Film & TV Locations — 8 Trips to the Sets Behind Your Favourite Screen Worlds
"Set-jetting" — booking a trip around a film or series you loved — is one of the fastest-growing reasons people travel. The catch is that most on-screen places are real, specific, and walkable, but the films never tell you where they actually are. These itineraries do.
These 8 trips go to the genuine filming locations behind some of the most recognisable screen worlds: Dubrovnik's walls as King's Landing and Seville's Alcázar as the Water Gardens of Dorne in Game of Thrones; Wadi Rum standing in for Mars in The Martian, Arrakis in Dune and the desert of Lawrence of Arabia, with Petra's Treasury from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade next door; Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Casino Royale; the Glenfinnan Viaduct of the Hogwarts Express and Outlander's Highlands around Edinburgh; Savoca and Taormina in Sicily from The Godfather and The White Lotus season two; Gion in Kyoto from Memoirs of a Geisha; and the Paris of Emily in Paris.
Each plan is a real, bookable itinerary — the hotel at the right base, the order to see the sites, and the non-screen reasons each place is worth the flight anyway. You don't need to have seen the show to love the destination, but if you have, you'll recognise the corner you're standing on.
Edinburgh and Scottish Highlands Road Trip
Sicily — Palermo & Mount Etna
Petra and Wadi Rum, Jordan
Paris Weekend — Marais, Louvre & Eiffel
Sevilla & Granada — Moorish Andalusia
Kyoto Temples & Gion — Three-Day Slow Pilgrim
Dubrovnik Old Town — Adriatic Walled City
Lake Como — Bellagio, Varenna, Villa Balbianello
Film & TV Locations — FAQ
What is set-jetting?
Set-jetting is planning a trip around a film or TV series — visiting the real places where it was shot. It surged after shows like Game of Thrones, The White Lotus and Emily in Paris sent viewers searching for the actual filming locations, which are almost always real, accessible destinations rather than studio sets.
Where was Game of Thrones filmed?
Two stops on this list: Dubrovnik's Old Town walls and Lovrijenac fortress played King's Landing, and the Alcázar of Seville in Andalusia was the Water Gardens of Dorne. Both are UNESCO sites that are extraordinary independent of the show.
Is Wadi Rum really where Dune and The Martian were filmed?
Yes. Jordan's Wadi Rum desert stood in for Arrakis in both Dune films, for Mars in The Martian, and decades earlier for the desert of Lawrence of Arabia. Nearby Petra's Treasury façade is the entrance to the Holy Grail temple in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Which Star Wars scenes were shot at Lake Como?
Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como is the lakeside retreat where Anakin and Padmé's romance unfolds in Attack of the Clones. The same villa appears in Casino Royale as the clinic where Bond recovers. It is open to visitors as a Italian National Trust (FAI) property.
Do I need to have watched the shows to enjoy these trips?
No. Every location earns its place as a destination on its own — Kyoto's Gion, Sicily's Etna and Taormina, the Scottish Highlands, Lake Como. The screen connection is a bonus layer, not the only reason to go. Fans get the extra thrill of recognising the exact spot.