You won’t believe where these were filmed: Movie locations you can visit

Movie magic made real

You won’t believe where these were filmed: Movie locations you can visit

Would you like to walk through the scenery of Jurassic Park, explore the caves featured in Indiana Jones, or travel through the same landscapes as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars? Well, we have good news, you can! Nowadays, most movies rely on digitally created environments and special effects. But it wasn’t always that way, and many productions took their film sets to incredible real-world locations. Today, we’ll show you where in the world these 10 famous movies were filmed!

Jurassic Park

Image: Peter Thomas

Hawaii

The first Jurassic Park (1993) is unforgettable, especially thanks to its amazing landscapes. Sadly, there are no dinosaurs, but those places are very real, and they can be found in Hawaii. The movie used several locations across the state, with two standouts: the island of Kauai, where the famous waterfall scenes were filmed, and Kualoa Ranch, a private nature reserve on the island of Oahu.

Star Wars

Image: Leo_Visions

Tunisia and California

When you watch Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), it feels like the characters are really traveling across the galaxy. But many of those "alien" worlds are, in fact, very real, and you can visit them. Much of Tatooine was filmed in Tunisia, where you can even walk inside Luke Skywalker’s home at the Sidi Driss Hotel. And if international travel isn’t an option, Death Valley, California, which was also used to film Tatooine scenes, can make you feel extraterrestrial without leaving the US.

Forrest Gump

Image: Metin Ozer

Georgia

If you want to visit the places where beloved Forrest Gump walked, buy a ticket to Savannah, Georgia. Chippewa Square is the exact place where he famously said that life is like a box of chocolates. The bench used in the scene is now in the Savannah History Museum, but you can still take a walk through the square and visit other filming locations in the city.

The Godfather

Image: Rowan Heuvel

Italy

Corleone is a real town in Italy, but the version of the place we see in The Godfather was filmed elsewhere, though not so far away. Director Francis Ford Coppola felt that the real Corleone looked too modern, so he turned to Sicily instead, specifically the villages of Savoca and Forza d’Agrò. That’s where you’ll find iconic spots like Bar Vitelli, where Michael asks for Apollonia’s hand, and the Chiesa di San Nicolò (also known as Santa Lucia), the church where the couple gets married.

Indiana Jones

Image: Alex Vasey

Jordan

It may seem too incredible to be real, but many Indiana Jones locations actually exist. Petra, in Jordan, is one of them, playing a starring role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). The exterior of the "Temple of the Sun" was filmed at Al-Khazneh, better known as "the Treasury," which is literally carved into Petra’s sandstone cliffs. And that’s not all: the movie also features scenes filmed across five other countries, including the US, the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

The Sound of Music

Image: Tom Def

Austria

The Sound of Music (1965) was filmed mainly in Salzburg, Austria, where the beautiful landscapes and picturesque buildings provided the backdrop for some of the film’s most memorable scenes. If you visit the European country, you can see places such as the Mirabell Gardens, where Maria and the children sing "Do-Re-Mi," the Nonnberg Abbey, where Maria lives, and the Basilika St. Michael in Mondsee, where the famous wedding scene takes place.

When Harry Met Sally

Image: Stephen Han

New York's Katz's Deli

If someone says, "I’ll have what she’s having," you instantly know the movie. Like most of When Harry Met Sally (1989), that legendary scene was filmed in New York City. But the iconic line was specifically delivered at Katz's Deli, located at 205 East Houston Street. You can still go there today and order a dish of your choice.

The Shining

Image: Peter Thomas

Oregon and England

Although Colorado’s Stanley Hotel inspired Stephen King to write The Shining, it never appears in the movie. The creepy exterior of the Overlook Hotel was actually filmed at Timberline Lodge in Oregon, where you can visit or even spend the night. The inside, however, is all movie magic: the hotel’s interiors were built entirely on sets at Elstree Studios in England, inspired by the Stanley Hotel but not filmed there.

Sex and the City

Image: Santeri

New York City

TV also gets a spot on this list! And when it comes to iconic shows, Sex and the City is impossible to skip. For six seasons, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda took us all over New York City, but nothing beats the front of Carrie’s famous apartment, which you can actually see in the West Village at 66 Perry Street. Even though it’s a private residence, you can still admire it and take a few photos from the same sidewalk where the characters once walked.

The Great Gatsby

Image: Nico Smit

Australia

The 2013 version of The Great Gatsby features magnificent settings, but to see Gatsby’s Mansion in real life, you’ll need to travel far from Long Island. The mansion’s exterior was filmed at St. Patrick’s Seminary (now the International College of Management) in Australia, a grand Gothic-style complex that looks just like a castle. But not all scenes were shot there: several party scenes were also filmed in Sydney’s Centennial Park, a public park open to visitors.