Home Alone Tour Locations Central Park Scenes and Can You Visit the House?

Where Home Alone 2 was actually filmed in New York

The park scenes cluster tightly. At Gapstow Bridge, a stone span over the Pond with the Midtown high-rises behind it, Kevin first meets the Pigeon Lady, and he returns to the same bridge in the closing scene.

Wollman Rink sits in the park's southeast corner below the skyline; that is where Harry and Marv skate while they plan the toy-store robbery.

At Bethesda Terrace, marked by its tiled Arcade and the Angel of the Waters fountain, Kevin flees the Sticky Bandits and hides in a carriage. Travelers point fans toward the North Woods for the wilder sections where Kevin runs.

Duncan's Toy Chest was invented for the movie. Its exterior shots used the Rookery building in Chicago, so there is nothing to find in Manhattan.

St. Anne's Hospital is fictional too: the window scene used Columbia University's Teachers College at 525 West 120th Street, on the Broadway side, and the wide shot placing it on West 72nd Street was a matte painting. The birdseed rescue was filmed on a set away from the park.

Gapstow Bridge, Wollman Rink and Bethesda Terrace are the three you can stand at today, and they all sit within easy reach of Grand Army Plaza.

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Can you visit the Home Alone house?

The famous red-brick house is far from New York. It stands at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and it is a private family residence that does not open its doors to visitors.

What a visit looks like: you drive or walk past, spend a few minutes taking pictures from the public sidewalk, and leave. Expect that, and the stop still delivers.

If you make the trip by car, Winnetka allows on-street parking daily from 6 am to 2 am unless posted signs say otherwise, and parking is prohibited between 2 am and 6 am. Never step onto the property, walk up the driveway or ring the doorbell. Locals notice, and the owners live there.

The house rewards a five-minute sidewalk photo and little else, and it sits a full flight from the park scenes on this page. Fans who want the movie's New York side stay east, where everything in this guide sits.

Fans arrive with three fixed ideas about the houses. Here is what each one is worth before you plan a day around it.

Read that way, the houses become a side trip at most. The afternoon belongs to the park and the Midtown blocks, where every stop is public and nothing is behind a fence.

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Uncle Rob's brownstone and what's around it

Uncle Rob's address in the story is 51 West 95th Street, on the Upper West Side between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, less than a block from the park.

The townhouse is real and fans have stood outside it for years, but here is the twist: the brownstone seen in the film was shot on a backlot in Los Angeles, so the New York building never appeared on screen. It is a private home that fans photograph from the sidewalk.

Photographing it is simple. Stay on the sidewalk, keep to public property and be respectful of the residents. That is the whole etiquette rule.

The address earns its walk for reasons beyond the movie. The block sits at the park's quiet upper edge, and the surroundings reward an unhurried hour.

The neighborhood around the townhouse carries its own list of stops, and most sit closer than the movie itself ever came to this street.

Pair the address with the Great Lawn or the museums at the park's edge and the walk north pays for itself, even for anyone in the family who has never watched the film.

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Walking the park scenes yourself

On foot, the south end links up neatly. From The Plaza lobby, cross Fifth Avenue to the park's southeast entrance at Grand Army Plaza, follow the Pond's edge and cross Gapstow Bridge; Wollman Rink sits on the same south-end stroll, roughly a mile that takes about an hour.

Carrying on to Bethesda Terrace and the Naumburg Bandshell adds roughly 1.0 to 1.3 miles one way, depending on your paths.

Plan 2 to 3 hours to see the southern park's major sights at a comfortable pace, with photo stops and time to wander.

Timing decides the photos. Go on a weekday from 7 to 9 am for soft light and very low crowds; sunrise is quieter still, while sunset brings more people.

Public restrooms sit at Bethesda Terrace, at Merchants' Gate by Columbus Circle, and at Tavern on the Green, among other spots. Many paths suit wheelchairs, though some sections have stairs; the Conservancy's Access Map grades the slopes. Leave the park before nightfall and skip the wooded areas after dark.

The easiest way to see the park scenes - the pedicab tour

A guided ride takes the walking out of it. The New York City: Home Alone 2 Movie Locations Pedicab Tour runs about an hour and a half with a live guide, covering the Plaza Hotel, Central Park and Rockefeller Center, with photo stops at key spots and behind-the-scenes anecdotes along the way.

Guides often show the matching movie clip on their phones at the exact spot, which connects the real place to the scene, and they usually offer to take pictures for you. Families say guides make a real effort with the kids.

Know the practical limits. At scenic stops you can hop out for a short walk, but walking is not required. Departure points near Grand Army Plaza are six minutes by subway from Times Square on the N, R or W lines, exiting onto Central Park South.

Dress for an open carriage: you sit still while the pedicab makes its own breeze, so in late fall and winter you want a heavy coat, a fleece or sweater, gloves, a hat, a scarf and closed-toe boots.

Blankets and weather covers are provided. At the start, check the guide's photocard for their area of qualification.

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Kevin's arrival in style - the stretch limousine tour

The private option puts your family in Kevin's seat.

The NYC: Private Home Alone 2 Stretch Limousine Tour with Pizza runs three hours with hotel pickup and drop-off, cruising past the movie spots including the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and Radio City Music Hall, with a hot cheese pizza on board to relive Kevin's limo scene.

The itinerary can include brief stops for photos or visits at points of interest.

Two honest notes before you book. Chauffeurs focus on driving; travelers say they rarely provide structured movie commentary, and city law only lets a driver lecture while moving in a vehicle carrying seven passengers or fewer, and then only with a guide's license.

Set expectations accordingly. And the customary tip for a private limousine driver runs 15 to 20% of the fare, so build that into the day.

Book through established channels. Verify that the driver and vehicle are TLC-licensed and that the service is affiliated with a TLC-licensed base; a polished website alone proves nothing, and cash-app payment requests or a missing written confirmation are signs to walk away.

Children are not legally required to use car seats in a for-hire vehicle, which simplifies family packing. For quick photo stops outside, dress warmly even though the cabin is heated: a warm jacket, a hat and closed-toe shoes.

Before you pay anyone for a private ride, run the same short checklist seasoned bookers use, then see how this tour answers each line.

A tour that clears those four lines leaves you little to negotiate on the day, which is exactly where you want to be with kids and a pizza in the cabin.

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Which tour should you pick?

The two experiences suit different days. The pedicab puts you at the park scenes themselves, close enough to touch Gapstow's stonework, with a guide who knows which corner matches which scene and stops for photos as often as you like.

The limousine covers more ground in comfort, heated and private, linking the Midtown spots the park ride cannot reach, with pizza in the cabin for the full Kevin treatment.

Season tips the choice. In December the park feels festive, with holiday music and a real chance of snow, but expect highs around 7 degrees and lows below freezing; visitors call snowy open-air rides beautiful and cold in the same breath.

April and May bring mild days and cherry blossoms, and September and October deliver comfortable temperatures with peak foliage across the park's 18,000 trees. Summer frames the stops in lush green but peaks near 30 degrees in July and August.

Both tours cancel free up to 24 hours in advance, which matters in a season when weather can change a plan overnight.

Put the two side by side on the things that actually change your day: where each one goes, how warm you stay, and what happens if you need to move the date.

The comparison usually settles itself: movie-first families pick the pedicab for the scenes and the guide, and the limousine wins whenever warmth, privacy or the Midtown stops lead the list.

Can you go inside the Plaza Hotel?

Kevin checks in at The Plaza, and the hotel is right at the park's southeast corner, so every route in this guide passes it. Walking in is another matter.

During the busy holiday season the Plaza limits lobby access to overnight guests, spa and dining patrons, and Plaza Shops shoppers, and an advance reservation is required to visit. Holiday lobby displays and seasonal activations are reserved for registered guests and confirmed dining reservations.

One scene detail has changed under the chandelier: the lobby floor is marble today, and the red carpeting removed for Kevin's sliding scene is long gone.

For the full treatment, the hotel runs an official Home Alone 2 package: a four-hour private limousine ride around the filming locations including the Empire State Building, Central Park, Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall, a large cheese pizza during the ride, a sundae with 16 scoops of ice cream, and a room with an extra-large bed and a small refrigerator opened with a key.

The limousine ride is not a guided tour, and the car's color may vary.

One line decides whether you see the lobby at all in December.

With a reservation made ahead, the chandelier and the check-in desk are yours to see; without one, the facade from Grand Army Plaza still reads clearly as Kevin's hotel.

Timing your visit for the movie's Christmas magic

One window gives you both film locations at their most cinematic. Wollman Rink opens for skating from late October through mid-March, and the giant Midtown tree arrives on November 7 with its lights lit until mid-January.

From late November or early December through mid-January, you can skate beneath the skyline and see the tree in the same trip, which is as close as the movie's New York gets in real life.

Mind what December does to the roads. Gridlock Alert Days bring Midtown traffic to its slowest, and a scheduled limousine route can move noticeably slower on those days.

Some closures stop vehicles outright: on December 14, 2025, Fifth Avenue between 48th and 57th Streets and the cross streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues close from noon to 6 pm, and West 49th and 50th Streets run pedestrian-only daily from 11 am to 1 am through January 4, 2026, so a stretch limousine cannot stop there in those hours.

For holiday windows without the worst crowds, aim for after 9:30 pm on a Tuesday or Wednesday, before the Saks light show ends at 11 pm.

Getting there, and what if the day changes

The rule that surprises everyone: no cars in the park. Private and for-hire vehicles, stretch limousines included, are not allowed on Central Park's drives without authorization; the loop drives belong to walkers, runners and cyclists, which is why chauffeurs drop passengers at a gate and collect them elsewhere.

Rideshares must drop at perimeter entrances or the transverse roads at 65th, 79th, 86th and 97th Streets. Mopeds, personal motorized scooters and private golf carts are out too.

Parking tests your patience. Metered spaces exist on Fifth Avenue and Central Park West, but near the park's southern end they are limited and fiercely contested, especially by day. The subway beats driving for a park start.

Weather and cancellations are survivable if you plan the window. The park closes when storm damage makes it unsafe, as it did after Hurricane Sandy; during a snowstorm, check the park's alerts.

Both the pedicab and the limousine tour offer a full refund for cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, so book early and adjust freely.

When a plan wobbles, the outcome depends on when you act, so it helps to know the moves in advance.

Every one of those outcomes ends better when the booking was made early, with the full refund window still open around it.