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 We’ve got the inside scoop on where “Gossip Girl” is shooting around town along with photos.
Based on the hit young-adult book series by Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW’s glossy new series, “Gossip Girl” (debuting Sept. 19), focuses on the semi-sordid lives of privileged, attractive, Upper East Side private-school kids. Narrated by the titular Gossip Girl (“Veronica Mars” and new “Heroes” star Kristen Bell), the TV series sees Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) living the high life - ruling the social scene, with hot boyfriend Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) at her side. That is, until her ex-best friend, Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), suddenly returns to the city under a mysterious cloud, bringing drama into everyone’s lives and becoming the object of affection of Nate, social outcast Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) and bad-boy playboy Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick).
The series is set to inherit the soapy mantle that “The O.C.” gave up earlier this year - it just so happens that “O.C.” creator Josh Schwartz is also the main man behind “Gossip Girl.” While scenes like those at the fictitious Ostroff Center, where Serena’s brother Eric (Connor Paolo) is recovering from a suicide attempt, are being shot on sets built at Silvercup Studios’ main location in Brooklyn, they’re adding reality to the series by filming scenes all around the city, too. “New York City is a character in the story, it’s not just a setting,” producer Amy Kaufman says. “It figures into the energy of the show and the way the story unfolds. We want to see our characters living and breathing inside of these environments - they are who they are because they grew up here.” “Gossip Girl” goes beyond the yawn-inducing locations that most shows use to prove that, yes, they really are on location in New York. There’s the Central Park fountain, sure, but local haunts like the Front Room gallery and Communitea are stand-ins for characters’ shops and breakfast spots. “It’s about finding great places to put the kids that feel true to the tale,” Kaufman says. “The story of these kids’ lives is that they’re at a different restaurant or bar every weekend. They’re on the move and exploring the city, so we need to explore the city with them.” Here’s the dirt - straight from the mouths of Kaufman and “Gossip Girl” location manager Randy Manion - about where the series is shooting around town:  1. Synod of Bishops This building and 2. The Packer Collegiate Institute are combined to create the look of the show’s fictious private school. The Upper East Side Russian Orthodox church, Synod of Bishops, is used for both exterior and interior shots. Although the boys and girls in the series technically go to class in the same building, the school’s been divided in two, with a boys side, St. Jude’s School for Boys, and a girls side, the Constance Billard School for Girls. “We’ve built a set based on the architecture of the Synod that’s a combination of a hallway and courtyard. We shoot as if it’s the exterior of the school, but it’s actually onstage,” says location manager Randy Manion. Manion turned to the co-ed private school Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights for its chapel, which is being used as common ground for the teens to meet up in while they’re at school. 
3. The New York Palace Hotel
Serena van der Woodsen (played by Blake Lively) and her family live in a suite at this real-life hotel while their apartment is under construction. She’s been known to grab a drink or two at the bar there. The Palace just so happens to be owned by sketchy “pal” Chuck Bass’ (Ed Westwick) parents - he also has a suite at the hotel, of course. While the rooms that Serena and Chuck live in are actually a built set, scenes were shot on location in the Palace’s courtyard, bar, Madison Room and kitchen. “It’s wonderful to be able to say that these kids are living in the Palace for metaphorical reasons as well as reality,” says Kaufman. 
4. The Front Room
Dedicated to exhibiting artwork by emerging artists, the gallery was used as a stand-in for ex-rocker Rufus’ art gallery, where he meets Serena’s mother, Lily (Kelly Rutherford). The original is seen in the pilot, but future scenes are being shot on a set. Most of the show's interior scenes are shot at 5. Silvercup Studios, including loft and apartment sets that were built based on actual New York residences. 
6. Rubin Chapelle
The minimalist boutique in the Meatpacking District is standing in for the store owned by Blair’s fashion designer mom, Eleanor Waldorf (Florencia Lozano). “We had to find a store that we thought looked like what Eleanor’s store would be and that also would be OK with us shooting there and identifying it as her store instead of itself,” says Kaufman. 
7. Geisha
In the show’s premiere, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) and Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) have a deep and meaningful chat over sushi at the restaurant, the brainchild of executive chef Michael Vernon and Eric Ripert. 
8. Henri Bendel
The boutique-y, townhouse-style, women’s wear-only indie department store is where the girls go to pick up their designer duds. The recurring location will also host Blair’s elaborate dream sequence in the fourth episode of the show. 
9. Communitea
The popular Long Island City, Queens, tea joint is where Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) and his dad, Rufus (Matthew Settle), talk over breakfast. In the “Gossip Girl” world, it’s around the corner from the Humphrey loft. 10. The Foundry The popular wedding spot has been recast as the location for the fabulous “Kiss on the Lips” party, where Bass gets a little too friendly with frosh Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen). While the show doesn’t specifically say where the venue is, they do precede the scene with a shot of the Queensborough Bridge. “Any astute New Yorker watching it will realize that it’s not in Manhattan,” Manion says. Source: NYPost.com | 
Filming Locations 
..now can anyone tell me when and where they will be at this week? pleaseeeee
omg!! i LOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEEEE
, I am visiting from LA and really want to see them while shooting.
