Top 12 Filming Locations You Can Actually Visit
Visit the locations of your favorite movies while on vacation to experience the sights. If you're used to visiting movie locations from the comfort of your ... read more...couch, why not go even farther and visit them in person? Here are some of the top filming locations that every movie fan should see.
-
The Italian Job, Howard's End, and The History Boys are just a few of the movies that have included Oxford's "dreaming spires," but the Christ Church college is most famous for its appearances in the Harry Potter series. The Great Hall of Hogwarts was modeled after the dining hall at Christ Church College and Cathedral in Oxford; the school's hallways in the first two films were filmed in Gloucester Cathedral; several of the school's classrooms were filmed at Lacock Abbey near Chippenham in Wiltshire; and the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, the Fourth Form Room of Harrow Old Schools in Greater London, and Alnwick Castle in Northumberland were all used as locations for scenes.
The vast majority of the Hogwarts movie sets at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, were designed with inspiration from the buildings of Christ Church College and Durham Cathedral.
Location: St Aldate's, Oxford OX1 1DP, UK
-
Waikato, New Zealand has the town of Matamata. It is a successful farming community noted for its Thoroughbred horse breeding and training operations and is situated close to the base of the Kaimai Ranges. It is a part of the Matamata-Piako District, which also includes Te Aroha, Morrinsville, and the adjacent rural districts. The Kinleith Branch railway and State Highway 27 both pass through the community. By June 2022, the town's population was 8,700.
A nearby farm was the location for the Hobbiton Movie Set in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. The on-site Hobbit holes were developed by the New Zealand government to serve as tourist attractions. They had no furniture or props but could be visited with views of the farm from inside them during the time between The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey filming. The main road includes a sign that reads, "Welcome to Hobbiton." To make way for the three new films based on the first Tolkien book, The Hobbit, some areas of Hobbiton started to close in 2011.
Location: Waikato, New Zealand
-
Theme park Oasys (formerly known as Mini Hollywood) is situated close to the town of Tabernas in the province of Almera, Andalusia, off the N-340 motorway at the 364 km point. The set, which was originally called Yucca City, was created by Carlo Simi in 1965 for Sergio Leones For a Few Dollars More. Additionally, it was used as a location for other movies including The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966). The project's extras purchased the set and ran it as a tourist destination after The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was shot. They were subsequently acquired by a hotel chain.
Daily cowboy stunt performances are presented in the park, including a pretend bank heist and a recreation of Jesse James' last moments. Additionally, it contains a swimming area, an abandoned gold mine, a saloon decorated in cowboy fashion, a Fun Barn for kids' activities, a zoo with caged birds and big cats, and other faux western shops. Both this location and Fort Bravo/Texas Hollywood were used as the backdrop for the 2012 Doctor Who episode "A Town Called Mercy."
Location: near the town of Tabernas in the province of Almería, Andalusia.
-
Five miles from the Rocky Mountain National Park entrance, near Estes Park, Colorado, The Stanley Hotel is a 140-room Colonial Revival hotel. Freelan Oscar Stanley, a co-founder of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, developed it; it was completed on July 4, 1909, and it served as both a health retreat for those with pulmonary TB and a resort for upper-class Easterners. With magnificent views of Lake Estes, the Rockies, and Longs Peak, the hotel now has a restaurant, spa, and B&B.
The Stanley Hotel served as both a filming location for the associated 1997 TV miniseries and served as the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's 1977 best-selling novel The Shining and its 1980 picture version. In the 1994 movie Dumb and Dumber, it served as the fictional hotel and shooting location for Danbury of Aspen, Colorado.The Stanley Film Festival, an independent horror film festival run by the Denver Film Society and held in early May, was held at the hotel from 2013 to 2015. The Stanley served as the location for Episode 10 of Season 15 of Bravo's cooking competition Top Chef, which was filmed in several Colorado locations. Additionally, since 2014, the Stanley Hotel has hosted an annual series of winter concerts by the indie rock band Murder by Death; the 2020 edition will be the eighth such occasion.
Location: Estes Park, Colorado, United States.
-
Vatican City is a tiny sovereign independent state and home to the Pope. Angels and Demons, the movie based on the book by Dan Brown, is set in Rome and the Vatican. This place has many locations you should visit when you are in Rome. Toplist will help you learn about these places.
First off, the enormous Saint Peter's Square and Saint Peter's Basilica, one of the biggest churches in the world, dominate the Vatican and are extensively featured in the film. While Saint Peter's Basilica is free to enter, you must make reservations in advance for a guided tour if you want to see the Vatican excavations, the necropolis beneath Saint Peter's Basilica where a portion of the movie is set.
Second, until it was converted into a papal residence in the 14th century, Castel Sant' Angelo, which was constructed in the second century as a tomb for Emperor Hadrian, was utilized as a fortification. It is connected to the Vatican by the Passetto, a private corridor. This hidden historical Illuminati location is utilized toward the conclusion of the story in the film.
Thirdly, Santa Maria del Popolo, in Piazza del Popolo, was one of the first Renaissance churches in Rome. In the Chigi Chapel, created by Raphael, are ceiling mosaics and pyramid-like tombs as well as statues by Bernini. The Chigi Chapel represents Earth on the Path of Illumination in the movie and book.
In addition to the 3 locations above, there are many Filming Locations You Can Actually Visit in the Vatican such as Piazza Navona and the Fountain of Four Rivers, Santa Maria Della Vittoria, The Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel, Caserta Royal Palace.
Location: Rome, Italy.
-
Croatia's Dalmatian Coast is home to the medium-sized city of Dubrovnik, also referred to as the Pearl of the Adriatic. An excellent Old Town with gorgeous Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces, and fountains can be found in the late-medieval walled city. The ancient town of Dubrovnik was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.
The cobblestone alleys and gothic architecture of Dubrovnik are instantly recognizable as King's Landing, also known as the capital of the Seven Kingdoms in Game of Thrones if you were to stroll through it. Head to the Old Town district or the Walls of Dubrovnik, where members of the Lannister family spent a large portion of the season brooding if you want to take some pictures in very famous locations. It had lovely late-Renaissance homes on both sides of the street and was totally constructed of white marble. From the Pile Gate on the west side to the Rector's palace, the bell tower, and Orlando's column on the east side right next to the port, Dubrovnik's Stradun cuts through the city.
Location: Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia.
-
Luke Skywalker's home perhaps is the most famous "Star Wars" landmark in the world, this is where the interiors of Luke Skywalker's childhood home on planet Tatooine were filmed. The subterranean building was constructed by Berbers centuries ago as a true residence. Later, George Lucas used it as a hotel to shoot the first "Star Wars" movie.
Southern Tunisia served as a suitable substitute for Tatooine due to its semi-arid and desert conditions. Actor Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the most current Star Wars film, admitted to Empire magazine that Tunisia felt as remote as the made-up country it depicted in Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). "You truly felt like you were taken to another universe," he recounted. "If you could go into your own thoughts, block out the crew, and look at the horizon."
When the crew left, the set decorations were taken down, but they were rebuilt in 2000 for "Attack of the Clones." They have remained ever since so that visitors may dine at the same table as young master Luke.
Location: Hotel Sidi Driss, Matmata, Tunisia
-
Clint Eastwood starred in the thriller "Escape from Alcatraz" in 1979. Alcatraz is a genuine location that used to be a working jail where notorious criminals like Al Capone were kept. While several rooms had to be reconstructed at Paramount in Hollywood, the majority of the film was really filmed on Alcatraz Island, a former prison in San Francisco Bay. Extensive repairs were required for the dilapidated building, which fortunately helped to keep it as a tourist destination.
The paint used to restore the site to its earlier appearance, though, needed to be easily removable so as not to obscure graffiti left from the 1969-71 occupation of the island by Native Americans, now regarded as an important part of the island's history. Beginning in 1934, the island served as a Federal prison, serving essentially as a holding area for undesirable prisoners.
Currently a national park, Alcatraz is accessible from San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf by boat. You may view the dummy head that was used in the actual escape as part of the intriguing tour. Trips are understandably popular, so it's best to plan ahead if you want to avoid disappointment.
Location: San Francisco, California
-
Two giant steel and concrete dinosaurs dubbed Mr. Rex and Dinny the Dinosaur are shown at Cabazon Dinosaurs, originally known as Claude Bell's Dinosaurs, a roadside attraction in Cabazon, California. The 65-foot-tall (20 m) Tyrannosaurus rex and the 150-foot-long (46 m) Brontosaurus are visible from the freeway to oncoming traffic on Southern California's Interstate 10. The Pee-Big wee's Adventure movie is well known for featuring the roadside dinosaurs (1985). Additionally, the enormous dinosaurs in California's desert will be recognizable to viewers of the cult classic film "Pee-Big wee's Adventure."
Claude Bell, a sculptor and theme park artist, started building the dinosaurs in 1964 in an effort to increase business at the Wheel Inn, a local eatery (open from 1958 to 2013). Bell's family sold the home in the middle of the 1990s after his death in 1988 at the age of 91. Since then, a roadside creationist museum and gift shop have been located at Cabazon Dinosaurs.
A dinosaur open-air museum featuring fiberglass and robotic replicas is another part of the Cabazon Dinosaurs attraction. Other activities at the location include a sand pit where guests can participate in a "dino dig" and a sluice for panning gemstones and fossils. Visitors can take a tour of the area, which includes a dinosaur exhibit with more than 50 specimens, and even climb inside the reptiles.
Location: Cabazon, California
-
Hatley Park National Historic Site is located in Colwood, British Columbia, in Greater Victoria. It is the site of Hatley Castle, a Classified Federal Heritage Building. Since 1995, the mansion and estate have been used for the public Royal Roads University. From the 1940s to 1995, it was used for the Royal Roads Military College, a naval training facility. The extensive grounds of the historic site have formal gardens, former farmland, and trails through mature stands of first and second-growth forest, including large Douglas fir and western red cedar.
The university began collecting entry fees to its principal heritage gardens, which make up less than 5% of the 565-acre (2.29 km2) campus, in June 2006, citing the underfunded expenses of heritage preservation. But as of 2019, there is no longer a cost to enter the gardens.
Numerous movies and television shows have been filmed at Hatley Parks and Castle over the course of more than 80 years. Hatley Castle has been the site of numerous film and television productions, including "Smallville," "Arrow," "Poltergeist: The Legacy," and "MacGyver," to name just a few. But in the "X-Men" series, Hatley Castle is best known as the location of Xavier's School for Gifted Children. In "X-Men 2," "X-Men: The Last Stand," and most recently, "Deadpool," the castle is shown with the most frequency. The majestic location costs $18.50 to visit for adults.
Location: British Columbia, Canada
-
In the Indian state of Rajasthan, Jodhpur is home to the 1,200-acre (486-hectare) Mehrangarh Fort. The complex was built by Rajput king Rao Jodha around 1459 and is situated on a hilltop about 122 meters above the surrounding plain. However, the majority of the current building is from the 17th century. Within its borders, a number of palaces with elaborate carvings and large courtyards may be found, along with a museum filled with artifacts. The route to and from the city below is winding. The second gate still has the marks left by the cannonballs that the Jaipuri army's advancing forces fired. At the northeast of the fort is the chhatri of Kirat Singh Soda, a soldier who fell on the spot defending Mehrangarh.
Folk musicians play music at the fort's entryway, and it has museums, dining options, exhibitions, and bazaars selling handmade goods. The fort served as one of the filming locations for The Jungle Book, a 1994 live-action Disney production, as well as The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The latter began principal photography on May 6, 2011. This is where the Emraan Hashmi Awarapan was also filmed. In 2015, musicians including English composer and guitarist for Radiohead Jonny Greenwood, Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich used the fort to record a collaborative album. The recording was the focus of the American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson's documentary, Junun. In March 2018, the film crew for the Bollywood film Thugs of Hindostan used the fort as one of its shooting locations; actor Amitabh Bachchan left a reflective post about his experience there on his official blog.
Location: Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
-
The Contra Dam is an arch dam on the Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino, Switzerland. It is sometimes referred to as the Verzasca Dam and the Locarno Dam. The dam powers the 105 MW Verzasca hydroelectric power station and forms Lago di Vogorno, which is located 1.2 miles (km) upstream of Lake Maggiore. It was built between 1961 and 1965, and from the time its reservoir was filled until 1971, a string of earthquakes linked to its water load occurred. The fourth-tallest dam in Switzerland is owned and run by Verzasca SA.
After a James Bond stuntman leaped down the dam in the opening sequence of the 1995 movie GoldenEye, the dam became a well-known bungee jumping location. Bond jumped off the dam in the opening scene of the 1995 James Bond movie GoldenEye. Wayne Michaels, a British stuntman, carried out the stunt. In a 2002 Sky Movies poll, the jump was selected as the greatest movie stunt of all time. During the Cold War, the Contra Dam served as a stand-in for the fictitious Arkhangelsk Chemical Weapons Facility, which was situated in the northern Soviet Union.
Soon after GoldenEye was released, the dam owners began leasing access to the dam to a business that offers bungee jumping. Over 10,000 people, according to the operator, have leaped 220 meters (720 feet) from the dam. In both the fifth episode of the 33rd season and the first episode of the 14th season of The Amazing Race, competitors bungee jumped off the dam as a Roadblock task. Additionally, Contra Dam served as the backdrop for the climactic scene of the Indian Bollywood film Dhoom 3.
Location: Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino, Switzerland