If you’re a fan of the Princess Diaries movie (and really, is there a higher form of perfection?), you’re probably thinking “wait, wasn’t it set in San Francisco?” It was! But fans of the book series know that all TEN of Meg Cabot’s books were actually set in New York City.
On my latest trip to NYC, I did a little Princess Diaries tour to some of the big spots around the city so if you’re a fan, follow along and maybe you’ll even pick up some inspiration for your own tour of Mia Thermopolis’ New York City.
In the books, Mia and her mother (Helen Thermopolis) live in Greenwich Village in an “artist loft.” The area has long been known as a bohemian hub and it still has that vibe today.
The Plaza Hotel is probably the most central real life location in the entire book series. It’s where Mia’s “Grandmere”, the Dowager Queen of Genovia, and her father Prince Philippe (yes, he’s actually alive in the book series) live when they’re in NYC.
After shockingly finding out that she is in fact a princess, Mia runs away from the Plaza Hotel and goes to the Central Park Zoo where she hides in the penguin house trying to process the news.
The private school Mia and her friends attend is on the Upper East Side (quite the commute from Greenwich Village) at 75th & Madison. While Albert Einstein High School (AEHS) is a fictional school, the Hewitt School (a private K-12 girls school) is actually located on that block as well as the Frick Museum.
Mia’s favorite Broadway show, she mentions it quite often and she went to a performance with JP (blech) right after Michael left for Japan (so questionable Mia!).