in their windows.
Why Greenwich Village?
The producers wanted a specific "vibe." They needed something that felt like the heart of New York’s bohemian history but also felt safe and residential. The Village was the perfect choice. It’s full of these red-brick, pre-war buildings that look exactly like what a struggling actor or a chef might inhabit in a 90s daydream.
Actually, the "struggling" part is where the realism falls apart. Have you checked the rent at 90 Bedford recently? A two-bedroom in that neighborhood today would easily run you $5,000 to $7,000 a month. Rent control was the show's explanation for Monica’s massive place, but honestly, in 2026, even a rent-controlled unit in the West Village is the ultimate New York "white whale."
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Is the Coffee Shop Real?
The ground floor of the building is home to a restaurant. For years, people have walked up to it hoping to see Gunther or a neon "Central Perk" sign.
It’s called The Little Owl.
It is a fantastic Mediterranean-inspired spot, and honestly, the food is way better than whatever stale muffins they were serving at the fictional Central Perk. They’ve leaned into their fame a little bit over the years, but it remains a high-end, respected neighborhood bistro. If you want to eat there, make a reservation. Don't just show up expecting to sit on a velvet sofa. You won't find one.
The real Central Perk? That was a set. Entirely. It was filmed on Stage 24 at the Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, California. When you see the characters looking out the window at the "street," they are looking at a painted backdrop or a very small piece of a backlot.
Breaking the Illusion of the Set
If you really want to see the "house" in the sense of where the magic happened, you have to go to the West Coast.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is the only place where the interior exists. After the show ended in 2004, the sets were struck, but the demand was so high that they eventually reconstructed the Central Perk set and parts of the apartments for fans to walk through.
I remember the first time I saw the set in person. It feels smaller. Everything on TV looks about 20% larger than it is in real life because of the way wide-angle lenses work for multi-cam sitcoms. The "view" from Monica's balcony? Just a few feet of fake brick and some studio lights.
The Fountain Mystery
People often ask about the fountain from the opening credits. "Is it in Central Park?" No. "Is it near the Bedford Street building?" Not even close.
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The fountain is also in California. It sits on the Warner Bros. main lot. For a long time, it was tucked away in a corner of the backlot known as "Park West." They recently moved it to a more accessible area for the studio tour so people could take photos with it. If you go to Central Park in New York looking for it, you'll find the Bethesda Fountain or the Cherry Hill Fountain, but neither of them are the one from the show.
The One Where We Talk About the Architecture
The building at 90 Bedford Street is a classic example of Federal-style and Neo-Grec influences that permeate the West Village.
Notice the fire escapes. They are iconic. In the show, the fire escape was a major plot device—remember the "Giant Poking Device" they made to see if Ugly Naked Guy was alive? While the real building has fire escapes, the ones you see in the show were built on a soundstage to allow for camera movement and lighting.
The apartment numbers always bothered the eagle-eyed fans, too. In the first few episodes, Monica lived in apartment 5. But the writers realized that since she was on a high floor, the number didn't make sense. They changed it to 20. Joey and Chandler’s went from 4 to 19. It’s one of those "once you see it, you can’t unsee it" details.
Why the Location Matters in 2026
You might wonder why we are still talking about a building exterior from a show that premiered thirty years ago.
It’s about the "third place."
Sociologists talk about the first place (home), the second place (work), and the third place (community spaces). Friends gave an entire generation a digital third place. The building at 90 Bedford Street is the physical anchor for that feeling. Even though we know the inside is a set in Burbank, the outside represents the dream of moving to a big city and finding your "tribe."
It’s a pilgrimage.
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When you stand on that corner, you aren't just looking at bricks. You're remembering the time Rachel left her wedding or when Phoebe sang about a certain smelly cat.
Practical Tips for Your Visit
If you are planning to go see where is the Friends house yourself, here is how to do it without being a "typical tourist":
- Go Early: The West Village is quiet and magical at 8:00 AM. By 2:00 PM, the corner is crowded.
- Respect the Neighbors: This is a residential street. Don't yell "How you doin'?" at the top of your lungs at 11:00 PM. People are trying to sleep.
- Explore the Area: Don't just take the photo and leave. Walk down to Christopher Park. Go to Magnolia Bakery (which is famous for Sex and the City, but hey, you're already there).
- The Friends Experience: If you want the "inside" feel in New York, there is often a "Friends Experience" pop-up (currently located at 130 E 23rd St). It’s a commercial museum with reconstructed sets, props, and costumes. It’s not the "real" house, but it’s the closest you’ll get to sitting in the purple kitchen in Manhattan.
Final Logistics Check
The building sits in the New York County area, specifically the 10014 ZIP code.
If you're using GPS, just type in "The Friends Apartment" and Google Maps usually knows exactly what you mean. It’s a testament to the show’s legacy that the building has become a landmark on par with the Empire State Building for a specific subset of travelers.
There are no plaques. No official city signs. Just a lot of history and a very nice restaurant on the corner.
What to do next
If you've already seen the building or you're planning your trip, your next move should be to check out the Lucille Lortel Theatre nearby on Christopher Street. It’s where Joey performed in some of his off-off-off-Broadway plays. It’s a real, functioning theater and a cornerstone of the Village's actual acting scene.
You can also head over to Washington Square Park, which is only a 10-minute walk away. You’ll recognize the arch from the transitional shots used between scenes throughout the series. It’s the perfect place to sit, people-watch, and realize that while the show was filmed on a stage in California, its soul was always right here in these few blocks of Manhattan.
The building isn't going anywhere. It’s survived a century of New York changes, and it’ll likely be there, standing on the corner of Bedford and Grove, as long as people still care about a group of six friends who were always there for each other.
To make the most of your visit, map out a walking route that starts at Washington Square Park, heads down Waverly Place, and ends at 90 Bedford. This path takes you through the most photogenic parts of the Village and gives you a true sense of the neighborhood's scale. Avoid the mid-day weekend rush if you want a clear shot of the building without twenty other people in your frame. After you've grabbed your photo, head three blocks south to see the narrowest house in New York at 75 1/2 Bedford Street; it's a piece of history that has nothing to do with the show but is well worth the extra two minutes of walking.