CITY LAYERTOURS · NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES NEW YORK CITY · MOVIES, TV & SMART GLASSES
Watch movie clips in your smart glasses, in front of the New York landmarks behind the stories. Your local guide connects what’s on screen with the city around you.
Smart glasses provided: $70. Bring a charged compatible phone. Also available: your own glasses for $45, or Classic phone/tablet viewing without glasses for $35.
Grand Central · NYC Watch the concourse fill with Hitchcock’s 1959 New York. The windows, stone piers and information clock connect the two views.
Real film excerpt from the CLT Drive collection. Contemporary view generated from its camera axis; approximate perspective, not footage through the glasses.
Times Square · NYC The same crossroads, suddenly empty. A real three-second excerpt from Vanilla Sky replaces today’s traffic with an uncanny movie city.
Original film excerpt from the CLT Drive collection. Contemporary framing generated for comparison; billboard details are illustrative.The place today. Tap to travel through time.
HOW THE SMART GLASSES WORK
At 19 West 50th Street, New York. Your guide helps prepare the glasses and your viewing setup.
At viewing stops, watch movie clips, TV moments and archive images in the glasses. Compare the screen’s version with the real place.
Take the glasses off between viewing stops and follow your guide’s stories. All three formats follow the same route.
BOOK DIRECTLY WITH CITY LAYER TOURS
Choose your guests and a date in the calendar. Bókun then shows the times and viewing options available for that departure.
THREE FORMATS · THE SAME GUIDED WALK
USD per person. Live prices and availability are shown in the calendar. Glasses supplied with the corresponding option only.
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Check your exact phone model before choosing a glasses option. Ray-Ban Meta are not compatible. Bring a charged phone. Review the Bókun inclusions, requirements and terms before payment.
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Open Bókun in a new tab ↗Contact our team →ONE WALK. THREE WAYS TO SEE IT.
Watch on your phone or the guide’s tablet. No glasses needed.
$35 USDSee available dates →02 · YOUR GLASSESBring compatible smart glasses and a charged compatible phone.
$45 USDSee available dates →03 · GLASSES PROVIDEDWe supply the glasses. Bring your charged compatible smartphone.
$70 USDSee available dates →THE MOVIES. THE SCENES. THE REAL PLACES.
Iconic screen moments and images from the CLT collection, connected to the route by your local guide.
01 / Grand Central Terminal
A city landmark becomes a superhero battlefield.
The Battle of New York gives Grand Central an entirely different screen identity. At the final stop, compare the landmark in front of you with the world of The Avengers, and hear how real places, reconstructed sets and visual effects work together to create a movie city.
Rockefeller Center Kevin’s reunion in a city of lights.
Original excerpt from the CLT production tour collection. Film frame and moving clip; no modern-location alignment is claimed.The place today. Tap to travel through time.
02 / Rockefeller Center
Kevin’s reunion in a city of lights.
Return to the Rockefeller Center setting of Kevin and his mother’s reunion. The guide connects this familiar movie moment with the plaza you are standing beside, then opens the story out to NBC and 30 Rock.
Times Square · NYC The same crossroads, suddenly empty. A real three-second excerpt from Vanilla Sky replaces today’s traffic with an uncanny movie city.
Original film excerpt from the CLT Drive collection. Contemporary framing generated for comparison; billboard details are illustrative.The place today. Tap to travel through time.
03 / Times Square
The busiest square. Suddenly empty.
Tom Cruise’s character finds himself in a strangely deserted Times Square. Watch the sequence against the noise and movement of the square today, and discuss what makes a familiar place feel uncanny on screen.
Times Square A different century. The same crossroads.
Original excerpt from the CLT production tour collection. Film frame and moving clip; no modern-location alignment is claimed.The place today. Tap to travel through time.
04 / Times Square
A different century. The same crossroads.
Steve Rogers encounters modern New York in Times Square. Your guide uses the scene to connect the character’s disorientation with the city’s layers of screens, crowds and history.
New York Public Library A quiet library. An unforgettable opening.
Original excerpt from the CLT production tour collection. Film frame and moving clip; no modern-location alignment is claimed.The place today. Tap to travel through time.
05 / New York Public Library
A quiet library. An unforgettable opening.
Revisit the library encounter that opens the Ghostbusters story, then look again at the landmark’s steps and facade. The same stop also explores the very different action-film language of John Wick: Chapter 3. This is the library stop, not the firehouse.
Grand Central · NYC Watch the concourse fill with Hitchcock’s 1959 New York. The windows, stone piers and information clock connect the two views.
Real film excerpt from the CLT Drive collection. Contemporary view generated from its camera axis; approximate perspective, not footage through the glasses.The place today. Tap to travel through time.
06 / Grand Central Terminal
Hitchcock’s city of movement and suspense.
Finish with Cary Grant and the Grand Central of North by Northwest. Your guide compares a recognizable New York landmark with its cinematic framing, then connects the finale with The Avengers and I Am Legend. Real location, film set and visual effects are different things: that distinction is part of the story.
Location photographs and film images from the CLT collection. These image pairings illustrate the stories on the walk; they do not reproduce the exact display inside the glasses. Content shown during the tour may vary.
YOUR COMPLETE ROUTE · 2.5 HOURS
14 route stops, mixing movie clips, television archives, photo opportunities and narrated walks. Wear the glasses at viewing stops.
MEETING POINT
19 West 50th Street, New York
Look for the gold clock above the revolving doors, between Le Rock and Banana Republic. Arrive 10 minutes early to meet your guide and get ready for your chosen viewing format.
FILM & TELEVISION
Home Alone 2 · 30 Rock · SNL
Begin with Kevin’s New York: the Rockefeller Center reunion in Home Alone 2. Then connect the plaza and 30 Rock with NBC, Saturday Night Live and a century of broadcast culture. Cinema, television and the real city share the same frame.
THE CITY AS A SET
Fifth Avenue’s architectural contrast
Step away from the broadcast studios to see the cathedral against Midtown’s towers. Your guide uses this change of scale to read the city as a filmmaker would: framing, perspective and the buildings that give a scene its character.
MUSIC & TV ARCHIVES
The Beatles · The Ed Sullivan Show
The walk opens out into television and music history at the theater associated with the Beatles’ 1964 American TV appearance. Compare the street in front of you with the broadcast images and hear how a television stage helped turn performers into global icons.
GUIDED WALK
From the television studio to the theater district
Glasses off while walking between viewing stops. Follow Broadway south as your guide connects live theater, movie palaces and the entertainment industry that shaped the neighborhood.
PHOTO STOP
A wide shot of Times Square
Take in the canyon of signs and lights from the TKTS area. This is a moment to orient yourself, take photographs and see how the scale of Times Square turns a crowded crossroads into an instantly recognizable screen image.
BROADCAST HISTORY
The ball drop & the city on screen
Look toward the building associated with the New Year’s Eve ball drop. Your guide connects the real landmark with the spectacle of Times Square: news, crowds, advertising and a city made to be watched.
MOVIE MOMENTS
Vanilla Sky · Captain America: The First Avenger
Two very different arrivals in the same city. Revisit the unsettling empty Times Square of Vanilla Sky and Captain America’s encounter with modern New York. Compare the screen’s version with the billboards and moving crowds around you.
BROADWAY INTERLUDE
Broadway’s stage history
A Broadway interlude between movie stops. Outside the New Amsterdam, discover the relationship between theater, screen entertainment and the changing identity of 42nd Street. Theater admission and a stage performance are not part of this walk.
CITY & CINEMA
Taxi Driver’s New York
Hear about the older, rougher image of the neighborhood that runs through films such as Taxi Driver. This is a story about a changing city and its screen identity, told as you walk toward Bryant Park.
NEIGHBORHOOD WALK
A green pause behind the library
Leave the billboards behind for the park beside the library. The change of setting gives your guide another way to show how a city can move from spectacle to intimacy within a few blocks. Continue toward the library’s famous Fifth Avenue facade.
COMEDY & ACTION
Ghostbusters · John Wick: Chapter 3
From the opening library encounter in Ghostbusters to John Wick’s library confrontation, this landmark changes genre on screen. Your guide connects the facade, steps and library imagery with the clips. The tour does not visit the Ghostbusters firehouse, and ticketed interiors are not included.
SKYLINE & SCREEN
Men in Black 3 · Armageddon
Look up as the walk heads east toward Grand Central. Discuss the Chrysler Building’s screen presence, including the movie worlds of Men in Black 3 and Armageddon. Your guide distinguishes the real landmark from the versions created for the camera and visual effects.
THE FINALE
North by Northwest · The Avengers · I Am Legend
Finish with Hitchcock, superheroes and a transformed Manhattan. Compare North by Northwest’s Grand Central with the city imagined by The Avengers and I Am Legend. This finale is also about movie-making: what is a real location, what is a set, and what has been rebuilt or transformed on screen?
The same route for all three formats. Stops and viewing moments may adapt to conditions on the day. Show tickets and admission to ticketed interiors are not included.
See dates & choose your format ↗REAL PLACES. A LOCAL GUIDE.
City Layer Tours was founded by filmmaker and urban storyteller Eloi Gerard. The images provide context; your guide connects scenes, architecture and stories on location.
Meet City Layer Tours →Read traveler experiences and independent booking listings.
Operator reviews · TripAdvisor ↗Also book on
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Expert English-speaking local guide. Movie and TV clips viewed in your chosen format: provided smart glasses, your own compatible smart glasses, or a phone/the guide’s tablet. Smart glasses are supplied only with the Smart Glasses Provided option. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. Instant confirmation. Booking fees & all taxes included.
Smartphone — not included: you must bring your own compatible, fully charged phone. Compatible phones: iPhone 12 or newer (iOS 16+) or Android 12+ (most Samsung Galaxy S21+, Google Pixel 7+, OnePlus 9+). Bring Your Own Smart Glasses option: compatible models — XREAL Air/Air 2/Air 2 Pro, Rokid Max/Max AR, Viture One/One XR, TCL NXTWear S/S+. Note: Ray-Ban Meta Stories are NOT compatible. Power bank / battery pack (if you use our smart glasses, the USB-C port is needed during the tour and cannot charge the phone at the same time).
Check your exact phone’s compatibility before choosing smart glasses. If unsure, contact us or choose the Classic option.
19 West 50th Street, New York
Look for the gold clock above the revolving doors, between Le Rock restaurant and Banana Republic. Your guide will be waiting just inside the entrance. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour.
WHERE WE MEET 19 West 50th Street, New York. Look for the gold clock above the revolving doors, between Le Rock restaurant and Banana Republic. Your guide will be waiting just inside the entrance. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour. END OF TOUR: Grand Central Terminal.
Review the cancellation terms for your selected rate in Bókun before payment.
A 2.5-hour guided Midtown movie and TV walking tour, from 19 West 50th Street, New York to Grand Central Terminal. Choose provided smart glasses, your own compatible smart glasses, or classic phone/tablet viewing. Look for the gold clock above the revolving doors, between Le Rock restaurant and Banana Republic. Your guide will be waiting just inside the entrance. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour. Explore Midtown with a local guide and movie and TV clips along the way. Route: 19 West 50th Street, New York → Rockefeller Center → St Patrick’s Cathedral → Ed Sullivan Theater → Broadway → TKTS → One Times Square → Times Square → New Amsterdam Theatre → 42nd Street → Bryant Park → New York Public Library → Chrysler Building → Grand Central Terminal. Smart glasses are supplied only with the Smart Glasses Provided option. Bring Your Own Smart Glasses requires compatible glasses and a charged compatible phone. Classic Tour uses a phone or the guide’s tablet, without glasses. Admission to ticketed interiors is not included.
19 West 50th Street, New York
Look for the gold clock above the revolving doors, between Le Rock restaurant and Banana Republic. Your guide will be waiting just inside the entrance. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour.
FAQ
No. We provide them (Smart Glasses Provided option). Or bring your own (XREAL, Rokid, Viture, TCL), or choose the Classic Tour without glasses.
Comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing. For a smart-glasses option, bring a fully charged compatible smartphone; check the device requirements before booking. Classic Tour needs no glasses.
19 West 50th Street, New York. Look for the gold clock above the revolving doors, between Le Rock restaurant and Banana Republic. Your guide will be waiting just inside the entrance. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour.
The 2.5-hour walk ends at Grand Central Terminal. Admission to ticketed interiors is not included.
The tour runs rain or shine; dress for the weather.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
From $35
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