Top Game of Thrones travel destinations
IT’S fair to say Game of Thrones fever has swept across the globe as fans celebrate the April 14 premiere of the eighth and final season of the hit HBO fantasy series.
In the lead up to the premiere, fans of the record-breaking TV series have been flocking to breathtaking filming locations across the world to fully immerse themselves in the Thrones fantasy.
Tour companies have even capitalised on the show’s popularity offering GOT-inspired tours to individual or multiple countries where the show was filmed, which includes staying at properties the cast and crew stayed during shooting and visits to some of the most iconic locations.
Here are some of the most popular Thrones travel destinations:
Iceland
Tourism has reportedly increased 20 per cent year on year recently thanks, in part, to this otherworldly nation’s starring role in Thrones.
Season four was filmed on the outskirts of Reykjavik in Thingvellir National Park, while the country’s most photographed mountain Kirkjufell, on the north coast, is known as ‘Arrowhead mountain’ in season seven.
However, few could forget the ‘cave scene’ shot in a small, breathtaking cave in Grjotagia near Mývatn Lake, where Jon Snow and Ygritte enjoyed a steamy moment.
Spain
RECOGNISED as the oldest royal palace in Europe, The Alcazar of Seville represents the Water Gardens of Dorne and it’s not hard to see why producers choose this captivating location.
The Moorish palace complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was used from season five onwards and was home to the infamous Sand Snakes.
Nature reserve Los Barruecos, around three hours drive from Madrid, served as a backdrop for one of season’s seven’s most memorable episodes when Daenerys released her dragon against the Lannisters.
The Plaza de Toros bull ring in the small historic town of Osuna, an hour east of Seville, represented a Daznak's pit, the largest fighting pit in the Slaver’s Bay city of Meereen.
Croatia
WITH its views of the turquoise Adriatic Sea, dramatic stone cliffs and walled Old Town, the medieval Croatian city of Dubrovnik is home to King’s Landing as well as the coveted Iron Throne.
Fans will recall Cersei Lannister doing her walk of shame through the streets of the Old Town in season five, and the seaside walls providing the dramatic backdrop for Battle of Blackwater Bay in season two.
Northern Island
WITH its beautiful countryside, castles and coastline, there are a host of stunning, must-see Thrones locations in Northern Ireland.
Belfast is considered to be the heart and soul of Northern Ireland’s GOT territory, with the main filming studio located in the city.
Located on Bregagh Road between Armoy and Stranocum in Country Antrim, the Dark Hedges, two lines of beautiful stately beech trees, were used as a key filming location for the King's Road in the series.
The magical Tollymore Forest Park, at the foothills of Mourne Mountains, features heavily and was where the Starks found the Direwolves, where one of the opening scenes were filmed with white walkers and wildlings and where Jon Snow rested on his way up to the wall.
