10 Movie Location Sites You Can Visit Part 2

Places to see inspired by famous movies

Every blockbuster movie needs a place to film, and every so often, the scenery becomes an important part of the movie. A good plot transports the viewer to that special time or place.

Whether you are a diehard fan or watch movies to pass the time, sometimes, sitting in the dark at the movie theater, the music, and the scenery makes you wish you could visit that place.

Beautiful vacation spots, fabulous cities, and famous buildings inspired these remarkable filming locations. However, you don’t have to imagine how these places could be since many of them are open to the public.

Once you see them in person, you’ll understand why they were the chosen sets and for our favorite movies. I mentioned some in 10 Movie Location Sites You Can Visit, but there are many more. Here are the next 10 movie locations for your trip.

1. California, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive

Do you remember the scene where Richard Gere picks up Julia Roberts on the streets of Beverly Hills in Pretty Woman? The famous movie that launched Julia Roberts’ career set in Los Angeles shows many iconic places.

Though the movie supposedly portrays the glamorous hotel Beverly Wilshire, it only uses some parts since the interior shots used The Ambassador Hotel, where Robert F. Kennedy was shot in its kitchen on June 5, 1968. They demolished this hotel in 2005, and now it is a school named after Bobby Kennedy.

Pretty Woman also features Rodeo Drive stores, the Cicada Restaurant with the “Slippery little suckers” escargot scene, and Las Palmas Hotel that served as where Vivian’s apartment was supposedly located.

Los Angeles also served as a set for La La Land, where you could see the Griffith Observatory and the Smoke House restaurant, where the characters played the piano.

For more information about these places, check The Beverly Wilshire site, La Cicada Restaurant site, The Smoke House Restaurant site, or The Griffith Observatory site.

2. Harry Potter, Christ Church College, Oxford

As I mentioned in my last article, Alnwick Castle served as a set for Harry Potter films, but it’s the college of Christ Church at Oxford where many inside scenes took place.

The place makes the perfect movie set for the magical school, the wood Great Hall, the sixteenth-century staircase, and the spooky cloisters and quadrangles that appeared in the movies.

Other movies used the same location in their production. Among these are His Dark Materials, The Eternals, The Italian Job, and A Clockwork Orange.

For more information about the Christ Church at Oxford, you can check its visit information site.

3.- Cornwall, Headland Hotel

The legend tells the story of a young boy who discovered a secret witches’ covenant, and they transformed the little boy into a mouse. At least, that is what Roald Dahl’s book The Witches describes.

For the first movie, director Nicolas Roeg chose The classical Headland Hotel in Cornwall, featured as “Hotel Excelsior” in the film, staring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, and Rowan Atkinson.

The Victorian-style hotel, in 1911, was the resting place for Kings Edward VIII and George VI as princes while recuperating from measles and mumps. It also served as a hospital for the RAF During World War II.

For more information about The Headland Hotel, you can visit its site at https://www.headlandhotel.co.uk/

4.- Doune Castle, Scotland

If you ever wonder what Monty Python, Game of Thrones, and The Outlander, have in common with Elizabeth: The Golden Age, besides the armors? Well, it is the Doune Castle selected by their Directors.

The medieval stronghold near Doune, in central Scotland, was originally built in the thirteenth century and rebuilt after the Scottish Wars of Independence by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany.

You can visit the place that served as Monty Python’s Holy Grail castle, Leoch Castle in Outlander, and Winterfell in Game of Thrones. Also, walk through the castle’s wall, the central yard, and the great hall where Eddard Ned Stark received King Robert Baratheon and Lady Sansa Stark’s order for Patyr Balish’s death.

For more information about Doune Castle’s cost and visiting hours, check the Historic Environment of Scotland site.

5.- Skellig Islands, Ireland

Remember the Star Wars Millennium Falcon landing on Temple Island, where Rey walks the stairs to find Luke in The Force Awakens and later returns to train in The Last Jedi?

The Skellig Islands in Ireland are the tall and rocky cliffs where the last Jedi Master trained his apprentices in the power of the Force. Now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, it receives thousands of visitors annually.

But not only did George Lucas choose these islands for their filming site. Also, John Borman’s Excalibur fantasy film based on King Arthur, Ron Howard’s Far & Away, David Lean’s Ryan’s Daughter, and the scene at the cliffs featuring Harry Potter and Dumbledore, the Skellig Islands appear.

For more information about Skellig Islands, you can visit the official site at https://skelligislands.com/.

6. Martha’s Vineyard

Few movies made generations afraid of swimming in the sea, like Jaws, the first blockbuster movie. The peaceful beaches, pier, and the town of Amity Island in New York are no other than the turquoise waters of Massachusetts Martha’s Vineyard.

Director Steven Spielberg selected this place and Sidney Pollack, the Farrelly brothers, for their Jaws, Sabrina, Stuck on You, and over 80 other movies.

Martha’s Vineyard received its name after British explorer Bartholomew Gosnold landed at Cape Cod and named the nearby island after his daughter. It was settled in 1642 and considered part of New York until 1692 when Thomas Mayhew bought the island.

The place had a whaling industry during the 19th century and now has the country’s oldest operating platform carousel. In 1969, Chappaquiddick island became famous for the accident where Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge, and Mary Jo Kopechne died.

Now it is a summer vacation spot where many people from New York have homes and presidents Kennedy, Clinton, and Obama visited for vacations. Also, where Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis sent Venezuelan asylum seekers from the streets of San Antonio in a political stunt against Democrat immigration laws.

For more information about this place and where to stay, eat or visit, check the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of commerce site at https://www.mvy.com/

7. Notting Hill, London

When you hear Notting Hill and movies, the first thing that comes to mind is Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts’s film about a struggling Notting Hill bookstore owner, who meets the world’s best actress when she enters his shop, but he doesn’t recognize her.

With most of the movie filmed in a travel bookshop, Portobello Road Market, and the Rose mead Gardens, we forget this movie is not the only one filmed in the street of colored houses.

Other movies like Emma Stone’s Cruella, Bradley Cooper’s Burnt, Billie Piper’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and Paddington’s movies were also filmed there.

If you travel to London, don’t forget to visit Rosmead Gardens, Portobello Road Market, and maybe stop by the famous Travel Book Shop to buy a souvenir.

For more information about Notting Hill and its surroundings, visit the Portobelo Road webpage, London Gardens Trust Organization, and don’t forget The travel bookshop at 13 Blenheim Crescent, London W11 2EE.

8. Ohio State Reformatory

The book Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King, tells the story of a banker named Andy Dufresne, who is wrongfully sentenced for the murders of his wife and her lover, in the Shawshank State Penitentiary, where he meets Ellis “Red” Redding. Later, the prison warden forces him to help him with a money scheme fraud. This book inspired Frank Darabont’s film.

If you remember the movie, it takes place in a nineteenth-century penitentiary building. The actual place featured in the film is the Ohio State Reformatory, and you can visit the place and see the actual locations used as a movie set.

However, not only Shawshank Redemption used this premise as a location, but also Tango and Cash, Air Force One, and it even appears in the House MD Broken chapter of the 2009 season.

For more information about Ohio State Reformatory, visit the official website at https://www.mrps.org/about.

9. Punxsutawney

It has been almost thirty years since the release of The movie Groundhog Day, and since the first time I saw the movie, I’ve been watching it every year. So, you can imagine how excited I was when I had the chance to visit Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and see all the places featured in the film.

However, to my surprise, the movie’s actual location is in Woodstock, Illinois, about 61 miles northwest of Chicago. Therefore, if you plan to go to the Groundhog Day festival in Punxsutawney and see the famous Phill predict the weather, then you can go to Pennsylvania.

Nevertheless, if you want to visit the movie’s iconic places, you must go to Woodstock, Illinois. There you can visit La Placita restaurant (the Tip-top cafe in the movie), The Woodstock Opera House (Rita’s Hotel), The Royal Victorian Manor (Bill’s Cherry Street Inn), Benton Street at East Judd Street (The old man’s Alley), and Woodstock Town Square with the plaque where Bill Murray step in the ice puddle, Gobblers Knob, and other locations.

For more information about Punxsutawney’s Groundhog Day, go to https://www.groundhog.org/.

For more information about Woodstock Groundhog Day’s activities, go to https://www.woodstockgroundhog.org/, The Woodstock Opera House, or The Royal Victorian Manor.

10.- Tunisia, Hotel Sidi Driss

How would you like to visit Luke Skywalker’s home in Tatooine? Well, you don’t have to travel to a galaxy far away, just to the Sidi Driss hotel in Tunisia.

This is the place where George Lucas filmed his movies. The small hotel in the town of Matmata was almost unknown before Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones hit the movie theaters.

Now you can stay in the Star troglodyte-like hotel and some pictures or videos of Uncle Owen’s house for your social media accounts. Also, escape the big cities and the light pollution to raise your eyes and admire the infinite stars, imagining the Millennial Falcon, Anakin Skywalker’s, or Imperial Starcruiser flying above the sky.

For more information about Hotel Sidi Driss, visit their website at https://hotel-sidi-idriss.com/.

Take Away

Part of the movie experience is to admire their locations, whether they are big cities like Los Angeles, small towns like Punxsutawney, Martha’s Vineyard, Notting Hill, or ancient castles and remote places. We all wish we could visit them and live part of the movie magic.

There is no wonder famous directors chose these places and transported us to faraway planets, magic sorcerers’ schools, dangerous prisons, ancient castles, or romantic places. And now you have the chance to re-live your favorite movies.

It doesn’t matter if you are a child dreaming of Tatooine, a thriller movie fan, or like historical sites. This list will help you find the perfect place for your next movie-inspired vacation.

“A good movie makes the audience feel like they’ve journeyed with the characters.”

— Rich Moore