Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Few images in cinema history are as instantly recognisable as Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly standing before the Tiffany & Co. flagship on Fifth Avenue at dawn — pastry in hand, pearls at her throat, eyes fixed on the jewels in the window.

Blake Edwards shot the opening scene on location at 727 Fifth Avenue in the early hours of the morning to avoid crowds. The solitude of Holly before the closed store was entirely genuine — no extras were sent home.

„You know what’s wrong with you, Miss Whoever-You-Are? You’re chicken.”

The film is based on Truman Capote’s 1958 novella. Capote famously wanted Marilyn Monroe for the role — Hepburn’s casting was a studio decision he never fully accepted.

Holly’s apartment was filmed at the brownstone at 169 East 71st Street on the Upper East Side. Only the exterior was used; interiors were shot on a Hollywood soundstage.

Since a renovation completed in 2023, the flagship now houses the Blue Box Café on the fourth floor, where guests can have breakfast inspired by the film’s opening scene.