The Coolest Movie Locations in the World You Can Visit

Plenty of the great Italian directors – Antonioni, Rossellini, Tornatore – have turned to Sicily for cinematic inspiration, but no films are more intrinsically linked to the Mediterranean’s largest island than The Godfather trilogy. In the first film, Michael lays low in his family town of Corleone. It’s a really place, near Palermo, but filming was mainly done in Savoca and Forza d’Agrò, near Taormina. They returned to this part of the island to film Robert De Niro’s flashback scenes in the sequel, while Palermo’s Teatro Massimo plays a huge role in the final film. Sicily is also fresh off a new set of iconic appearances on big screen and small, with Taormina, Cefalu and Palermo stealing the show in season two of The White Lotus, while Syracuse and Cefalu feature prominently in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. You’ll see familiar sights throughout our comprehensive eight-day Sicily trip, which visits Palermo, Mount Etna, Cefalu, Taormina, Syracuse and Val di Noto – not bad for just one week in Italy!

This spectacular stone railway viaduct towers above Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan Monument in the rugged hills of the Scottish Highlands. It’s a truly magical spot, so it’s no surprise that the Harry Potter films took full advantage by making it part of the Hogwarts Express route. The viaduct, as well as the surrounding area, features multiple times throughout the franchise, but takes centre stage during the flying card sequence in Chamber of Secrets (2002). Keep an eye out for wizarding mischief as you cross the viaduct on the gorgeous Jacobite steam train. This glorious old locomotive looks right at home in the Scottish countryside, and the train was used throughout the films as the Hogwarts Express itself! You can join us on a Jacobite ride from Fort William to Mallaig on our week-long Rail Trip from the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh. The capital has become quite the popular spot for Hollywood in recent years – see Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and F9 (2021) – but nothing can out-setjet the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

The stunning temple complex, regarded as the largest religious structure in the world – not to mention one of the oldest – is just about as cinematic as a location could get. There’s something special about this place, from the intricate wonder of the Buddhist temple itself to the surrounding ruins of Ta Prohm, which have become eerily overgrown, as Mother Nature reclaims the land for itself. This makes it perfect as a backdrop to a variety of scenes, with two of its most famous film appearances coming from two completely different movies. First you have Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), which brilliantly utilises the temple’s adventure movie aesthetic, and then you have Wong Kar-Wai’s achingly romantic In the Mood For Love (2000), which ends in Angkor Wat with one of the most beautiful scenes in cinema history. You get to visit Angkor Wat at its prettiest on our Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam trip, which includes a stunning sunrise trip to the complex, followed by an e-bike ride around Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom.

Just when you think Hollywood’s location scouts have discovered it all, a new destination emerges that looks like nowhere else on Earth. That’s what happened in the latest James Bond thriller, No Time to Die (2021), which introduced the world to Matera. Few movie locations have made such an instant impact on audiences in recent years, with Matera even stealing the headlines upon the original trailer release back in 2019. The small hilltop town in Italy, carved into the region’s rocky cliff-sides, gets the full gamut of Bond scenarios, from a poignant scene at an old friend’s grave to a spectacular car chase. You can follow in Daniel Craig’s footsteps on our 10-day Seductive Southern Italy tour, which goes from the chaotic streets of Naples to the ultra cinematic Amalfi Coast, before hopping across to the glorious beaches of Polignano a Mare, stopping off en route for a guided tour of Matera.