Even though most scenes from sitcoms are filmed on sound stages and specially built sets, every once in a while there's a shot or an opening credit that features a real-life location, attracting fans for years to come. We take a look at some of the most iconic locations from American sitcoms that you can actually visit.

Better known as Monk's Diner to Seinfeld fans, Tom's Restaurant in New York is featured in almost every episode of the long-running sitcom. The interior scenes, where main characters Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander) and Kramer (Michael Richards) are filmed drinking coffee and hanging out, were shot on a sound stage, but fans still flock to this family-owned restaurant to recreate scenes from their favourite show.

Although most of the hit 1990s show was filmed on a sound stage, the exterior of this house appears in almost every episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It can be found in Brentwood, Los Angeles – a similarly upscale neighbourhood next to Bel-Air. Built in 1937, the mansion served as the Banks' family home throughout the show and is now reportedly worth around £5.8 million ($7.5 million).

While all of the Friends interior shots were filmed on a set which has now turned into a travelling attraction, the location of Monica and Rachel's apartment is an actual place in New York. Located in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, the exterior shots of the apartment building were filmed on the corner of Grove and Bedford Street, right above the Little Owl restaurant.

The setting for some of the funniest moments on How I Met Your Mother, MacLaren's Pub is based on a very real place in Manhattan. McGee's in Midtown is an Irish pub, just like the fictional one, and fans of the sitcom will immediately recognise the bar and the booths. The show's creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas used to frequent the pub while working on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Pawnee, Indiana might not be a real place but you'll have no trouble finding Pawnee City Hall. The real-life Pasadena City Hall is where most of the action in Parks and Recreation takes place and where Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari and Nick Offerman star as government employees in the Parks and Recreation department. Dedicated fans will notice that in the show, the building's original roof tiles have been changed to green. 

Another top spot for Parks and Recreation fans is St. Elmo Steak House, one of the few Indiana locations that feature on the show. Although the restaurant's main claim to fame is its incredible steaks, many of Parks and Recreation fans flock here to eat at one of Ron Swanson's favourite steakhouses. In the episode Two Parties, the fictional character celebrates the bachelor party he never had here.

Ever since the series hit the screens back in 1998, Sex and the City has been one of the most iconic TV shows of all time so it's no surprise fans still seek out the famous steps to protagonist Carrie Bradshaw's apartment 15 years after the show has ended. In real life, the apartment is located in Manhattan's West Village on leafy Perry Street, not the Upper East Side. The first exterior shots were filmed outside number 64, before moving on to 66 as it had a more glamorous staircase.

A 30-second clip from season three of Sex and the City was all it took for Magnolia Bakery to become one of the hottest destinations in New York City. In the show, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) eat cupcakes outside of this corner spot on Bleecker Street. The bakery has since expanded to more than 20 locations worldwide but the most devoted fans still come here for the cupcakes.

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Those of us who grew up following the colourful life of the Lambert family back in the 1990s will instantly recognise this South Pasadena house as the family home from the Step by Step opening credits. Centered around the life of Frank and Carol who fall in love, marry quickly and move in together with their respective kids, Step by Step aired for seven seasons. Although none of the scenes were filmed inside the house, the exterior of it has remained pretty much unchanged since it first appeared on TV screens. 

The Brady Bunch superfans will know that the house in Studio City, California, which served as the exterior of the Brady home, went on sale in the summer of 2018. It was purchased by home improvement channel HGTV who renovated the house to match the interior to the show. The renovation was the subject of TV series A Very Brady Renovation and now fans can sign up to visit the house on a tour. In July 2019, HGTV announced A Very Brady Contest, giving one lucky winner a chance to stay at the house for six nights with seven guests.

Not many know that Scranton, where the US version of The Office is set, is a real place located in Pennsylvania. Although most of the show was shot around California, the crew needed to include some shots of Scranton to make it look realistic. In the episode The Merger, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Michael (Steve Carell) create a rap video that features Scranton's Electric City sign. Located on a building on Linden Street in Scranton, it's one of the very few real-life locations The Office fans can visit.

Like many other sitcoms, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is mostly filmed in a studio in LA. However, there's one scene that's filmed at the Swann Memorial Fountain in Philly's Logan Square – when Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Charlie (Charlie Day) argue in the fountain about the money Dee's been throwing in, just as Frank (Danny DeVito) explains to Mac (Rob McElhenney) why he comes to relieve himself in the fountain every day.

Another key location on the show is the fictional Paddy's Pub which is run by the central characters. The exterior of Paddy's Pub can actually be found in Los Angeles. Located on Mateo Street, the Starkman Building originally served as a factory for Nate Starkman & Son Company but has become a popular filming location since. It's also featured on Parks and Recreation, Castle, Charmed and is also Ben's (Nicolas Cage) apartment in National Treasure. 

Legendary series M*A*S*H (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) centres around the doctors and staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War. The 1970s sitcom's outdoor scenes were actually filmed within the Malibu Creek State Park in California where a rusted jeep and the famous sign from the show help visitors locate the set. 

Used in the first season of New Girl for the interior shots of fictional bar The Griffin, The Prince is a famous Koreatown restaurant that's been open since the 1940s. Later recreated on a sound stage for filming purposes, the bar is central to the storyline and is eventually bought by two of the show's main characters Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield). The Prince has also previously appeared on Mad Men and the 2010 series The Defenders.

For the first few seasons, a loft apartment is one of the most important locations in New Girl as the show starts with Jess (Zooey Deschanel) moving into the spare room. While the interior shots were filmed on a sound stage, the exterior is a real building in Los Angeles. It is an actual warehouse-style apartment building and is featured on many Los Angeles filming locations tours.

The satirical sitcom based on Tina Fey's real-life experiences of working on Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock is about the people who work on an SNL-style sketch show in what is supposed to be halls and studios of NBC. Although most of the show is filmed on a set, fans can visit the actual 30 Rockefeller Plaza and book The Tour at NBS Studios that offers behind-the-scenes access to several studios, including the one where Saturday Night Live is filmed.

Even though most of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Andy Samberg, Terry Crews and Chelsea Peretti is filmed in Los Angeles at the CBS Studio Centre, the exterior shots of the precinct are all of a real building. Located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Bergen Street in Brooklyn, the NYPD 78th Precinct serves as the 99th in the show.

One of the last decade's most popular sitcoms, Modern Family centres around patriarch Jay Pritchett's (Ed O'Neill) family and the families of his two children, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Claire (Julie Bowen). The houses used for exterior shots have become major attractions in Los Angeles and when Claire and Phil's family home (pictured) went on sale in 2014, a lot of fans wanted a viewing to see inside the house even though it looks nothing like the set. It eventually sold for £1.66 million ($2.15 million).

Relatively near Claire and Phil's house, Modern Family fans will find the house of Mitchell and Cam. The four-bedroom duplex is located just down the street from the FOX studios, where all of the interior shots are filmed (even though it airs on ABC). The house is worth an estimated £2.32 million ($3 million).

Jay and Gloria's house is located further away, in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood and is reportedly worth more than £6.2 million ($8 million). The five-bedroom house is much larger in real life and certain adjustments had to be made to match the set to the actual house. For example, the layout of the house didn't match the real house so the location of the windows was moved and the outdoor fireplace matched to the original.

Since the 2000s comedy-drama Girls, starring Lena Dunham, is set in New York City, many scenes are filmed on location, including bars, restaurants, apartment buildings and the café where main character Hannah Horvath works. The real-life Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint is one of the most recognisable locations that featured heavily on the show. A couple of blocks away, Girls fans can find another filming location – the building used as the exterior of Hannah's flat. 

Fans of the 1980s show Full House will remember the family picnic from the opening credits. With downtown San Francisco in the background, the scene was filmed in a park opposite a row of Victorian-style houses called the Painted Ladies. While many fans come here for a picnic to recreate the opening credits, many will notice that only one of the Painted Ladies has the show's signature red door but it's not the one used on the show. The real red door from the house was sold and the house repainted.

One of the most famous watering holes in America, Cheers is the place where 'everybody knows your name'. The hugely popular 1980s sitcom centred around the bar manager Sam Malone (Ted Danson), server Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) and a host of regulars, including psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). There are two Cheers bars in Boston, where the show is based. The original location on Beacon Street was used to film the bar's exterior as shown in the opening credits.

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You'll also find a replica Cheers on Faneuil Hall, where an exact copy of the bar is located. Opened in 2001, the venue not only looks exactly like the set of Cheers, it also houses several pieces of memorabilia, including Sam's Red Sox jacket and Cliffie's mailman suit. 

Now discover 65 awesome filming locations you can visit