5 Famous Fictional Places You Can Visit in Real Life

For as transportive as a great book or movie can be, disappointment (and even a little sadness) tends to arise from the realization that places like the Shire and Hogwarts aren’t, strictly speaking, real. That doesn’t mean you can’t visit some of these fictional places, however. In some cases, exact replicas have been built, and in others the original filming locations remain intact and open to visitors. Here are five famous fictional places you can see in real life.

Hobbiton – New Zealand 

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit,” begins The Hobbit. When that first sentence was written nearly a century ago, it’s unlikely that J.R.R. Tolkien imagined that Hobbiton would one day be a real place. But it is, thanks to the success of both Tolkien’s books and Peter Jackson’s movies based on them, which were filmed in New Zealand. Today, millions of Lord of the Rings-obsessed fans from across the world flock to this island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean to step foot in the beloved fictional world at the Hobbiton Movie Set. There are several different experiences to choose from, including a few that include a mighty helping of Shire-accurate food — a must for anyone who believes in second breakfast as hobbits famously do.

Downton Abbey – England 

From its comforting melodrama to its endlessly endearing cast of characters, Downton Abbey is known for drawing viewers in to the point of obsession — so much so, in fact, that many have been tempted to head to England and seek out the real Downton Abbey. And while no such home with that name exists, Highclere Castle does. It served as the main filming location for the show, which aired from 2010 to 2015 and has since spawned two movies. 

Situated on 5,000 acres in Hampshire, the Jacobethan home was built in 1679, renovated in the 1840s, and used as a filming location for several high-profile movies and television series prior to Downton Abbey — a list that includes The Secret Garden, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Eyes Wide Shut. Though visitors can’t stay overnight at the castle, they can indeed visit it for tours or book an overnight stay at one of the two lodges on the estate grounds.

The Overlook Hotel – Colorado 

When Stephen King and his wife checked into the Stanley Hotel on October 30, 1974, they likely had no idea their lives were about to change. The acclaimed horror author had already set several books in his native Maine and, looking for a change, decided to head to Estes Park, Colorado. They were the only two guests at the hotel that fateful night, which ended up being as unsettling as you can imagine: “It was like God had put me there to hear that and see those things,” King later wrote. “And by the time I went to bed that night, I had the whole book in my mind.” That book, of course, was The Shining, which takes place at the Overlook Hotel, inspired by the Stanley.

The Stanley, which opened in a landmark Colonial Revival building in 1909, still welcomes guests today, who can take in epic views of the surrounding Rocky Mountains. For fans of horror and ghost stories, though, the hotel offers The Shining Tour and has several “spirited” guest rooms — including room 217, the one King stayed in and which inspired the film adaptation’s (in)famous room 237.

Tatooine – Tunisia 

Depending on where you live, a certain galaxy far, far away isn’t actually too remote. Star Wars enthusiasts are well aware that Luke Skywalker was raised on Tatooine, a desert planet known for having two radiant suns, but what they might not know is that those scenes — and many others in George Lucas’ space-opera franchise — were filmed in Tunisia. It wasn’t just the North African nation’s mainland that served as a key location, either. Djerba, an island just off the coast, is where sequences set at the Mos Eisley cantina and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s home were shot.

Many of the best-known Tunisian locations are from the original film, 1977’s Episode IV: A New Hope, but scenes were shot there across both the original trilogy and the three prequels released between 1999 and 2005. Today, you can take tours of some of the most important filming locations, including one that allows you to stay overnight in Luke’s humble abode in the town of Matmata. 

Dragonstone – Spain 

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, an islet just off the Basque coast of northern Spain, was beautiful long before HBO’s high-fantasy series began filming there, but Game of Thrones certainly made it more of a visitor hot spot. With the location’s striking cliffs, sharp angles, and plenty of stairs, it’s easy to see why it was chosen to stand in for the ancestral seat of House Targaryen. Gaztelugatxe simply looks like it came from a fantasy novel. Getting there isn’t easy, but those who make the trek seem to enjoy it — especially if they make the hike easier by muttering “dracarys” under their breath.