12 Movie Sets You Can Actually Visit

What happens to movie sets after filming is complete? While many sets are built on studio lots and unassembled when filming concludes, others are built on-location at sites around the world. In fact, studios hire location scouts to find places around the world to film movies. After the movies are released, these locales become meccas to fans of different movie franchises, who make pilgrimages to these filming locations. Even if you aren’t huge fans of these films, it’s still pretty interesting to check out these movie sets if you’re travelling to areas near them.

1. Firehouse from “Ghostbusters”

Located in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, the old New York Fire Department station is put to good use by Ghostbusters, in the original, sequel, and reboot of the comedic horror story. The historic firehouse originally opened in 1903 but served as headquarters for both Ghostbusters casts. This filming location has also been used in the 2005 movie Hitch and the popular NBC sitcom Seinfeld. Ghostbusters fans can take a quick subway ride to the Hook and Ladder Company 8 at 14 North Moore Street.

2. Port Royale from “Pirates of the Caribbean”

While parts of the 2003 film set have fallen into disrepair, fans of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise can still head to Wallilabou Anchorage, St. Vincent to Port Royale (or what remains of it). Sure, Johnny Depp has long since forgotten about the Caribbean locale but that doesn’t make the swashbuckling fun of the movies any less lifelike on this sandy film set. Don’t forget to pack your sunscreen before heading to St. Vincent to visit the set of this beloved Disney film franchise.

3. Overlook Hotel from “The Shining”

The bone-chilling horror directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel by Stephen King, used the exteriors of the Timberline Lodge located on Mt. Hood in Oregon. While all the interior scenes from The Shining were filmed at Elstree Studios in London, England, the Timberline Lodge was used for the exterior shots of the possessed property. At 5,960 feet above sea level, horror fans and skiers alike can enjoy the mountainous beauty of The Shining’s exterior set today.

4. Hobbiton from the “Lord of the Ring” and “Hobbit” sagas

Fans of the Peter Jackson films need only to save up for some vacation days so they can enjoy the journey all the way to Matamata, New Zealand. Once there, individuals find themselves lost in the imaginary world Jackson created to use in his retelling of the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien books. A variety of tour options are available to explore the Hobbiton, from the Shire to glowworm caves.

5. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

The titular location for this Wes Anderson film was actually a department store, not a hotel. The director filmed the movie at the Görlitz Department Store in Germany. The department store opened in September 1913 but closed its doors in 2010. While there were plans to restore the historic Art Noveau building to its former glory, the project cost too much. Instead, Anderson discovered the site and choose it as the setting for his 2014 film.

6. Tatooine from “Star Wars: A New Hope”

Set in the deserts of Tunisia, Tatooine is a desolate planet of galaxy’s Outer Rim Territories. The audience’s introduction to Jedi master Luke Skywalker takes place on Tatooine in the 1977 film from director and writer George Lucas. Star Wars fans can travel to Tunisia and visit 20 different buildings, spread over 10,000 square meters of land used in five of the seven films. Many consider the trip to Tunisia a sort of spiritual journey for fans of the sci-fi saga.

7. The Cafe from “Amelie”

The Café des 2 Moulins located in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris has been a part of the city’s rich culture since the beginning of the 20th Century. While the cafe didn’t use its current name (which translates to Two Windmills Cafe) until the 1950s, it didn’t gain international popularity until the 2001 movie Amelie was released. The titular character of the film works at the cafe and now attracts visitors from around the world.

8. The Town of Sandford from “Hot Fuzz”

A quaint city southwest of London, Wells, Somerset served as Sandford in the 2007 police comedy Hot Fuzz. As anyone who has seen the movie knows, the town is basically a character in this film directed by Edgar Wright. The smallest city in all of England, moviegoers became familiar with Wells and its Market Place, theaters, and back alleys. Today, tourists can take a tour of the various filming locations used in Hot Fuzz.

9. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter films

At the center of the Harry Potter universe is a school of magic, wonder, and more than a little danger. While you can’t actually learn spells or charms at the filming location for Hogwarts, fans can visit Christ Church College at Oxford University. Built over five centuries ago, Christ Church College receives 350,000 visitors every year solely because of its role in the Harry Potter movies. From the main entryway staircase to the Bodleian Library, students from every Hogwarts house will enjoy visiting this British filming location.

10. The Old West Town from “The Man With No Name” Trilogy

Fans of Spaghetti westerns know every line of The Man With No Name Trilogy. Directed by Sergio Leone, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, and Once Upon A Time in the West are classic films that defined their genre. Leone built the Western frontier he used in these films in the middle of the desert near Almeria, Spain. Fort Bravo, also known as Texas Hollywood, includes churches, a saloon, and a public square.

11. The Neighborhood from “Edward Scissorhands”

When Edward Scissorhands is discovered shut away in a creepy mansion all alone, suburban cosmetic saleslady Peg takes the gentle figure home with her. Peg and her family live in a neighborhood filled with brightly colored homes and shrubbery begging to be pruned into fantastical shapes. This neighborhood is Tinsmith Circle in Lutz, Florida. People actually live in this quiet hamlet so visitors should be careful not to trespass on private property when touring the locale.

12. Shawshank Prison from “The Shawshank Redemption”

While The Shawshank Redemption was a box office failure, the 1994 film has become incredibly popular since its release over 23 years ago. While Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two life sentences in a Maine correctional facility, director Frank Darabont shot the film at Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. The town also offers a tour called the Shawshank Trails so tourists can see other locations used in the film.