Visiting Stars Hollow on the Gilmore Girls Set Tour
Every December, the original Gilmore Girls set on the Warner Bros. Studios Hollywood backlot is transformed back into the town of Stars Hollow for their Holidays Made Here event.
You can visit the Gilmore Girls set in Burbank, California, during a regular Warner Bros. Studio Tour if you visit during the two-week event starting mid-December. If you’re a fan of Gilmore Girls, then this is the perfect thing to do during the holiday season in California!
It truly feels like you’re stepping into the real-life Stars Hollow with all the shops, restaurants, and icons from the TV show.
This post contains affiliate links that earn me a commission. For more information, read my disclaimer.
There’s no time limit to explore the town — plan for at least a couple of hours! You could theoretically do a morning tour and stay in Stars Hollow all day and evening until closing to watch the nightly tree lighting.
The vibes in Stars Hollow are immaculate! Everyone is in a joyful mood, tons of visitors dress like Lorelai, Luke, or Rory (you can too!) for the daily costume contest, and the shops and restaurants are all meticulously decorated just like you see on the show.
If you’re looking for a fun holiday activity, then get your Warner Bros tickets and visit Stars Hollow on the Gilmore Girls set!
Note: The tour runs year-round, but the Gilmore Girls set is only decorated as Stars Hollow from mid-December through early January. Visit during the Holidays Made Here event to see the Gilmore Girls set.
Where is Stars Hollow?
Stars Hollow is a fictional town set in Connecticut, just 30 minutes from Hartford (the real-life capital of Connecticut).
According to the show’s creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, she spent three weeks in Washington, Connecticut, where she got inspiration for Stars Hollow.
Gilmore Girls was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, on the backlot in an area called Midwest Street. This is one of the last stops on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour during Holidays Made Here!
Warner Bros Studio Tour Itinerary
There’s much more to the Studio Tour than just the Gilmore Girls set, though it is my favorite part of the Holidays Made Here event.
Before you arrive at Stars Hollow, you are taken on a 1-hour guided tour of the backlot before being let loose at Central Perk. You are then free to explore the cafe, walk through the exhibits, and take photos with famous sets.
This itinerary walks you through the standard Studio Tour, but there are more in-depth tours you can take as well!
Don’t care about the first part of the tour and want to skip straight to my guide to the Gilmore Girls set of Stars Hollow? YES <- your skip button
Storytelling Showcase
When you arrive at the welcome center, you’ll show your tickets and enter a small theater. After everyone is seated, a short video is shown on the large screen with an overview of the many amazing movies and TV shows filmed at Warner Bros. Studios.
I knew tons of movies and TV shows had been filmed here, but I had no idea which ones or how many famous movies were created on the lot we were currently on!
Once the video is over, the tour guides will come into the theater and be introduced. From there, each row is guided out one at a time and is paired with a tour guide.
Backlot Tour
The 1-hour backlot tour is the only guided part of the Studio Tour. You remain on the tour cart for the majority of the tour, with a couple of exceptions: Park Place and Warner Bros. Tower photos.
The 20-acre backlot tour takes you through the fake building exteriors that are used as the backdrop for hundreds of movies and TV shows. This is a working backlot, meaning movies and TV shows are actively filming here!
If you visit on a weekend, there won’t be as much activity as there is on weekdays when actors and production teams are working. When we were there, Abbott Elementary was currently filming, and we got to see the building used as the exterior for Abbott Elementary with the mural.
We loved our tour guide and appreciated all the information he shared about each location we visited. Some unfamiliar-looking buildings ended up being in some major TV shows or movies I had seen!
The main lot has almost a dozen exterior sets, including:
Tenement Street: Used for Annie (1982), Gremlins (1984), Batman Returns (1992), Rent (2005), and The Greatest Showman (2017).
New York Street: Used for Blade Runner (1982), Friends, Cloverfield (2008), and Shameless.
Brownstone Street: Used for Batman Returns (1992).
French Street, Midwest Street, and King’s Street: Used for East of Eden (1955), Gremlins (1984), the Geller House in Friends, Gilmore Girls, Rosewood High School in Pretty Little Liars, and La La Land (2016).
Jungle Lagoon: Used for the T. rex chase in Jurassic Park, Alison’s House in Pretty Little Liars, and Dr Shin’s Lab in Aquaman (2018).
Info about the movies filmed on each exterior set was sourced directly from my tour guide and thestudiotour.com.
Central Perk Cafe
After the guided backlot tour, we were dropped off at Central Perk Café — the hot spot for fans of the show Friends.
You can order at the cafe, explore the mini Monica’s kitchen set, take photos with a Central Perk couch replica, and peruse the Friends Boutique (gift shop).
This is also where you’ll find the bathrooms! Make sure to use them before heading to the next stop.
From here, you have two options: wait in line for photos with the real Central Perk set and Big Bang Theory Set, or walk through without getting any photos in the sets.
Costumes & TV Show Sets
The building known as Studio 48 houses Central Perk Cafe, a collection of costumes from movies/shows, and the sets for Friends and Big Bang Theory.
We first walked through a couple of rooms with all kinds of costumes (including one from Elf and a few from the Selena movie), as well as original drawings for different characters — as an artist, I loved seeing these!
After taking our time to check out all the exhibits, we got in line for photos with the Central Perk set. The line was long and took about 20 minutes to reach the front, where I was able to hand the photographer my camera so they could take our photo.
You can skip this part and head straight through if you don’t want a photo on the couch!
We continued to the Big Bang Theory set and got in the (very short) line to take photos sitting on the couch. Again, you can skip taking the photos in the set and just admire it as you pass through.
The last area in this building is the production area, where you can get into a voice-over booth and try doing your own voiceover from one of the three movie options.
Gilmore Girls Set – Stars Hollow
Once you exit Studio 48, your next stop is Stars Hollow!! This is the Midwest Street Backlot, where Gilmore Girls was originally filmed.
Though it’s just the empty buildings for most of the year (except when something is being filmed there), it’s transformed back into Stars Hollow for the Holidays Made Here event!
The event runs from mid-December through the first week of January — sign up for the Warner Bros newsletter and follow them on Instagram for the announcement of exact dates.
You are free to roam Stars Hollow, popping into the various shops, getting food at one of the restaurants, enjoying coffee at Luke’s Diner, and walking the town like Lorelai and Rory.
Visiting the Stars Hollow set is one of my all-time favorite holiday activities!
Props & Interactive Rooms
After exploring Stars Hollow to your heart’s content, hop on one of the tour carts at the front of Stars Hollow to get taken to the last stop of the tour.
On this stop, you’ll have time to explore props and costumes from the DC Universe, Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, and Game of Thrones. There are multiple rooms with props and costumes, along with a few interactive exhibits!
As far as DC Universe memorabilia goes, they have costumes for Joker, Batman, and Superman, and multiple cars, including the Batmobile.
For Game of Thrones, they have costumes on display for four characters: Missandei, Viserys Targaryen, Daenerys Targaryen, and a House Targaryen Kingsguard uniform. There are also some other smaller props and things from the show in display cases.
Lastly, there are multiple rooms with Harry Potter exhibits that are interactive:
Harry’s room under the stairs, which you can go into and take photos.
A potions room where you can “mix” your own potion.
Professor Sprout’s greenhouse, complete with Mandrakes to pull out of the soil.
The sorting hat that assigns you to a Hogwarts House.
Gilmore Girls Set — Guide to Stars Hollow
The Studio Tour during Holidays Made Here is jam-packed with exciting exhibits, sets, and photo ops, but the main attraction during this time of year is visiting Stars Hollow from the set of Gilmore Girls.
Midwest Street gets transformed into Stars Hollow and dressed up for the holidays from mid-December to the beginning of January. All regular Studio Tours during the Holidays Made Here dates include a stop at Stars Hollow — no special tickets required.
Stars Hollow is a fully immersive experience where you’re free to walk through the town as if you’re a character in Gilmore Girls!
The Gilmore Girls' House
The large, beautiful house where Lorelai and Rory live is one of the first buildings to visit when you enter Stars Hollow. There’s a line to enter the house and take photos, which goes through the front yard.
The exterior of the house is almost exactly as it was in the show, and Lorelai’s tan Jeep is even parked in front of the house!
Once you enter the house, you’ll see it’s not exactly the layout of their house in the show. The interior scenes were filmed on a separate soundstage on the backlot, while the exterior scenes were filmed at the house you visit at the Stars Hollow set.
They still decorated the interior of the house to look as much like Lorelai and Rory’s home as possible, complete with Yale merch in Rory’s room.
You enter through the front door and exit through a side door onto the deck. You can then walk further into the town to continue exploring.
Sookie’s House
The back side of Lorelai’s house was used as the front exterior of Sookie’s house. During the Holidays Made Here event, they offer cookie decorating at tables in front of Sookie’s House at specific times throughout the day.
Dragonfly Inn
This is one of the locations that was not actually filmed in this area of Warner Bros. Studios. They do transform a house on Midwest Street into the Dragonfly Inn, but the exterior is not the same and was not used for the show.
The actual building used as the Dragonfly Inn exterior in Gilmore Girls was on Warner Bros. Ranch, less than 2 miles away from the backlot. Sadly, the ranch was demolished in 2023 for renovations, and the house no longer exists.
Despite it not being the original filming location of the Dragonfly Inn, they do a lovely job of making it feel like the real thing. There’s even a gift shop inside selling Dragonfly Inn-branded merch, including a plushy butter yellow robe.
Want a bite to eat at the Dragonfly Inn? You can get afternoon tea here and dine in one of the rooms! It’s a bit pricey
Speaking of dining, they also recreated Richard and Emily Gilmore’s dining room, including the ridiculously oversized portrait of Richard.
Kim’s Antiques
Next to Sookie’s House is Kim’s Antiques! This is a building you can enter and walk through, with a narrow, winding pathway flanked by tall piles of old items (just like in the show).
It’s a quick walk-through, and we didn’t have to wait in a line to enter, but there may be a short wait on busier days.
Like many of the other places in Stars Hollow at Warner Bros. Studios, this is the same building used for exterior shots in the show. The only difference is that there is no picket fence, and it’s not a butter yellow color.
Luke’s Diner / Williams Hardware
Quite possibly the most popular attraction in Stars Hollow is Luke’s Diner. There’s a long(ish) line out front where you will place your order, take a photo when it’s your turn, and then walk through the front door.
Once inside, the entire space is set up just like Luke’s Diner in the show. You can sit at the tables to take photos before grabbing your order from the counter and continuing through to the exit on the other side.
The coffee they serve is from Scotty P’s coffee, aka the real-life version of Luke’s! They also have a small selection of baked goods.
When you exit Luke’s Diner, you walk into the mercantile, where you can get sugar and creamer for your coffee, shop for Luke’s Diner merch, and buy other Gilmore Girls-themed items.
Doose’s Market
Just like in the show, Doose’s Market is across the street from the gazebo. You can walk right into Doose’s to shop for some Luke’s Hot Chocolate and Scotty P’s Coffee (owned by Scott Patterson, who played Luke).
They also sell Doosey’s Market candy, cold sandwiches to-go, and bottled drinks.
The rest of the market is props, with canned food and a produce section, similar to what you see in Gilmore Girls.
Al’s Pancake World
Tucked in the back of the town between Doose’s Market and Luke’s Diner is a small interior where you can order Chinese food from Al’s Pancake World. Funnily enough, Al’s Pancake World is never actually shown on screen in the show — just mentioned!
Stars Hollow Gazebo
At the center of town is the charming, iconic gazebo with the large “Welcome to Stars Hollow” sign.
You can take photos on either side of the gazebo (there will likely be a line), check out Lorelai and Rory’s snowman on the grass, and visit the penguins in front of the sign.
Stars Hollow Church
The church on Midwest Street has been used in many shows and movies, including Ocean's Eleven (1960), The Waltons, and The Lost Boys (1987). It was also, of course, the Stars Hollow church in Gilmore Girls.
You can’t go inside, but you can walk right up to it and see it from multiple spots around Midwest Street (aka Stars Hollow).
Stars Hollow Shops
Throughout town, there are a few different shops all selling Gilmore Girls merchandise.
The Stars Hollow Camera Shop is where you can pick up your photos from the professional photo ops.
Stars Hollow Books sells, well, books! They have memoirs from Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore) and Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore), along with Chilton uniforms, other stationery items, and Team [insert boyfriend here] buttons. Most of the employees around Stars Hollow wear buttons with their pick — I’ll always be Team Jess.
Stars Hollow Mercantile is connected to Luke’s, as mentioned above. It has an array of Gilmore Girls merch, including clothing, backpacks, and other themed items.
Stars Hollow Beauty Sleep is another shop selling Gilmore Girls merch exclusively for the Holidays Made Here event.
Black & White & Read Bookstore
Do you know everything about Gilmore Girls? Test your knowledge of Gilmore Girls at the Black & White & Read Bookstore Trivia!
The Black & White & Read Bookstore is set up like the one in Stars Hollow, with a hodgepodge of different couches and seating. The BWR at the Stars Hollow set isn’t the same exterior as the show, but they decorate it to look like the original as much as possible.
If you recall, the Black & White & Read Bookstore is a bookstore by day and a cinema by night in Gilmore Girls. It’s where Luke & Lorelai and Rory & Dean have a double date, where Kirk premieres his home-made movie, and where Lorelai finds Luke watching “My Man Godfrey" (1936) and tries talking to him after a disastrous night.
They host hourly trivia sessions during the Holidays Made Here event, where you can compete with fellow fans. People line up for it, so arrive 10-15 minutes before the next one to ensure you get a spot.
Stars Hollow High School
Stars Hollow High School is hard to miss with its grand brick facade facing the town gazebo. This building has been used as a school in multiple shows and movies, including Pretty Little Liars.
You can’t go inside, but you can walk up the steps and take photos dressed as Rory or a fellow Stars Hollow High School classmate!
Costume Contest
There’s a daily Gilmore Girls costume contest at 3 PM that takes place in front of Stars Hollow High School. Dress in your best outfit to take part! Here are some outfit ideas for different characters:
Rory Costume: Chunky-knit cream sweater
Lorelai Costume: Pink tie-dye t-shirt, cut-off jean shorts, cowboy boots
Luke Costume: Flannel, t-shirt, jeans, backwards baseball hat
Jess Mariano Costume: Zipped-up leather jacket, baggy jeans, book in back pocket
Hewes Bros. Garage
Gypsy’s mechanic garage is located behind the church. There’s a window where you can order burgers, mac and cheese, and tater tots, which we did!
They have delicious vegetarian burgers, and even have gluten-free buns. The tater tots were generous portions and so good. There isn’t much seating in this area, so we just sat on the church steps at the back of the church.
Speakeasy (Shhh…)
The Secret Bar serves a selection of alcoholic and themed non-alcoholic beverages. It doesn’t open until 3 pm each day, so plan your tour accordingly if you want to grab a drink here.
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee at Lorelai’s
There’s a coffee spot at Lorelai’s house serving coffee, hot chocolate, water bottles, and a selection of pastries, including Emily Gilmore’s famous Apple Tart.
Scavenger Hunt
You can purchase a map of Stars Hollow with a scavenger hunt on it to find all the things on the list as you explore the town. If you find them all, you can get an exclusive Gilmore Girls magnet.
We skipped the scavenger hunt since it was another cost (I believe it was $15) on top of the tour ticket, and we didn’t need the magnet.
Friends Fountain
The famous fountain from the intro to every Friends episode was originally at Warner Bros. Ranch. Since much of the ranch was demolished, the fountain was moved to the Midwest Street area.
You can see the fountain during the guided portion of the tour (your guide will point it out) and go right up to it as you walk around Stars Hollow! It’s on a grassy area across the street from Luke’s.
Gilmore Girls Set Map
You can download the map and list of menus on the Warner Bros. website!
Map from Warner Bros. Studios
Final Thoughts on the Gilmore Girls Set
Warner Bros. Studios thoroughly impressed me with how much effort and detail they put into redressing Midwest Street as Stars Hollow. Considering this event lasts fewer than three weeks, that’s a monstrous amount of work to create and then take down all the decor in a short time.
Nothing looks temporary or shoddily put together — if I didn’t know any better, I’d believe this part of the backlot was always dressed as Stars Hollow.
Visiting the Gilmore Girls set was the highlight of my holiday season, and I hope to make it a bi-annual tradition, if not annual!
On my next visit, I plan to spend a full day in Stars Hollow, meandering the streets, shopping ‘til I drop, eating my way through town, watching the costume contest, and if I’m brave enough, partaking in a trivia session at Black & White & Read Bookstore.
Pin It For Later
