You’ve Got Mail, 1998
Possibly the most autumnal of Ephron’s films, You’ve Got Mail is quite clearly a love letter to New York in the fall. It stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks as two bookshop-owning rivals (hers is independent, his is big money) who inadvertently fall in love in an AOL chatroom discussing life, love and, of course, literature. With falling leaves as the film’s backdrop, not to mention endless references to the season, it’s clear that Ephron wanted us to appreciate just how beautiful this time of year can be.
Where to go: The film is set in New York, with the majority of filming having taken place in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. You can stand outside the apartments of both Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) and Joe Fox (Hanks) – which are located at 328 West 89th Street and 210 Riverside Drive respectively – and visit their bookshops too (The Shop Around the Corner is at 106 West 69th Street, while Fox Books Superstore is at West 17th Street and 7th Avenue) but best of all, you can retrace their footsteps in the final romantic scenes at 91st Street Garden in Riverside Park. Hotel Belleclaire on the Upper West Side is the perfect base – with Art Deco decor, it feels Kathleen Kelly-approved, and it’s minutes from the area’s literary strip of book stores. See more Condé Nast Traveller-approved recommendations of the best hotels in New York.
What to do: Browse small, independent bookshops and get chatting to the staff about recommendations. Yu & Me Books is a classic independent store, selling a selection of stories from new Asian American voices. Follow with an afternoon sipping hot chocolate in steamy cafes and buying a pumpkin to decorate.
When Harry Met Sally, 1989
There is a scene in When Harry Met Sally which has become synonymous with autumn: it’s when the two main characters, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) are walking through a golden-hued Central Park, with the trees in the background and the leaves on the ground coloured in a rich palette of reds, oranges and yellows. The film charts the couple’s will-they, won’t-they friendship, as it grapples with the question of whether or not men and women can ever truly be friends. A coming of age film about moving from young adulthood to the cusp of middle-age, it’s become a classic for all the right reasons – not to mention infamous for that ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ deli scene.