Film Tourism: How to Plan a Trip Around Filming Locations

Film tourism means planning travel around places seen on screen: the castle from a fantasy series, the hotel from a television drama, the hillside village from a favorite film. It has picked up a nickname too, set-jetting. The trip works best when the screen is the starting point and the destination is the real attraction, because many locations look different in person and some are not open to visitors at all.

Why screen locations pull people in

Watching a story unfold in a place creates a kind of familiarity before you ever arrive. Fans want to stand where a scene happened, compare the view and see what the camera left out. A few well-known examples show the range:

• The Hobbiton set near Matamata in New Zealand, kept as a visitor attraction after filming wrapped.
• Dubrovnik's old town in Croatia, which stood in for King's Landing in Game of Thrones.
• Coastal roads and countryside in Northern Ireland, used throughout the same series.
• Taormina in Sicily, where the second season of The White Lotus was filmed.

In Taormina's case, the hotel and coastline are only the surface; our reflections on Taormina's art, architecture and local identity show how many older layers the town holds.

How to find real filming locations

1. Check the end credits. Thanks to regional film offices and towns often appear there.
2. Look up film commissions and tourism boards. Many publish location guides or maps for productions shot in their area.
3. Read behind-the-scenes material, such as cast interviews and official production notes.
4. Separate sets from locations. Interiors are often built on studio stages; only the exteriors exist in the real place.
5. Watch for composite places. One town on screen may be stitched together from several real ones, sometimes far apart.

Check access before you book

A real location is not necessarily a public one. Some are private homes or estates, some are working farms, and some sit inside protected landscapes with limited entry. Before building a route around them, confirm:

• whether the site is open to visitors, and on which days
• whether entry needs a timed ticket or a guided tour
• whether drones, tripods or commercial photography are allowed
• whether there is parking or public transportation, or only a narrow lane

Plan a route that works without the film

A trip built only from scenes can feel like a checklist. Use the filming spots as anchors and fill the days with what the region does well: local food, museums, walks and markets. Group locations by area so you are not crossing a country for a two-minute shot, and leave time for places nobody filmed.

Timing your visit

Interest in a place usually peaks soon after a release, which is when crowds are thickest. Traveling outside the main vacation season, early in the morning or on weekdays makes for better photos and a calmer stay. If a production happens to be filming while you are there, expect closures and keep well clear of the set.

Visiting responsibly

• People live and work in these places. Keep noise down in residential streets.
• Do not trespass for a photo or recreate scenes in ways that block roads or paths.
• Spend locally; cafés, guides and shops in small towns benefit most.
• Follow the rules at fragile natural sites, even where nobody is enforcing them.

Getting more from the trip

Rewatch the relevant episodes before leaving and save screenshots of key scenes; comparing frames on site is half the fun. On longer itineraries, travel perks can ease the logistics, and our article on why elite hotel and airline memberships matter covers how frequent travelers use them. If you are still choosing which films to build a trip around, the flexible viewing described in the advantages of IPTV for on-demand entertainment lovers makes a pre-trip rewatch easy.

Questions about film tourism

What is set-jetting?

Set-jetting is an informal name for traveling to places because they appeared in films or television series. It describes the same idea as film tourism.

Can I visit studio sets?

Some studios run tours of sets and backlots, while others are closed to the public. Official tours are the only reliable way in.

Is film tourism good for destinations?

It can bring visitors and income, but sudden crowds can strain small places. Visiting off-season and spending with local businesses helps keep the effect positive.