Touring With Tony Soprano

Most tourists come to New York to see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building or a Broadway show. For fans of "The Sopranos," however, the real sights can be found across the river in northern New Jersey.

But if you want to see those, you gotta get on the "Bada"-bus.

More than 9 million people tuned in to "The Sopranos" premiere on HBO last month. That's not bad, considering America's first crime family -- well, maybe second, behind The Godfather's Corleone clan -- has been on a 21-month hiatus since their last gathering.

One way devout "Sopranos" fans have passed the time waiting for Tony and Carmela's return has been to take "The Sopranos" tour of northern New Jersey. Started in 2001 by a company called On Location Tours, which also runs a "Sex and the City"-based tour of Manhattan, "The Sopranos" bus tour hits all the hot spots made famous by the series, including Satriale's Pork Store in Kearny, N.J., and the now infamous Bada Bing strip club.

The four-hour tour costs $42 and leaves from midtown Manhattan. And unlike many of Tony Soprano's guests at these establishments, you can rest assured you'll make it back safely.

Woke Up This Morning...

A quick survey by the tour guide as we shoved off from Manhattan showed the universal appeal of the HBO juggernaut: the comfortable bus was packed with tourists from Australia, England, Scotland, South America and a few Southern states.

The guide, a bit player on the series, spoke fluent mafia as he peppered the passengers with "Sopranos" trivia tidbits while the bus followed the route Tony takes home at the start of each week's show. Never has traveling through the Lincoln Tunnel been so enjoyable as seen through actor James Gandolfini's eyes.

Note that passengers on the bus, unlike Tony in his luxury SUV, are not allowed to light up $25 Montecristo cigars. But we did watch Tony himself light up on television screens, which flashed scenes from the series in synchronization with the bus' progress.

The tour's first stop was the Muffler Man, in Jersey City, which can be seen in the opening credits. Passengers are allowed to get off the bus to take pictures with Mr. Bill, the 25-foot statue Tony winks at on his way home to suburbia.

To view Gregg Greenberg's video version of this article, please click here.