The Secrets Towns Where Your Favorite Movies Took Place

#20. Mystic

The village Mystic in Connecticut is a well-known place for tourist and the ones who are fans of the American actress Julia Roberts. As you can imagine, the small village is the home of the Mystic Pizza which inspired the f1988 film with the same name. The actress rose to fame after the release of the movie.

Going to Mystic is like traveling in time with its ice cream parlors and its bakeries along the shoreline. Also, in 1997 the famous director Steven Spielberg used this lovely location to shot some scenes of his film Amistad. In fact, the scenes were filmed at the Mystic Seaport, the same place that used FedEx to shot one commercial.

#19. Forks

If you were a fan of the Twilight film series, you probably remember the intense romance between Kristen Stewart’s character, Bella Swan, and Robert Pattinson’s, Edward Cullen. The romance took place in the coldest city of Forks that actually exists! Located in Washington, the city was chosen by Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight books.

The city became famous after the release of the first books and nowadays, tourists are allowed to visit Swan and Cullen residences, also there are guided tours that show the most iconic places of the film. If you go to Forks, don’t leave without visiting the Twilight Store. In addition, one week in September, the one of Bella Swan’s birthday, it celebrates the “Forever Twilight In Forks Festival”.

#18. Covington

Located in Newton County, Georgia, the city of Covington has been the place of many TV shows and films, like the film Selma or The Odd Life Of Timothy Green. But Covington is mostly known for being the home of the TV series The Vampire Diaries. Although Mystic Falls doesn’t exist in real life, you can travel to Covington and feel like you are in the TV series.

In the city, there are many options for visitors that want to be closer to their favorite characters from the series, like the “Vampire Stalkers Mystic Falls Tours”, where you can every secret behind the scene, like where is the favorite place of actor Ian Somerhalder to have a banana pudding ice cream or you can visit where the masquerade ball took place.

#17. Castle Ward

Do you want to visit the home of Ned Stark and their children from the HBO series Games Of Thrones? If you were a Stark supporter, you can’t miss the opportunity to visit Castle Ward in Northern Ireland. Every scene of Winterfell was shot in the castle, even the first episode where Brandon was pushed off by the window.

Castle Ward is open to the public and it has a huge landscape garden of 820 acres to visit. The producers of GOT had to find many places around the world to recreate the scenes from the books, like the place where Daenerys and Khal Drogo were married that actually took place in Azure Window in Malta.

#16. Mountain Lake Lodge

If you want to have the time of your life, don’t doubt going to Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia where you can stay at the same place that Baby Houseman lived with her family and feel the atmosphere of the ‘80s film Dirty Dancing, starred by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

The hotel offers a whole Dirty Dancing-weekend-pack for visitors, where you can see the gazebo, take dance lessons, party at Mary’s Barn among other activities. Of course, you will be able to visit the gym where Baby and Johny practiced their incredible routine.

#15. Griffith Observatory

We can say that the city of Los Angeles has been the inspiration for many TV shows, films and also for writers, actors and directors that had lived in the city. Definitely, Los Angeles is the city of Hollywood. One place that has become an international emblem of the city is without a doubt the Griffith Observatory.

Many films took place in the observatory, like Back To The Future, Friends With Benefits and La La Land. Nowadays, it’s not allowed to film inside the observatory but La La Land’s producers recreated the inside of it very carefully. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the observatory and feel part of your favorite movies.

#14. San Fernando Valley

Another great location to visit in Los Angeles is definitely the San Fernando Valley, also known as “Valley Of Stars”. For example, the events of the TV series Parks And Recreation starred Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones and Paul Schneider happened in the valley and some parts in Pasadena.

Many famous stars settled in the valley, like Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Steve Allen and Lucille Ball. There are some great star museums to visit and the best places to go shopping and dining. Don’t miss the opportunity to feel like a real star and visit the Warner Bros. Studio, CBS Studio and Walt Disney Company.

#13. Centralia

Have you ever played the video game Silent Hill? Although it doesn’t have any relation to Centralia in Pennsylvania, its creator Roger Avary used the isolated city for his inspiration. The upsetting town of the video game is almost the same as the city of Centralia. Let’s see the story of the real-life city.

In 1962 started a coal mine fire that never has stopped until these days. Local people were forced to move because the smoke of the fire, although some residents wanted to stay in Centralia. Nowadays, all the routes are closed and people are not allowed to stay there as the ground is weak and it could be open any time.

#12. Matamata

If you are a fan of the Lord Of The Rings films series, you need to visit the Hobbit town or A.K.A Matamata located in New Zealand’s North Island. As you can imagine, the town was the location of Peter Jackson’s films and it was incredibly recreated after the release of the first movie.

A sign that says “Welcome To Hobbiton” will make you feel that you are in the film. Local guided tours will give all the magic secrets of the town. Also, you can get a drink at the Green Dragon Inn and have a hobbit banquet. Besides the magical town, you can visit other Lord Of The Rings’ locations like Mordor in Tongariro National Park, The Woods in Wellington and Edoras at Mount Sunday.

#11. Washington Depot

Fans of the TV series Gilmore Girls could be shocked by finding out that Stars Hollow is not real but the small town of Connecticut, Washington Depot could be the most similar place on earth to ti. Gilmore Girls’ writer, Amy Sherman-Palladino, used the city for her inspiration of Stars Hollow after a trip to the city and the Mayflower Inn with her husband.

In Washington Depot you can find places like the Independence Inn, the workplace of Lorelai Gilmore or the famous gazebo. In 2016, the Gilmore Girl fan festival took place in the town to celebrate the Netflix revival.

#10. Portland

Located in Oregon, Portland is one of the largest and most populous cities of the state. As you can imagine, the city is the home of the TV series Portlandia starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. Nowadays, Portland is a city full of art, culture, beautiful landscape and activities.

For example, there are great places to visit in the city by bike and see the line outside of Fisherman’s Porch or the Women and Women First bookstore. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit this colorful and fun city.

#9. Angel Falls

Raise your hand if you haven’t cried with Pixar’s film Up. You won’t believe that Paradise Falls actually exists and they are located in Venezuela. The Angel Falls are considered one of the most beautiful landscapes that exist on earth and is nowadays a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Up’s producers spend many months to study the whole structure of the falls to recreate them perfectly. In fact, many members of the team were sent to Venezuela to explore them from different angles. Although, going to the falls is quite complicated as they are located in an isolated island but if you wanna go you can get a plane to Canaima and then a canoe to a base camp at the bottom of the falls.

#8. Charleston

Charleston is located in South Carolina and is the oldest and largest city in the state. If you are a fan of actor Ryan Gosling, you can’t miss the opportunity to visit this lovely city. Why? Charleston was the place where our most favorite scenes of the Noteebok took place. If you visit the town is full of photos of the movie and signs where the most important events of it took place.

Do you want to feed swans at the Cypress Gardens or dance on King Street? Although those activities would be without Gosling, the city is still lovely and unique. In fact, there is a Notebook-theme hotel package and you can have the most romantic weekend of your life!

#7. Astoria

Located in Oregon, Astoria is known for being a port city and for its incredible beach at Ecola State Park’s Cannon Beach. Also, the city was the place where the 1985 film The Goonies was filmed. If you want to you can visit the homes of Mickey and his friends, like Mickey’s house is on 38th Street, close to Data’s home and the County Jail.

Also, Free Willy 1 and 2, The Ring 2, Into The Wild and Green Room were filmed in Astoria. Nowadays, there is a whole museum dedicated to films that were filmed in the city. Keep on reading the last 6 vacation spots from your fav movies!

#6. The Field Of Dreams

Although The Field Of Dreams is a special place create for the movie of the same name starred by Kevin Cosner, it is one of the most-visited places in Iowa. Universal Pictures studios built the baseball diamond over two private farms in 1989. After the movie was completed, the Lansing family preserved their portion of the baseball field and allowed visitors to take a photo there and buy a souvenir.

Nowadays, the site has become an important place in the pop culture and families that lived there decided to leave. Many music shows, baseball games and special concerts take place on The Field Of Dreams. The site receives more than 100,00 visitors per year.

#5. Blairstown

It might look like a small and quiet township in New Jersey but Blairstown is one of the creepiest cities of the United States. Do you remember the serial killer with a ski mask, Jason? If you were born in the ‘90s, perhaps he was the reason of your nightmares. As you can imagine, Friday The 13th was shot in Blairstown.

The Camp Crystal Lake actually took place in the Boy Scout camp No-B-Bo-Sco close to Hardwick, also Blairstown Diner is where Steve had dinner while everyone was being killed in the camp. Believe it or not, the place receives many visits per year and people love to camp there.

#4. Alnwick Castle

If you are a complete fan of the Harry Potter films and books series, first you need to travel to The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Orlando but if you are looking for a true fan experience, you will have to travel to Alnwick Castle in Northumberland in England.

Alnwick Castle is famous for being one of the most-used locations to shot the Harry Potter films. We all remember the first flying lesson of the young wizard and other scenes from the films. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the University Of Oxford that was also the inspiration of the Great Hall.

#3. Conanicut Island

Located in Rhode Island, the Conanicut Island is the second-largest island of the state. Nowadays is not a very touristic destination but for the fans of the director Wes Anderson, this a must-visit place. The lovely Moonrise Kingdom was actually filmed on the island. Do you remember the dessert beach where the two kids camped?

Most of the locations of the films were close to the Conanicut Island Light and the Fort Wetherill and the affluent Newport. Also, pop-singer Taylor Swift has her summer home in Rhode Island. Take a chance and visit this magical place that inspired Wes Anderson.

#2. Burnaby Village Museum

There is no doubt that Christmas’s movies are one of the best genres of all time. Perhaps you remember the film Christmas In Evergreen, we don’t want to disappoint you but the Evergreen in Vermont doesn’t exist in real life but you can actually visit the same city called The Burnaby Village Museum in British Columbia, Canada.

The heritage village has 31 full-scale buildings, general stores and places where you can have dinner and have a special moment. Also, Christmas Cookies was filmed in the fictional town. For sure, a visit you won’t regret!

#1. Five Hundred Acre Wood

Created in 1926 by A.A. Milne, the tender bear Winnie-The-Pooh was part of many childhoods of different generations. The Hundred Acre Wood was Pooh and his friends’ home but in real life, the woods don’t exist. Instead of the Hundred Acre Wood, Milne used as his inspiration the Five Hundred Acre Wood located in England.

According to the author, when his son Christopher Robin was a little boy he loved to explore the woods near their home. In the books, a little boy always joined the bear and his friends. Nowadays, the Five Hundred Acre Wood is still a woodsy oasis full of peace and calm. If you want to visit Poo’s home, you need to go to Ashdown Forest in England.