Film tourism is one of the fastest-growing travel trends. Fans are building trips around movie and TV locations—and destinations are responding with tours, signage, and preserved sets. Here are the best places to go if you want to walk in the footsteps of your favorite characters.
New Zealand remains the capital of Middle-earth. Hobbiton, Tongariro, the Remarkables, and dozens of other locations from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” are visitable. Many are on public land or run as official experiences. Combine hiking and driving for a full Tolkien-themed trip.
Iceland and Ireland have become go-to backdrops for fantasy and sci-fi. “Game of Thrones” shot in both; “Star Wars” and “Interstellar” used Icelandic landscapes. You can join guided location tours or use a filming-locations map to build your own route around glaciers, waterfalls, and lava fields.
Morocco and Tunisia offer desert and medina settings. “Star Wars” (Tatooine), “Gladiator”, “The Mummy”, and many others filmed here. Matmata’s underground homes and the dunes around Tozeur are iconic. Always check travel advice and respect local culture when visiting.
Cities like London, New York, Paris, and Tokyo appear in hundreds of films. A “movie map” of one city can fill a week: you move from “Notting Hill” to “Harry Potter” to “James Bond” in a single stay. Use an interactive map to cluster pins and avoid spending your trip on the subway.
Where Was It Filmed covers thousands of titles and locations worldwide. Search a film, open the map, and filter by country to see the best destinations for your next set-jetting adventure.