Great escapes: Your ultimate isolation entertainment itinerary

With international travel off the cards for the immediate future you can still escape boredom — and explore the rest of the world remotely — with these classic and new films, television shows, podcasts and books.

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Despite not being able to travel further than the backyard, we can still expand our horizons without leaving the sofa.

From a spin around Rome on a scooter, Audrey Hepburn-style, to a beach adventure in Thailand like Leonardo DiCaprio, or a trip to Corfu with the Durrells, here’s how to plot your great escape with our pick of movies, TV shows, books, audiobooks and podcasts.

MOVIES

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS The murder part notwithstanding, get on board for the most glamorous train trip through Europe, whether you catch the Albert Finney, Kenneth Branagh or Alfred Molina version.

Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in Murder On the Orient Express.

THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY Jude Law in white trunks is the best advert for Italy’s Ischia we’ve ever seen.

CRAZY RICH ASIANS Live the high-life, virtually, as part of the Singapore rich list.

ROMAN HOLIDAY Who wouldn’t want to see Rome on a scooter with Gregory Peck?

INTO THE WILD This moving true story is for everyone who ever fantasised about packing it all in and escaping to Alaska.

Gregory Peck with Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday.

Emile Hirsch in Into The Wild.

A ROOM WITH A VIEW An oldie, but one of the most atmospheric depictions of Florence ever made. Don’t bring your guide book.

MAMMA MIA! You don’t need a wedding invite to head to the Greek island of Skopelos – or for Mamma Mia 2, Croatia, masquerading as Greece.

EASY RIDER Join Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on the ultimate road trip through America’s south.

THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT Glam it up for the best-ever Aussie road trip across the outback.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Journey to Paris and back in time in this quirky Woody Allen movie.

Explore Paris with Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams in Midnight In Paris.

IN BRUGES This hitman comedy doubles as a high-speed tour of the Belgian city.

THE DARJEELING Limited Take a trip across India in this chaotic Wes Anderson comedy.

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH Take your pick of James Bond movies for a tour of the world’s most glamorous locations, but for a thrilling boat ride down the Thames in London, pick Pierce Brosnan.

HARRY POTTER And for more magical trips around Britain, catch the train to Hogwarts which in real life is the Jacobite steam train in Scotland.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Spend a summer in Italy with this recent Oscar-winning movie, or similarly 1996’s Stealing Beauty with Liv Tyler.

Escape to Italy in Call Me By Your Name.

LOVE WEDDING REPEAT Can’t fly to Rome? The spectacular opening scene of this engaging new Netflix rom-com is the next best thing to a window seat.

WITHNAIL AND I And if you want to go on holiday to the English countryside by mistake, download Richard E. Grant’s cult comedy.

BOOKS

SHANTARAM For a wild ride through India and beyond, read Gregory David Roberts’ cult novel, which has also been turned into a TV series starring Charlie Hunnam.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA That world might be gone, but Arthur Golden’s smash-hit novel will transport you to a Japan of cherry blossom and tea ceremonies.

DOWN UNDER and NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND Bill Bryson’s funny and endearing travel guides to Australia and the UK make you feel as if you were on the road with him.

EAT PRAY LOVE Run away from it all, with Elizabeth Gilbert’s popular self-discovery account of her journey to Italy, India and Bali.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

THE BEACH Aside from all the bloodshed, Alex Garland’s thriller set in Thailand — and movie with Leonardo DiCaprio — will get you longing for the blue waters of Koh Phi Phi.

OUT OF AFRICA You’ll be wishing you had a farm in Africa too in Karen Blixen’s memoir and haunting movie starring Meryl Streep.

THE DA VINCI CODE Dan Brown’s blockbuster takes you on a breakneck journey from France to Britain, faster than a Contiki tour. If you fancy more, follow-up with Angels and Demons for Rome and Inferno for Florence and Venice.

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED Before Downton Abbey, there was Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, which transports you into an enchanting pre-war England. The 1981 TV series is still the best.

PODCASTS

WILD IDEAS WORTH LIVING Listen to people who had a wild idea and made it happen, with Shelby Stranger.

THE TRAVEL DIARIES Go along for the ride with Holly Rubenstein as she chats to guests about their travel experiences.

WOMEN WHO TRAVEL Immerse yourself in all things travel with the editors of Conde Nast Traveller.

WANDER WOMAN Head off the beaten track with Phoebe Smith.

THE TRAIL LESS TRAVELLED Visit remote locations and get to know the locals with Mandela van Eeden.

TV SHOWS

THE DURRELLS Feel the heat of Corfu in this series around the true story of Lawrence and Gerald Durrell’s family’s adventures.

The Durrells take over the island of Corfu.

KILLING EVE Aside from all the blood, this hit series still makes you want to go to Paris.

THE TRIP Take a gourmet tour of the UK, Italy, Spain and Greece with funny men Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

TRAVEL MAN Laugh a lot with British comedian Richard Ayoade’s mini-city-guides.

OZARK Get lost in the remote American Ozarks with Jason Bateman in this thriller series.

AN IDIOT ABROADFor a guide on how not to travel, tune in to Ricky Gervais’ sidekick Karl Pilkington’s entertaining alternative series.

OUTLANDERTake a wild and thrilling journey to the Scottish Highlands in this hit TV series.

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan steam up the Scottish Highlands in Outlander.

LONG WAY ROUND Rev up with Ewan McGregor and mate Charley Boorman as they ride their motorbikes from London to New York, then later Cape Town, in these epic travelogues.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWNIt’s still a pleasure to lose yourself in Anthony Bourdain’s travel shows.

AUDIOBOOKS

A WALK IN THE WOODS, narrated by Bill Bryson Accompany the author on his hilarious hike along America’s Appalachian Trail.

WILD, narrated by Bernadette Dunne Similarly, take a journey of self-discovery with Cheryl Strayed on the US’s Pacific Crest Trail.

THE MAGUS, narrated by Charles Dance Get lost in John Fowles’ magical novel set on the Greek island of Phraxos, brought to life by the cast of the BBC Radio production.

The Magus narrated by Charles Dance.

A Walk In The Woods narrated by Bill Bryson.

LORD OF THE RINGS, narrated by Rob Inglis Admittedly, Middle Earth isn’t real, but you can take the ultimate journey with J.R.R. Tolkien.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, narrated by Julie Teal Go from Paris to Saint-Malo in World War II with Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer winner.

THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH, narrated by Richard Flanagan Then go from Tasmania and South Australia to the Burma death railway of WWII as the Australian author reads his Booker Prize-winning novel.

Originally published as Great escapes: Your ultimate isolation entertainment itinerary