Chuck Bass is the Bass-empire heir on Gossip Girl, played by Ed Westwick, and his two defining addresses are real hotels you can walk into: the Empire Hotel at 44 West 63rd Street, which he buys and runs on screen, and the Lotte New York Palace at Madison Avenue and 50th Street, the Bass family home in the early seasons.
He owns more of the show's New York than any other character — literally. His locations are hotels, and every one of them is standing today.
Who Chuck is
The only child of self-made billionaire Bart Bass, Chuck begins as the show's most reckless figure and ends as its most transformed one. His arc runs on two engines: an inheritance he has to earn and a relationship with Blair Waldorf that the series takes six seasons to resolve.
Who is Bart Bass?
Bartholomew "Bart" Bass is Chuck's father and the founder of Bass Industries — the self-made billionaire whose approval Chuck spends most of the series chasing. He is played by Robert John Burke, and the family's on-screen home is the Palace on Madison Avenue, which is why so much of the Bass storyline is set in a working Midtown hotel rather than a private house.
The Empire Hotel
44 West 63rd Street, next to Lincoln Center. The hotel Chuck buys and runs, and the red neon sign that appears in establishing shots throughout the later seasons. It is a working hotel and one of the most popular fan addresses in the city.
The Palace Hotel
The Lotte New York Palace on Madison Avenue at 50th Street is the Bass family property in the early seasons — Chuck's home before it is anyone's business. The courtyard entrance photographs beautifully.
The Upper East Side
Chuck's scenes with Blair keep returning to Fifth Avenue, the Met Steps and the blocks around 1136 Fifth Avenue. The geography is doing the work: two people who cannot leave the same twenty streets.
Central Park
The park hosts several of the couple's turning points, with Bethesda Terrace and the Bow Bridge the most recognisable settings.
Novel Chuck versus TV Chuck
In the original novels Chuck is a minor antagonist rather than a lead. The television adaptation rebuilt him almost entirely, which is why the show's version — and Westwick's performance — is the one fans travel to New York for.
Visiting Chuck's New York
The Empire, the Palace and the Upper East Side blocks all sit on our guided Gossip Girl tour of New York, sequenced so the hotels and the park connect without a long walk between them.
