Angkor Wat was already having a bit of a moment in the early 200s, but then Anjelina Jolie started poking around as the infamous Lara Croft and the world couldn’t get enough. The Temple of Ta Prohm formed the mystical backdrop for the movie and is so synonymous with it that the 800–year–old landmark has been dubbed Tomb Raider Temple.
The hills are alive with much more than music in Salzburg. The Austrian city is bursting with medieval and baroque architecture, a clifftop fortress and the fast-flowing Salzach River. The real Von Trapp family did actually live here too, albeit not in that epic white mansion. Most of the hit-musical was filmed in and around the city.
It’s over ten years since Meryl Streep told us it’s a rich man’s world and Amanda Seyfried got to run around the beach with Dominic Cooper, but we’re all still harbouring fantasies about moving to a Greek island. Most of the movie was shot on Skiathos, as well as Skeplos.
The ancient city of Petra, carved into vivid red sandstone, was ‘lost’ to the Western world for centuries. Once the capital of the Nabataean Empire between 400 B.C. and A.D 100, the city remained empty until the 1800s. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
Vito Corleone famously came from a real village in Sicily called Corleone, but the charming village of Savoca stood in for it in the movie. Producers chose the location because it was relatively untouched and had fewer issues with the local mafia. With its russet-red buildings, citrus trees and cacti tumble down the hillside we forget why he decided to leave…
For Lord of the Rings fans, New Zealand has become synonymous with Middle Earth, and nowhere more so than Matamata. Alexander Farm, located in Matamata, served as the movie set for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The site is located just two hours south of Auckland and is home to the Hobbiton Movie Set, which features over 44 hobbit holes, gardens and hedges, the double arched bridge and the plunging Wairere Falls.
The Beach, that 2000 movie starring Leonardo di Caprio which inspired a million Gap Year trips to Thailand, put Maya Bay on the map. The idyllic bay, with its white sand and turquoise water, can only be accessed by anchoring a boat at Loh Samah, then walking through rocks and jungle.
Some of the most violent and memorable scenes from The Hunger Games were filmed in DuPont State Forest. Its lush pine forests, craggy mountains and dramatic waterfalls made the perfect backdrop for the sci-fi hit. Head to Triple Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, where you should be able to find Katniss’ pond and the spot where Peeta camouflaged himself.
This tiny desert town in Morocco has been the setting for everything from The Mummy to Game of Thrones. But the most famous movie set here is undoubtedly Gladiator. Ridley Scott reimaged the stunning red desert fortified village as an ancient Roman city.
The 100 foot (30.5 metres) viaduct has been immortalized by the Harry Potter movies. Nothing quite captures the excitement of the start of a new term (Harry Potter movie) like a shot of the Jacobite steam train rolling across Scotland to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You can also spot it in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where Harry and Ron manage to land the flying Ford Anglia on the tracks.
The sharks may be mechanical, but the backdrop for Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws – which has terrified generations – is real enough. Most of the movie was shot in Martha’s Vineyard, now an upmarket holiday retreat off the coast of Massachusetts. Today, the flick still holds a special place in some residents hearts – they even host the occasional ‘JawsFest’ festival.
Not quite a galaxy far, far away – Tunisia in fact. The Sahara desert provided the backdrop for Luke Skywalker’s adventures. Some of the most famous filming locations include Ksour, traditional fortified granaries in Tataouine, which were reimagined as the Mos Espa slave quarters and Ong Jemal, also known as Camel’s Neck.
The ancient rambling Dunnottar Castle, located a 20-minute stroll along the clifftops from Stonehaven Harbour, is one of the strongest castles in Scotland. It’s no wonder that Franco Zeffirelli chose it to stand in for Elsinore Castle in his blockbuster interpretation of Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson. The original fortress dates back to the 9th century, but the castle’s interiors – including the drawing-room – are even more interesting.
You won’t be able to hop off to Wakanda any time soon, but you can take a trip to the spot where the Black Panther is coronated – Warrior Falls. The scene was filmed at Iguazù Waterfalls, which straddles the border between Argentina and Brazil. At nearly three km long, it’s the world’s largest waterfall system.
The breathtakingly wild and rugged Kualoa Ranch steps in for the ‘land before time’ in both the original Jurassic Park and the latest movie in the franchise, Jurassic World. With its beaches, mountains, waterfalls, rivers and dense jungles, it isn’t difficult to see why. Kualoa Ranch is a popular filming location, used for movies including Godzilla and Jumanji – Welcome to the Jungle too.
The pulse-raising thriller is set in a post-apocalyptic world, but filming took place in the Namib Desert. Its russet-red sand dunes, sprawling arid landscape and endless stretches of empty roads make the perfect setting for a dystopian wasteland.
Görlitzer Warenhaus Department Store stands in for the elegant and ageing Grand Budapest Hotel. The art nouveau department store is one of the best-preserved department stores from the beginning of the 20th century and remained open until 2009. Its winding staircases, grand elevators and distinctive atrium all feature in the movie.
Japan’s cultural capital Kyoto provides the striking backdrop for this story about a young girl-turned-Geisha, Chiyo. Filming took place in the Gion neighbourhood and several temples including the pagoda of Kiyo-Mizu. One of the most iconic scenes sees her sprint through the 10,000 lucky red gates to the Fushimi Inari shrine.
Tarantino’s award-winning story of a slave freed by a German bounty hunter was shot in Wyoming and California, but the most dramatic scenes take place on the Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana. The 250-year-old sugar plantation is now a registered historic landmark, complete with centuries-old oak trees and ‘The Big House’ too.
True, Avatar has been heralded as one of the best CGI movies of all time, but parts of it were filmed in (and inspired by) a real place. The Hallelujah Mountain is actually the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, which sits in the Hunan Province. The movie’s editing team added the mountains in post-production to make it seem like they were floating in the air.
