Film locations to visit: from The White Lotus, Shogun, Yellowstone, Succession
After watching TV shows and movies, travellers are now seeking out the real-life settings of White Lotus 3 in Thailand to The Bear in Chicago. We tell you how to visit and where to stay.
The golden age of streaming, big budgets and lavishly directed hits on both small and big screen has taken directors to some of the world’s most stunning locations in the search for the perfect set. After touring the globe from their living room, many travellers want to experience the real-world version. TV and cinema locations are inspiring a new wave of “set-jetting” destinations to lure travellers. Take a cue from these breathtaking backdrops for your next getaway. Are you ready for your close-up?
1. The White Lotus, Koh Samui
Fans of this glossy satire are well acquainted with the premise of HBO’s global smash, featuring one enticing resort per season as passions, tensions, and story arcs culminate in a mystery corpse and secrets revealed. After Hawaii and Italy, the centre of gravity switched to Thailand for Season 3’s exploration of the dance between a wealthy clientele and those who serve. Within moments of episode one, the star is clearly an Eden-like idyll of yoga pavilions and lush tropical gardens that has the audience asking – where is this paradise? Koh Samui is already famous for the screensaver appeal of its rainforests and clear waters.
The Four Seasons resort in the series brings the luxury chain’s signature perfectionism to the quiet oasis of Laem Yai Bay. The buzzword here is languor. Guests can loll in the same oceanfront villas and poolside cabanas as the characters; have massages on the same platforms with far-reaching views over the Gulf of Thailand; or charter a yacht to explore surrounding Angthong National Marine Park. Enjoy the best bits, and leave the ghastly guests and murder mystery on screen.
2. Shogun, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
FX’s Shogun, the samurai tale we didn’t know we needed, brings the power dynamics of 17th-century Imperial Japan to our screens and swept the Golden Globes this year, winning all its nominations. Those newly dazzled by the extraordinary aesthetic and warrior culture of the rarefied samurai can stroll the walls of Hikone Castle, one of the best preserved fortresses in Japan, which features in the show. Its keep, annexed turrets, and concentric moats crossed by bridges conjure the fabled Edo period, when it was built as the residence of feudal lords (daimyo), the Li clan, in 1607. Its strategic position on Lake Biwa, on the Tokaido route connecting Kyoto to Edo (present-day Tokyo), is now a scenic delight for visitors.
Massive stone walls and tower architecture, with museum displays of armour and weaponry, invoke the spirit of the samurai and the hierarchy of feudal society. It is still surrounded by an exquisitely preserved Genkyu-en Garden of the Edo period, with a pond, islands, bridges, a tea house and yagura (watchtowers) that become a riot of pretty pastels each April as several thousand cherry trees blossom. Fans curious to see the original Shogun 1980s mini- series will also notice the estate, doubling as the fearless warlord Lord Toranaga’s castle.
3. Squid Game, South Korea
The South Korean dystopian survival thriller is one of the strangest foreign language-crossover hits to conquer the west. Viewers got hooked on the life-and-death stakes of a contest that pits desperate players against each other in a childlike maze of games. Netflix has launched the second season, and viewers addicted to the retro futurism of the K-drama aesthetic can enter the arena themselves. The show’s iconic fictional world of “maze corridors”, contestant dormitory and stair sequences were filmed at the Expo Science Park in futuristic metropolis Daejeon. The cutting-edge park is a hi-tech marvel in itself, with more than 20 universities, exhibition halls and interactive displays showcasing space exploration and robotics. Nothing sets the mood like the fantasy structure and observation deck, Hanbit Tower, with panoramic views of the town nicknamed the Silicon Valley of South Korea.
4. The Night Agent, Bangkok
FBI police drama The Night Agent expanded its Washington horizons after a successful first season and took Season 2’s mission to Bangkok, filming key scenes at the luxurious Sindhorn Village retail and dining hub, in the five-star cocoon of the Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel. The hotel is encircled by the urban serenity of massive green spaces such as Lumpini Park, while the glamorous interior looks the part as a backdrop for international intrigue. Memorable cocktails are served within the inky green and gold confines of the Firefly Bar; patrons pop a bubble of the Japanese umeshu apricot plum liqueur, then retreat to the tucked-away Casa Del Habano cigar parlour or listen to live jazz on the terrace. A cantilevered pool on level 9 has legendary views of the city skyline, and the hotel’s world-class chefs, spa treatments and sumptuous decor provide spy-worthy sequestering from the vibrant Bangkok bustle outside.
5. Nosferatu, Romania
Hollywood raised supernatural villain Nosferatu from the dead with this critically acclaimed cinema hit (2024), in which artful period design relied on eerily gothic locations rather than CGI. Eastern Europe’s ominous-looking citadels and bewitchingly dark forests are the perfect setting for the daddy of all predators. The film was shot at 15th-century Gothic-Renaissance Castelul Corvinilor (Corvin Castle) in Hunedoara, southwestern Transylvania, Romania. One of the largest castles in Europe, it once housed the fearsome Vlad the Impaler, who inspired the character Dracula in Bram Stoker’s original 19th-century novel.
One can easily imagine the vampiric count shimmying up the forbidding castle lair. The drawbridge, spires and towers seem to rise from the mists of primeval fairytale. Day-trippers who love the light can also explore Hunedoara County’s hikes, mountain bike trails and thermal baths, and enjoy the scenic beauty of its gorges, waterfalls, lakes, and nearby Poiana Rusca Mountains.
6. Gladiator 2, Malta
Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic Gladiator (2000) had an impact on mainstream culture as colossal as the warriors who once fought to the death for the ancient Roman mob’s entertainment. Scott returned to the tiny island of Malta to film the sequel (2024); its ancient architecture and unspoilt Mediterranean setting makes it an excellent stand-in for Rome.
Key location, 17th-century Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara, was the bastioned fort built by the Knights of St John in the late 1600s, commanding the entrance to the Grand Harbour, where the production reconstructed a life-size replica of the Colosseum for high-octane battle scenes. Travellers can take a harbour cruise from Sliema, or charter a yacht around the waterways to see the historic bastions and fortifications, alongside today’s yacht marinas and shipyards. When exploring the stone fort by foot, visitors walk in the steps of the knights and soldiers who fought under siege until World War II.
7. The Bear, Chicago
TV series The Bear’s depiction of the chaotic daily struggle of chef life, laced with discordant jazz and erotic food shots has won over global fans who hungrily await Season 4’s release this year. Chicago’s big city grit, softened by a Midwestern charm and friendliness, is the backdrop to the dining scene – stripped of foodie pretension, served with dollops of drama. Travellers can dine on their own local Italian beef sandwiches at Mr Beef on 666 North Orleans Street, which inspired the show’s premise and is where the pilot was shot.
The intimidatingly fancy, fictional three-starred establishment helmed by chef Terry (portrayed by Oscar winner Olivia Colman) was filmed in real-life Michelin-starred restaurant Ever in Fulton Market in the West Loop district, where visitors can try tasting menus of delectable, exquisitely plated Osetra caviar and chilled English pea puree.
8. Succession, Norway
The voyeuristic thrill of seeing the mega wealthy at work, play and meltdown is as essential to HBO’s dynastic cult hit Succession as patriarch Logan Roy’s acerbic put-downs. For the showdown episode with fictional Scandi tech mogul, Lukas Matsson in Season 4, a breathtaking location was needed as a billionaire-worthy retreat. The production chose the experimental modernist architecture of the Juvet Landscape Hotel, built by visionary hotelier Knut Slinning and set against the wilderness of rural hamlet Alstad in the Valldal Valley.
The unspoilt forest is a wonderland of birch, aspen, pine and rocky crags, with a spectacular waterfall and the nearby Gudbrandsjuvet river gorge. Individual cabins are set on massive steel rods drilled into rock, and “landscape rooms” have oversized picture windows that offer views of the sky, forest and River Valldola. Guests can stroll along the river, or observe the changing seasons without leaving their cosy luxury cabin.
9. A Dangerous Method, Vienna
This beautifully acted film recreates the dynamic of two towering 19th century figures of modern psychoanalysis, pioneer Sigmund Freud and his student Carl Jung. Onscreen, Actors Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender stroll the Hapsburg magnificence of Freud’s Vienna, debating the human psyche and “talk therapy”. Today’s visitors to Europe’s heritage capital can visit the newly renovated Sigmund Freud Museum at Berggasse 19, the house where Freud lived from 1891–1938 before the rise of Nazism forced him into exile. Frozen in time, the exhibitions showcase his life, work, early methods, even the treatment couch and waiting room of the world’s first therapy patients, who used two separate doors to ensure they never met.
Vienna’s cafes are part of the warp and weft of the city. The production filmed at the real Cafe Sperl, where Freud and Jung would meet for coffee and Sachertorte. They also strolled onscreen in the gardens of the Schloss Belvedere, a Baroque palace open to the public, well worth visiting for its masterpieces by Klimt, Schiele and van Gogh.
10. Yellowstone, Utah and Montana, US
The call to adventure of the American West is a natural for sweeping stories with memorable characters, and Paramount’s five-season, neo-Western TV drama is helmed by Kevin Costner’s patriarch, on sprawling ranches among the magnificently rugged landscapes of Utah and Yellowstone National Park, Montana. Park City, Utah’s Gold Rush-era history and the mountain landscape give it an unbeatable authenticity ideal for the screen.
The thriving hotspot has a year-round culinary scene, open-air concert venues, wellness spas and annual events such as the renowned Sundance Film Festival. Deer Valley Resort is home base for powder travellers each ski season. Thrillingly, the Dutton family ranch so beloved by fans of the saga, is an actual working cattle ranch (with 560sq m homestead) in Darby, Montana. The real-life Chief Joseph Ranch rents out cabins when the crew isn’t shooting the series, but high demand means there are no bookings being taken before 2026.
11. Babylon Berlin, Germany
The underbelly of nocturnal pre-war Berlin is so decadent and colourful that it continues to inspire art a century later, with TV series Babylon Berlin conjuring the glitter, cutting-edge culture and political darkness of this extraordinary time and place. The murder mystery launches its fourth season this year, and visitors seeking Berlin’s boho breeziness can follow in the 1930s protagonists’ footsteps in Alexanderplatz, the square where the series’ police department, “Rote Burg”, is located, a testament to early 1960s socialist city planning.
The two heritage buildings to survive that period’s demolition, Berolinahaus and Alexanderhaus, are a grace note of 1930s modernism that feature in the series. On a city stroll visit another film location: the double-decker Oberbaumbrucke Bridge, spanning Berlin’s River Spree. Movingly, it connects two boroughs, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, which were divided before the Berlin Wall was torn down and freedom was ushered in.
If you love to travel, sign up to our free weekly Travel + Luxury newsletter here.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout