Film-Inspired Holidays To Take This Year

La La Land

A viewing of La La Land no doubt made everyone want to jump on the first flight to LA. Luckily, if you were so inclined, the film was shot in over 40 locations across Los Angeles, so there’s plenty to see. You can get stuck in traffic along the interchange between the carpool lanes of 105 (Century) and 110 (Harbor) freeways in South LA, visit the restaurant where Sebastian and Mia first meet (where stubborn jazz fan Sebastian gets fired for not playing Christmas songs), or take a walk around the Warner Bros lot at Burbank, where Mia points out from her coffee shop job “the window that Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman looked out in Casablanca”. Then, of course, there’s the iconic spot called Cathy’s Corner in Griffith Park, where Ryan Gosling and Emma Watson perfectly execute their six-minute song-and-dance number, as the sun goes down across LA. And who could forget the Griffith Observatory, where the infamous 1955 Rebel Without A Cause scene was shot – and where Mia and Sebastian kiss in the planetarium. Swoon. There are so many places to see along this route, especially if you’re a die-hard La La Land fan (if that’s the case, head to chop house Jar, where Mia leaves her boyfriend, Greg). Take a two-week trip and get it all done.

Where to go:

The restaurant where Mia and Sebastian meet: SmokeHouse Restaurant, 4420 West Lakeside Drive; visit SmokeHouse1946.com

The road where Mia and Sebastian dance to A Lovely Night: Cathy’s Corner, Griffith Park; visit LAParks.org 

The Warner Bros Studios, where Mia works: 3400 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank; visit WBStudioTour.com

The nightclub where Sebastian introduces Mia to “pure jazz”: The Lighthouse Café, 30 Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach; visit TheLighthouseCafe.net

The restaurant where Mia dumps Greg: Jar, 8225 Beverly Blvd; visit TheJar.com

The Griffith Observatory: 2800 East Observatory Road; visit GriffithObservatory.org 

Seb’s Place, the jazz bar Sebastian opens at the end of the film: The Blind Donkey, 149 Linden Avenue; visit TheBlindDonkey.com 

Call Me By Your Name

Whilst Elio was busy being seduced by Oliver, we were busy being seduced by the beautiful Italian countryside. Best visited in the balmy days of summer to get the full experience, the film was mainly filmed in the city of Crema, Lomardy. Unfortunately, Villa Albergoni, the 17th-century mansion where Elio and his family reside, is just south of Crema, in Moscazzano, and is not open to visitors – so no peaches or plunge pools for us, but a visit to Crema in itself is totally worth it. Visit Piazza del Duomo, where Elio and Oliver ride around on their bikes, or Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where Elio eventually confesses his feelings. If it’s a quick dip you’re after, you can don your swimsuit and head to Laghetto dei Riflessi, where Elio swims with friend Marzia after le discotheque, or head to Fontanile Quarantina, where Elio and Oliver swim after their bike ride.

Where to go:

The town which Elio and Oliver cycle around: Piazza del Duomo, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy

The war memorial where Elio confesses his feelings: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, 00185 Roma RM, Italy

The swim Elio takes with Marzia: Laghetto dei Riflessi, 26010 Ricengo Province of Cremona, Italy

The swim Elio takes with Oliver after their bike ride: Fontanile Quarantina, 26010 Capralba Province of Cremona, Italy

The archaeological dig that Elio and Oliver tag along to with Elio’s father: Grotte di Catullo, Piazza Orti Manara, 4, 25019 Sirmione BS, Italy; visit Musei.Lombardia.Beniculturali.it

Sex and the City

No trip to New York would be complete without seeing the stylish haunts of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. Luckily, there are plenty of tour guides around that’ll be more than happy to show you the sights (for a fee), but if you fancy walking to all your favourite spots yourself, then that’s totally possible – but you’ll need to swap your Manolos for trainers. Re-enact shouting at Big from Carrie’s stoop, try a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery or take a plant to Aiden’s bar. Is this the best TV tour a gal can get?

Where to go:

Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment: 66 Perry St, New York, NY 10014, USA

Where Carrie and Miranda eat pink-frosted cupcakes: Magnolia Bakery, West 11th Street, 401 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014, United States; visit MagnoliaBakery.com

Scout, the bar Steve runs with Aiden: Onieals, 174 grand street, New York, 10013; visit Onieals.com

Where Carrie has her 35th birthday and no-one shows up: Il Cantinori, 32 E 10th St # 1, New York, NY 10003, USA; visit IlCatinori.com

The Russian restaurant where Carrie has her first date with Aleksandr Petrovsky: Russian Samovar, 256 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019, USA; visit RussianSamovar.com

Where Big tells Carrie he’s engaged (and they both fall up the stairs): Eleven Madison Park, 11 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010, USA; visit ElevenMadisonPark.com

The rooftop pool the gang get thrown out of because of Samantha’s sojourn into identity theft: Soho House New York, 29 – 35 9th Ave, New York, NY 10014, USA; visit SohoHouseNY.com

The spot where Carrie faints in her Oscar de la Renta: Metropolitan Opera House, 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, USA; visit MetOpera.org

Where Carrie learns to swing on a trapeze: Trapeze School New York, Pier 40, 353 West St, New York, NY 10; visit NewYork.TrapezeSchool.com

The Holiday

The Holiday is the ultimate Christmas film – and the ultimate in dream house inspo. Unfortunately, you can’t actually home share Iris’s cute cottage like they do in the movie, because it doesn’t exist. The film crew built the exterior of Iris’s cottage in a field next to St James’ church in Shere and the interior scenes where shot at a studio. (Although it is said to be modelled off a home called Honeysuckle Cottage located in Dorking.) But this doesn’t mean you can’t still get The Holiday experience right her in the UK – just head to the quaint town of Shere, where Cameron Diaz’s outside scenes were filmed (as well as some shots from Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason). They also filmed in other picturesque towns as Godalming and Wonersh. And if you’ve got a few hundred pounds to spare, you can explore at Amanda’s sprawling property, located in California.

Where to go:

Where Amanda runs back to the cottage in the snow (into the arms of a weeping Jude Law): Tillingbourne stream bridge, Tillingbourne, GU5 9DG (approx.)

The village in which Iris lives/Amanda stays: Shere village, Guildford, GU5; visit VisitSurrey.com

The shop where Amanda drinks wine from the bottle: Between the Lines candle shop, 76 High St, Godalming GU7 1DU; visit Between.co.uk

Where Amanda and Graham go on their date: Cornwell Manor, Cornwell, Chipping Norton OX7 6TT; visit CornwellManor.com

Amanda’s house: 1883 Orlando Rd, San Marino, CA 91108

The restaurant Arthur and Iris have dinner in: The Grill on the Alley, 9560 Dayton Way, Beverly Hills, CA 90210; visit TheGrill.com

Downton Abbey

Whether you fancy yourself as one of the Crawleys or think you’d be one of their servants, take a visit to their, err, humble abode in Highclere, Hampshire. Highclere Castle acts as home to the main cast, including Lord and Lady Grantham and their hired help. In real life, the castle belongs to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, who are good friends with Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. It’s open to the public for around 70 days of the year, so check their website for details. To visit other Downton hotspots, unfortunately you’ll have to travel all over the UK, but if you’ve got the time and the money, there’s some really lovely places to visit. Bampton doubles up as Downton Village, where you can walk its cobbled streets for a look at Downton Hospital, the Post Office and the Crawley House, or head to the formidable Violet Crawley’s home in Byfleet for a spot of afternoon tea.

Where to go:

Downton Abbey: Highclere Castle, Highclere Park, Highclere, Newbury RG20 9RN; visit HighclereCastle.co.uk

Downton village: Bampton, Oxfordshire OX18

Lady Rosamund’s house: West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe Park, HP14 3AJ; visit NationalTrust.org.uk

Downton Abbey railway station: Horsted Keynes railway station, Haywards Heath RH17 7BB; visit Bluebell-Railway.com

Brancaster Castle, where Lord Sinderby shoots grouse in the 2014 Christmas special: Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, NE66 1NQ; visit AlnwickCastle.com

Dowager Violet’s home: Byfleet Manor, West Byfleet, Surrey, KT14 7RS; visit ByfleetManor.com

Where Edith Crawley meets Michael Gregson and they share their first kiss: Savini at Criterion, 224 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9HP; visit SaviniatCriterion.co.uk

Where Matthew and Mary have their baby, and the infamous crash scene: Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, PA32 8XE; visit Inveraray-Castle.com

Eat Pray Love

Yes, it might be the most cliché one of all, but this film is the true meaning of #HolidayInspiration. The people, the food, the views. And of course, all this stuff actually happened – the Julia Roberts film is based on the real-life autobiography of Elizabeth Gilbert. The premise is that, after getting divorce, Elizabeth spent four months in Italy eating; three months in India praying; and ending her year in Bali, where she fell in love with a Brazilian businessman. And really, you don’t have to give us much more of an excuse to go on an eating holiday. So, go crazy and eat spaghetti with a cheeky twinkle in your eye.

Where to go:

Where Liz orders lunch in Italian: Ristorante Santa Lucia, Largo Febo, 12, 00186 Roma RM, Italy; visit RistoranteSantaLuciaRoma.it

Where Liz eats spaghetti alone: Osteria Dell'antiquario, Piazzetta Di San Simeone, 26/27, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

Where Liz eats ice cream: Il Gelato di San Crispino, Via della Panetteria, 42, 00187 Roma RM, Italy (eat at Piazza Navona, 00186 Roma RM, Italy); visit IlGelatoDiSanCrispino.com

Where Liz sipped on real Italian coffee: Caffe Sant'eustachio, Piazza di Sant'Eustachio, 82, Rome, 00186 Italy

The ashram Liz visits: Ashram Hari Mandir, Bilaspur - Pataudi Rd, Pataudi, Gurugram, Haryana 122503, India

The Bali hotel the real Liz stayed in: Ubud Inn & Spa, Monkey Forest Road, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali 80571; visit UbudInn.com

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón’s cinematic memoir captured the hearts of audiences (and the Academy) this year with its stunning views of Mexico City. These days, the place where Cuarón grew up is one of the capital’s liveliest areas. From the offset, the director’s vision was to get it as close to how it was in his memory as possible. “The marching orders at the beginning was that everything was going to be shot in the place where the actions took place,” he said in one interview. You can visit the outside of the family home where Cleo and Sofia live, which is almost directly opposite to the actual home where Cuarón used to live at number 21 (in fact, there’s now a wall plaque which says ‘Aquí se filmó Roma 2016-7’).

Where to go:

Cleo and Sofia’s home: Tepeji 22, Roma Sur, 06760 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico

The cinema Cleo visits with her boyfriend: Teatro Metropolitan, Av Independencia 90, Colonia Centro, Centro, 06050 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico

The cinema Cleo takes the children to: Auditorio BlackBerry, Insurgentes Sur 453, Hipódromo Condesa, 06170 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico; visit AuditoriaBlackberry.com  

The sandwich sop Cleo and Adela visit on their day off: La Casa del Pavo, Calle de Motolinia 40, Centro Histórico, Centro, 06000 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico; visit LeCasaDelPavo.net

The riot scene: Tlaxpana, Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico

Game of Thrones

The series might be coming to an end this year, but you can live in Westeros forever thanks to its wide breadth of filming locations. From Ireland to Iceland to Croatia, a lot of stunning landscapes were used to make the world in which Game of Thrones exists absolutely breathtaking. And its basically a round-the-world trip: head to Morocco to visit the GoT town of Astapor, or the Grjotagja cave in Iceland to see where Jon and Ygritte had their first romantic frisson. Feel free to shout, “You know nothing Jon Snow!” in every location. 

Where to go:

The narrow passage to The Bloody Gate, where the Stark sisters head to in order to reach their aunt Lysa: Öxarárfoss trail, Þingvellir National Park, southwest Iceland; visit GuideToIceland.is

Beyond the wall: Vatnajökull glacier, Vatnajökull National park, Klapparstígur 25-27, Iceland; visit Vatnajokulsthjodgardur.is

Where the Night’s Watch men trek to reach the Fist of the First Men: Mýrdalsjökull glacier, south Iceland; visit GuideToIceland.is

The road Arya Stark walks after escaping from King's Landing: The Dark Hedges, Bregagh Rd, Stranocum, Ballymoney BT53 8PX; visit DiscoverNorthernIreland.com 

The location of Dragonstone: Causeway Coast, Downhill beach, Cloonavon 66 Portstewart Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1EY

The dilapidated Astapor, home of the Unsullied: Aït Benhaddou, Morocco; visit Whc.Unesco.org

The city of Westeros: Minceta Tower, Ul. Ispod Minčete 9, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia; visit DunbrovnikCity.com

Where Daenerys Targayen and Khal Drogo got married: Azure Window, Gozo, Malta

Mamma Mia

With the success of Mamma Mia and its sequel, it’s no wonder people have been flocking to Greece to belt out some ABBA . Most of the scenes were shot on the island of Skopelos, which is only accessible via a 45-minute boat ride from Skiathos, but it’s totally worth the trip. Greece is a beautiful place to visit regardless of how many hot Meryl Streep movies were filmed there but visiting the locations for the film are a great excuse to get through ABBA’s greatest hits whilst polishing off a bottle of Ouzo.

Where to go:

Where Sophie and Skye break into Lay All Your Love On Me: Kastani Beach, bei Unnamed Rd, Griechenland, Skopelos 370 03, Greece

Where the wedding scenes were shot: Church of Agios Ioannis Sto Kastri, northern Skopelos

The scene for Money Money Money: Agnontas, 370 03, Greece

Breaking Bad

Vince Gilligan’s series first aired on TV over 10 years ago now, but our fascination is still going strong. Luckily, if you ever find yourself in New Mexico, there’s plenty of Breaking Bad locations you can still visit. You can sit on the bench where Mike Ehrmantraut takes his granddaughter or visit the infamous A1A Car Wash which Walter White bought to launder his meth money. You can also head to downtown Albuquerque, which is home to Tuco’s hideout, or head to Twisters, the restaurant that doubled up as the infamous Los Pollos Hermanos. And while Walt and Skyler’s home is also in Albuquerque, we don’t recommend you pay it a visit – the owners of the house got so sick of fans throwing pizza on their roof they built a 6ft fence.

Where to go: 

Tuco’s HQ: Java Joe's Café, 906 Park Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102; visit DowntowJavaJoes.com

Los Pollos Hermanos: Twisters Restaurant, 4275 Isleta Blvd. SW Albuquerque, NM 87105; visit MyTwisters.com

The A1A Car Wash: Mister Car Wash, 9516 Snowheights Cir NE (Menaul & Eubank), Albuquerque, NM 87112

The motel where Wendy the sex worker worked: Crossroads, 1001 Central Ave NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106; visit Facebook.com for more information.

Saul Goodman’s office: Hooligans, 9800 Montgomery Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87111; visit FourSquare.com

The park where Mike takes his granddaughter: La Palomita Park, Albuquerque, NM 87111

Talented Mr Ripley

Despite all the terrible murder and deceit, everything about The Talented Mr Ripley is utterly dreamy, from the cast to the outfits to the locations. Make like Marge and put on some pretty dresses to explore the cities of Rome, Venice and Ischia, a gorgeous volcanic island in the Gulf of Naples, Italy. There are chances to re-enact the scene where Marge raises her suspicions about Dickie’s disappearance at a fabulous café on Venice Square, and get your pipes ready for some jazzy karaoke in an underground bar.

Where to go:

Where Ripley forges his first meeting with Dickie and Marge: Bagno Antonio, 34 Lungo Mare Colombo Cristoforo, Ischia, NA 80077, Italy

‘Mongibello’ Square, where Dickie refuses to return to New York: Piazza dei Martiri, Procida, Italy

Vesuvio nightclub, where Dickie and Tom sing Tu Vuo’ Fa L’Americano: Caffè Latino, Via di Monte Testaccio, 96, 00153 Roma RM, Italy; visit Facebook.com for more information.

The opera house where Tom runs into Marge whilst posing as Dickie: Teatro di San Carlo, Via San Carlo, 98, 80132 Napoli NA, Italy; visit TeatroSanCarlo.it

The café where Marge raises her suspicions about Dickie’s disappearance: Caffè Florian, Piazza San Marco, 57, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy; visit CaffeFlorian.com

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

The film adaptation of Louis de Bernières’ novel was filmed in the book’s authentic setting – the island of Cephalonia (Kefalonia), largest of the Ionian Islands, off the western coast of Greece. As you might have guessed from watching the film, the location is beyond stunning, but film buffs might be disappointed to discover that there’s not much there from the actual film, as much of it was built on elaborate sets that were dismantled soon after filming finished. There are, however, little bits of Cephalonia you can still see, such as the ruined monastery from the opening of the film.

Where to go:

The ‘Feast of St Gerasimos’: Holy Monastery of St. Fanentes, Sami 280 80, Greece

The beach where German officer Captain Weber tries to make friends with the Italians: Myrtos beach, Pylaros, Cephalonia 22860; visit KefalonioIsland.org

The partisan’s hideout, Corelli is taken to meet Mandras: Old Vlachata, Sami 280 80, Greece

The Grand Budapest Hotel

It won’t shock most people to know that many of Wes Anderson’s film locations are not, in fact, real. But some places do exist and are a sight of Wes Anderson perfection. Of course, The Grand Budapest Hotel is the ultimate in kitsch interiors, and while the hotel was a model built in a studio, its exterior was replicated on a real hotel, Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic (while its interior was created in Görlitz Warenhaus, a now-defunct department Store in Görlitz, Germany, which was painted in pink and burnt orange hues). You can, however, visit the intricately decorated Mendl’s confectionary store, which is actually a famous creamery in Dresden.

Where to go:

The Grand Budapest Hotel (exterior inspiration): Grandhotel Pupp, Mírové nám. 2, 360 01 Karlovy Vary, Czechia; visit Pupp.cz

Mendl’s confectionary store: Pfunds Molkerei, Bautzner Str. 79, 01099 Dresden, Germany; visit Pfunds.de

Checkpoint 19, where M. Gustav is imprisoned: at Zwickau Prison in Osterstein Castle, Schlossgrabenweg 1, 08056 Zwickau, Germany (now a nursing home)

The observatory in the mountain chase scene: Sphinx Observatory, Eigergletscher-Jungfraujoch, 3818 Grindelwald, Switzerland; visit Jungfrau.ch

The museum which Deputy Kovacs is chased around: Swinger Museum, Sophienstraße, 01067 Dresden, Germany; visit Der-Dresdner-Zwinger.de