Where was The Godfather Part II filmed? All filming locations explored

The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II. The film, originally released in the United States in December 1974, has remained a cult-classic franchise installment for many years now. It serves as both a prequel and a sequel to The Godfather (1972).

The film follows a dual timeline, tracing the stories of Michael Corleone and his father Vito Corleone parallely. Vito's story focuses mainly on the crime family's beginning and rise, while Michael's story revolves around the fall of the family enterprise. The film won an Academy Award for its storyline as well.

The Godfather Part II was mostly filmed on location instead of sets. However, many of the actual locations differ from their names and labels in the story. Let us delve into a few of these.

Exploring all the major filming locations for The Godfather Part II

Corleone Compound: Kaiser Estate in Lake Tahoe, California

A still from the trailer for The Godfather Part II (via Paramount Pictures / YouTube)

The film starts with Michael taking over the Corleone family business. One of the first scenes is that of him attending his son's communion party. This took place on an estate in Lake Tahoe, which was the actual location where the shoot occurred as well. Lake Tahoe is located on the California and Nevada border near the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Kaiser Estate was used for the filming, and while some elements were added to the scene, the estate house itself was incorporated in the film.

The Town of Corleone: Forza d'Agrò in Sicily, Italy

One of the major locations in the film is the town of Corleone, where Vito rose to power in his story. He was forced to flee the city after the local mafioso Don Cicco killed his family. After establishing his own crime ring, Vito returned to his ancestral town to seek revenge on those who had wronged him.

The filming for these scenes took place on location in Sicily, at the hilltop town of Forza d'Agrò. The town was used as a backdrop to create the Corleone family home. The location still remains a popular one for film buffs on an Italian vacation to Sicily.

Little Italy: East Village in New York City, New York

The cast and crew of The Godfather Part II transformed the streets of New York City's East Village into an authentic depiction of 1917 Little Italy for filming. Many locations and streets were used for this purpose, including a bar named 7B Horseshoe Bar. The now-iconic baptism scene was also shot in the East Village at The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.

Cuba: Santo Domingo in The Dominican Republic

The characters Michael and Roth made a business trip to Cuba during the course of the film. All the scenes that depicted Cuba were actually shot in Santo Domingo, which is the capital city of the Dominican Republic. This shoot took place over multiple locations in the city.

Full list of filming locations for minor scenes in The Godfather Part II

Dominican Republic

The city of Santo Domingo (via Pixabay Creative Commons)

El Embajador Hotel in Santo Domingo: a hotel terrace used by the mafia for a deal
Calle Duarte in Santo Domingo: the location where a rebel bomb blast occurs
Palacio Nacional in Santo Domingo: the location of the New Years party
Avenida Duarte in Santo Domingo
Avenida Mella in Santo Domingo
Hospital Padre Billini in Santo Domingo: scene of the hospital execution
Calle Hostos in Santo Domingo
Parque Independencia in Santo Domingo
Club Náutico de Santo Domingo in Andrés, Santo Domingo Este: the filming location for the nautical club
Teatro de Agua y Luz in Santo Domingo: the location of the Cuban cabaret in the film
Biblioteca Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña in Santo Domingo: used as the exterior for the United States Embassy
Parque Independencia in Santo Domingo: the location where the Corleone brothers meet to share a drink

Italy

Sparagogna Train Station in Regalbuto, Sicily: used as the train station for the town of Corleone
Vecchia Pozzillo in Acireale, Sicily: filming of Don Ciccio's villa
Riva Nazario Sauro in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia: a fish market that has been used to film the Ellis Island immigrant station in the film
Vecchia Pozzillo in Acireale, Sicily

The United States

A still of Greenwich Village, New York (via Pixabay Creative Commons)

538 E. 6th Street in Manhattan, New York City: filming of the Fanucci Residence
Las Vegas in Nevada
Vazac's Bar, 108 Avenue B in East Village, Manhattan
Greenwich Village in Manhattan, New York City
2045 N. Hibiscus Drive in North Miami, Florida: the location for the Hyman Roth residence
Tompkins Square Park in New York City
401 S Christopher Columbus Blvd in Philadelphia: used to film a cargo scene

Also read: Where is The Diplomat season 2 filmed? All shooting locations explored

Audiences can watch The Godfather Part II streaming online via platforms like Paramount+.

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee