Where was Gilmore Girls filmed? The real Stars Hollow exists, but in Burbank
Gilmore Girls was primarily filmed in California at the Warner Bros. Studios Backlot, with select scenes captured on location in Ontario, Canada. The show is set in Stars Hollow, a fictional town in Connecticut, whose creation was inspired by real-life locations in Connecticut, New England.
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Key takeaways
- Gilmore Girls is set in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, and centres on the lives of Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory Gilmore.
- Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of the WB dramedy, drew inspiration from a real-life Connecticut town to recreate the small-town experience in Stars Hollow.
- Gilmore Girls fans can visit the Stars Hollow filming locations at Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood during the holidays, typically from mid-December to early January.
Key Gilmore Girls filming locations
It has been 25 years since Gilmore Girls premiered on The WB on October 5, 2000. The dramedy follows Stars Hollow resident Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter Rory, whom she had at the age of 16. They have a close 'friends first' relationship and are known for their fast-paced, witty dialogues.
Gilmore Girls was filmed partly in an actual town in Canada, with the majority of the locations being constructed in the studio. The show's production crew used the following filming spots to bring the fictional Stars Hollow town to life.
Burbank, California
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The Warner Bros. Studios Backlot in Burbank, California, served as the main filming location for Gilmore Girls across its seven seasons. The exterior town of Stars Hollow, including the famous gazebo, Luke's Diner, Doose's Market, and Miss Patty's dance studio, is part of the studio's Midwest Street backlot.
Interior scenes, such as Lorelai and Rory's house, Richard and Emily's home, and the Independence and Dragonfly Inns, were shot on sound stages on the same studio lot. The Independence Inn and Lorelai's Dragonly Inn were modelled after the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Connecticut.
The set on the Midwest Street Lot is a permanent fixture and has been featured in nearly 400 productions. Other popular projects filmed here include Pretty Little Liars, The Music Man, Rebel Without a Cause, The Big Bang Theory, and Shameless.
The 'Gilmore Girls' set used for Stars Hollow is open to the public. Fans can visit Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, which is popular during the holiday season. This year's 'Holidays Made Here' will celebrate the show's 25th anniversary, and the tours will be held from December 18, 2025, to January 4, 2026.
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Markham, Ontario, Canada
The Gilmore Girls pilot episode was filmed in Unionville, a suburb of Markham, Ontario, Canada. The show creators used Main Street and other locations to represent Stars Hollow, including the street that served as the town square and the building that was used for the exterior of Luke's Diner, which was Lorelai's favourite hangout spot.
Luke's Diner in real life is located at 156 Main Street, Unionville, but it is no longer a diner. The building now houses the Gratie Medical Spa, but the structure's facade still resembles the original pilot look, including the large windows.
Stars Hollow Church is located at 150 Main Street, Unionville. The Old Firehall Confectionery on 170 Main Street, Unionville, inspired Taylor's Old-Fashioned Soda Shoppe. Self-guided tours for Gilmore Girls filming locations in Markham are available.
The exterior of Emily and Richard Gilmore's mansion in the pilot was filmed in Toronto, southwest of Markham. After the show was picked up, production relocated from Canada to California, where it remained for the rest of its run.
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Los Angeles, California
Several notable Stars Hollow scenes were filmed at The Ebell Club in Los Angeles, California. The club served as the location for Rory's first dance (the Chilton dance), Rory's cotillion, Rory's high school cafeteria in season one, and Richard and Emily's vow renewal ceremony.
Beverly Hills, California
The exterior shots for the prestigious Chilton school, where Rory attends high school, were filmed at Greystone Manor in Beverly Hills, California. The mansion is located at 905 Loma Vista Drive.
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South Royalton, Vermont
The panoramic shot of the small town used in the show's opening credits is a shot of South Royalton, Vermont. It was filmed in the fall.
University of Southern California
Most scenes for Yale University, where Rory Gilmore attends college, were filmed at the University of Southern California campus. Key scenes at USC included Parents' Day and the graduation ceremony, where the Gilmores attend, as well as the scene after Logan proposes to Rory. Some campus scenes were filmed at Pomona College in Claremont, California.
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Is Stars Hollow, Connecticut, a real place?
Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls is not a real town but a fictional location in Connecticut. However, it was inspired by a real-life location in the Litchfield County community of Washington Depot, Connecticut, New England.
The show's creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, was inspired to recreate the town after a stay at the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington Depot with her husband, Daniel Palladino, in 1999. She shared in her 2005 interview with The Onion A.V. Club that she initially planned to put the mother-daughter duo in a city setting.
I stayed at an inn, and it was very charming, in a tiny town, and everybody seemed to know each other, and there was a pumpkin patch across the street. I went to a diner, and people kept getting up to get their own coffee. No one was there to be waited on. It seemed like a fun environment to put [the characters] in.
Several structures in Stars Hollow are modelled after real-life structures in Washington Depot. Gilmore Girls fans reportedly flock to the small town every fall, especially during The Firelight Event hosted by The Fan Fest Society.
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Where was the Gilmore Girls Netflix revival filmed?
The show's revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, was primarily filmed at the Warner Bros. Studios Backlot in Burbank, California. The Ebell Club in Los Angeles served as the location for Emily tearing into the DAR.
The four-part miniseries premiered on Netflix in 2016. Each episode represented the four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall.
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Wrapping up
The Gilmore Girls filming locations perfectly captured the essence of small-town life, featuring memorable spots like the iconic gazebo, Luke's Diner, and the charming Stars Hollow town square. All seven seasons, along with the revival limited series, are streaming on Netflix.
READ MORE: Where was One Tree Hill filmed? The show's iconic locations
Briefly.co.za published a post about the key filming locations for One Tree Hill. The show was primarily shot in and around Wilmington, North Carolina.
Key locations for the fictional town of Tree Hill included Cape Fear Community College, the Riverwalk, the area near the Battleship USS North Carolina, and Emsley A. Laney High School.
Source: Briefly News
