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Choosing the right filming locations is as crucial as casting the right actors when it comes to a successful movie. Without a shred of doubt, a location is one of the most pivotal visual enhancements for any movie. Filmmakers often take the decision to shoot a film in a real location so it feels more authentic.
Over the years, Hollywood has produced an array of successful and deeply compelling movies that have had stunning filming locations. These locations are often considered unreal due to their picturesque landscapes and marvelous landmarks with intricate details.
Places like Skiathos in Greece, Savoca in Italy, Petra in Jordan, Matamata in New Zealand, Salzburg in Austria and Ait Ben Haddou in Morocco are some of these mesmerizing filming locations that have been used as the filming locations for movies like Mama Mia!, The Godfather, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Sound of Music, Gladiator and many more.
From Skiathos, Greece to Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco, 12 phenomenal filming locations in the world explored
1) Matamata in New Zealand
Matamata is a town located near the Kaimai Ranges base, in Waikato, New Zealand. The place is well-known for thoroughbred horse breeding and thriving farming. The picture-perfect town is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which includes the adjoining rural areas and also Te Aroha and Morrinsville. As of 2022, the population of the town is just 8700.
A farm named Alexander, situated in Matamata is the filming location for the Hobbiton Movie Set in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson. The farm features more than 44 Hobbit holes, hedges, gardens, the plunging Wairere Falls and the double-arched bridge.
The New Zealand government has left the Hobbit holes as it is, built on the farm as an intriguing tourist attraction. Tourists can also see a "Welcome to Hobbiton" sign on the main road of Matamata town as it has been placed by the government as well.
2) Savoca in Italy
Savoca is an alluring small village, located in the Italian region of Sicily. The village is a part of the Province of Messina. The place is situated approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Messina and approximately 170 kilometres east of Palermo.
The place is decorated with stunning russet-red buildings, cacti tumble down the hillside and visually serene citrus trees. The Savoca village has stood in for the village Corleone in Sicily in the 1972 movie The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Bar Vitelli, a real establishment in Savoca, is the filming location for the highly renowned crime drama movie as the location where Michael Corleone asked the father of Apollonia to meet his daughter. The place is still functioning and is a famous spot for tourists.
3) Salzburg in Austria
Salzburg is the 4th biggest city in Austria with a population of 156,872 as of 2020. The name of the city means "Salt Castle". The picturesque town is located in Iuvavum on the site of the Roman settlement.
The town of Salzburg has become a prime center for the Counter-Reformation in the 17th century, with numerous Baroque churches and monasteries.
The mesmerizing Austrian city oozes with enchanting hillsides, medieval and baroque architectural landmarks, the fast and steady flowing Salzach River and a clifftop fortress.
The mega-hit musical movie, The Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg city for the most part. The city has also been used as a brief location for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The city has also stood as the setting for Stockinger, a well-known Austrian crime-drama series and Der Pass, an Austrian-German crime-action show. 2010's action-thriller Knight & Day also used Salzburg as its filming location for a vast part of the movie. Every year, over 300,000 tourists head to the charming city of Salzburg.
4) Ait Ben Haddou in Morocco
Ait Ben Haddou is a historic and rich ighrem or fortified village, located alongside the caravan artery between Marrakesh and the Sahara in Morocco. The place is often considered a remarkable site, embellished with the architecture of Moroccan earthen clay. Since 1987, the village has also been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The tiny desert village has been the backdrop for an array of notable movies, including 1967's Oedipus Rex, 1982's Marco Polo, 1988's The Last Temptation of Christ, 1990's The Sheltering Sky, 1999's The Mummy, 2000's Gladiator, 2005's Kingdom of Heaven, 2010's Prince of Persia, 2015's Queen of the Desert, 2020's A Life On Our Planet and several others.
Ait Ben Haddou has also been the filming location of one of the biggest TV shows in the world, Game of Thrones. This place remains one of the most captivating tourist spots in Morocco.
5) Skiathos in Greece
Skiathos is a charming tiny Greek island, situated in the north-west of the Aegean Sea. The island is located in the extreme west of the Northern Sporades group and the extreme east of the Pelion peninsula group in Magnesia on the mainland, and the extreme west of Skopelos island.
Some of the most attractive landmarks of Skiathos entail the Old Monastery of Panaghia Ekonistria, the Bourtzi Peninsula, the Church of Panaghia Limnià, the Byzantine Church of Christ, the Papadiamantis House - Museum, the Holy Monastery of Evangelistria, the Church of Tris Ieràrches and the Old Monastery of Panaghia Kechrià.
The island is also home to an array of picture-perfect beaches, entailing Lalaria, Troulos, Limani tou Xerxi, Megali Ammos, Agia Paraskevi and many more. A massive part of 2008's hit musical romantic drama movie, Mamma Mia! used the charismatic island of Skiathos, Greece as its filming location.
In the movie, Meryl Streep is seen running around the alleys of Skiathos Island, while Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper are seen running around the picturesque beaches.
Other movies and TV series that used Skiathos as their filming location include Home Greek Home, Shores of Twilight, The Telemachy and several others.
6) Petra in Jordan
Petra is a wondrous archaeological and historic city in the southern part of Jordan. The city is located near the Jabal Al-Madbah mountain, which is situated in a basin encircled by mountains, shaping Arabah Valley's eastern flank, that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.
The historic city of Petra is best-known for its water conduit system and rock-cut architecture. The city is also called the "Rose City" due to the colour of the stones that carved the city.
UNESCO has recognized the place as a World Heritage Site in 1985. Petra was also chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
Petra has stood as a stunning filming location for several noteworthy and acclaimed movies, entailing Arabian Nights, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Passion in the Desert, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, The Mummy Returns, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Kajraare, Samsara and a few others.
7) Angkor Thom in Cambodia
Angkor Thom, which is situated in today's Cambodia, was the last capital city of the Khmer Empire. The enchanting architectural city was established by King Jayavarman VII in the late 20th century. Bayon, the historic state temple of Jayavarman is located in the centre of the city.
The location is undoubtedly one of the prime tourist attractions in the Southeast parts of Asia. Angkor Thom is built in the Bayon style, which manifests itself in the huge construction scale, in the vast use of laterite in the face-towers, situated at every entrance of Angkor Thom City.
It is also seen in the naga-carrying massive figures which stand by every tower in the city.
Angkor Thom's famous Temple of Ta Prohm is the mystical filming location of the notable 2001 action-adventure movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie.
In the movie, the 800-year-old landmark has stood in as Tomb Raider Temple. The temple is a primary tourist attraction in Angkor Thom, Cambodia.
8) Namib Desert in Namibia
The Namib is a jaw-dropping coastal desert in the Southern part of Africa. Having suffered semi-arid and arid conditions for approximately 55-80 million years, Namib may be the world's oldest desert and the place consists of some of the driest regions in the entire world.
Some of the most noteworthy landmarks of the desert include Bogenfels, Skeleton Coast, Sesriem, Sossusvlei, Solitaire, Spitzkoppe and several others.
The desert is filled with hauntingly alluring russet-red sand dunes, endless stretches of empty roads and sprawling arid landscape, that make the place a perfect setting for any dystopian wasteland.
The highly hair-raising 1979 action-thriller movie, Mad Max, has used the Namib Desert as its filming location. The movie thoroughly utilized the place's never-ending red sand dunes and deserted roads, while filming several intricate sequences.
The Namib has become one of the most exotic tourist spots of recent times.
9) Kualoa Ranch in Hawaiʻi
Kualoa Ranch is a breathtakingly beautiful working cattle and private nature reserve ranch, located in Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, on the windward coast. Situated on Hawaii State Route 83 between Waikane and Kaʻaʻawa, the ranch has a total of three valleys, entailing Kualoa Valley, Kaʻaʻawa Valley and Hakipuʻu Valley.
The place holds a sacred value to the ancient Hawaiians of the 13th - 18th century because Chief Laʻa-mai-kahiki settled in the valley after his visit to Kauaʻi before coming back to Tahiti. The ranch is also the home to the sacred drums of Kaʻahuʻulapunawai, Kapahuʻula, and the sacred Kauakahiakahoʻowaha Hill.
The place is well-known for being the filming location of more than seventy-nine TV series and movies. These include Jurassic Park, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Jurassic World, 50 First Dates, Mighty Joe Young, You, Me and Dupree, Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five-0, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, Windtalkers, Kong: Skull Island, Snatched, Jumanji, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Lost and few others.
10) Dubrovnik in Croatia
Dubrovnik is a fantasy-like city, situated by the Adriatic Sea, in the Southern parts of Dalmatia, Croatia. The city is without a doubt one of the most significant tourist spots in the Mediterranean, which is the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva County and also a seaport.
UNESCO has added Dubrovnik City to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1979, after recognizing its incredible medieval architecture and amazing fortified old town.
The city's history possibly goes back to the seventh century, when the place was known as Ragusa, which was established by Epidaurum refugees.
Dubrovnik has stood in as the filming location for Qarth and King's Landing in the epic HBO series Game of Thrones. 2018's adventure movie Robin Hood has also used the place as its filming location. Other well-known movies that have been shot in Dubrovnik entail The Secret Invasion, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and more.
11) Kyoto in Japan
Kyoto is the captivating capital city of Japan's Kyoto Prefecture. Situated in the populated region of Kansai on Honshu island, Kyoto has shaped a vast part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area alongside Kobe and Osaka. The city holds a total population of approximately 1.46 million as of 2020, making the place the seventh most populous Japanese city.
The city is known as Japan's cultural capital as well. Kyoto consists of more than approximately 2,000 shrines and temples, making it a perfect filming location.
The city is also known for its fascinating array of museums, including the Hosomi Museum, Kyoto Art Center, Koryo Museum of Art, Kyoto International Manga Museum, Kyoto Museum for World Peace, and many more.
The place has formed the filming locations for the 2005 period drama movie, Memoirs of a Geisha. The city has stood as the perfectly fitting location for the story of a young girl-turned-Geisha named Chiyo due to its striking backdrops. Other noteworthy movies, shot in Kyoto, Japan, include Lost in Translation, Harakiri, The Last Samurai, Rashomon and many more.
12) Kenting National Park in Taiwan
Kenting National Park is a spectacular national park, situated on the Hengchun Peninsula of Pingtung County in Taiwan. The park covers townships, including Hengchun,Manzhou, and Checheng. The place has been established in 1984. It is also the southernmost and oldest national park in Taiwan, which is located on the main island.
The national park is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Taiwan. The park is best known for having alluringly beautiful colliding mountains, limestone caves, vibrant coral cliffs and serene sandy beaches.
The place is also known for the Eluanbi Lighthouse and the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium.
A crucial part of the beloved 2012 movie Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee, was lensed inside the national park. Interestingly, the park is not far away from Lee's place of birth. Another well-known movie, 2008's Cape No. 7, used the place as its filming location.
Some other ureal filming locations in the world include Gourdon in France (Les Miserables), Skellig Michael in Ireland (Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi), The Grand Canyon in the United States (Thelma and Louise), Havana in Cuba (Our Man in Havana), Banaue Rice Terraces in Philippines (The Avengers – Infinity War), Chatsworth House in United Kingdom (Pride and Prejudice) and several others.
