The films are fiction. The places are not.
Which studio tour is worth the ticket. What a morning in Hobbiton actually costs. Whether the Dubrovnik walk beats the boat. Reviews of the tours that take you to the real sets and streets.
Four location days that carry a whole trip.
A morning on the sets, a backlot, a coastline that plays two countries, and the farm that never got demolished. What each one costs and what the people who went say.
01The two-hour versionMagical London: Harry Potter Guided Walking TourPlatform, pub, alley and bridge on foot around central London. The cheapest way to stand where it was shot.
02Behind the gateWarner Bros. Studio Tour HollywoodOnto the Burbank backlot in a cart, through standing sets and the prop stores. Bookable most mornings.
03The coast roadGiant’s Causeway and Game of Thrones Day TourBallintoy harbour, the Dark Hedges and the Causeway in one long day out of Belfast.
04The full day outHobbiton & Waitomo Caves Guided Day Trip from Auckland incl lunchHobbiton in the morning, the glowworm caves after lunch. The one people plan the New Zealand leg around.
Three sagas built their own tour industries.
Wizarding London, Westeros on the Adriatic, the Shire on a Waikato sheep farm. Where each one is actually filmed, and what it costs to walk in.
Harry Potter locations
The sets themselves are at Leavesden, twenty miles out of London, on a studio site that was kept standing after filming and turned into a timed-entry attraction. Everything else is real streets: Leadenhall Market for Diagon Alley, Lacock Abbey for the corridors, Victoria Street in Edinburgh for the colour. The walking tours cost a tenth of the studio ticket and get you most of the geography.
- 1Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 26,588 reviews
- 2Magical London: Harry Potter Guided Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 22,044 reviews
- 3Warner Bros. Studio Harry Potter Tour & Branded Bus★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 19,194 reviews
Game of Thrones locations
King’s Landing is Dubrovnik’s old town, the Red Keep is a fort on Lovrijenac rock, and Braavos is Peroj and the Kotor bay. Northern Ireland took the North: Ballintoy for Pyke, Cushendun’s caves for Melisandre, the Dark Hedges for the Kingsroad. Two countries, two very different days.
- 1Giant’s Causeway and Game of Thrones Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 7,061 reviews
- 2Epic Game of Thrones Tour + Lokrum & Saver Option★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 5,995 reviews
- 3The Original Game of Thrones Tour & Lokrum Option★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 5,064 reviews
Middle-earth locations
Hobbiton is a working sheep farm at Matamata where the hobbit holes were rebuilt in permanent materials for the second trilogy and simply left standing, gardens and all. You cannot walk in unescorted: entry is on a guided departure from Shires Rest, and the rest of Middle-earth is scenery, most of it around Queenstown and Wellington.
- 1Hobbiton Movie Set: Guided Tour Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 8,167 reviews
- 2Hobbiton™ Movie Set Walking Tour from Shires Rest★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 3,577 reviews
- 3Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Guided Day Trip from Auckland incl lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,677 reviews
Six cities that keep turning up in the credits.
A studio town, a walled city, a farm in the Waikato, an old town that plays two centuries, a causeway coast and the backlots. Six bases, and the best location day out of each.
The location tours more travellers book than any others.
Every location tour we have reviewed →Studio tickets, wizarding walks and one hobbit hole, in the order travellers actually book them.
1
Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour
Review of the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour from London, with transport tips, costs, timing, sets, seasonal events, and practical advice.
From · $117
Read our review →
2
Magical London: Harry Potter Guided Walking Tour
from $20
3
Warner Bros. Studio Harry Potter Tour & Branded Bus
from $151
4
Harry Potter Magical Guided Walking Tour
from $19
5
Warner Bros. Studio Harry Potter Tour with Transfers
from $117
6
Hobbiton Movie Set: Guided Tour Ticket
from $71
7
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood
from $76
8
Giant’s Causeway and Game of Thrones Day Tour
from $26
Britain shot more of it than anywhere else. Pick your day.
Four kinds of British location day, what each one costs to board, and which city it runs from. The studio tickets are the ones that go early.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour
The studio ticketsStanding sets, props and the Great Hall, on a timed slot.
London on footDiagon Alley, the platform, the bridge, in an afternoon.
Edinburgh closesThe old town that fed the books, plus the Outlander glens.
The Causeway coastHarbours, caves and the Dark Hedges in one long drive.
All 147 British location tours →
A studio tour is the only place the sets are real.
Everywhere else you stand outside a building and imagine it. On a backlot you walk the standing street, look at the props and see how small the rooms actually are. Leavesden, Burbank, Wellington and Mumbai all sell tickets.
In Los Angeles the location tour is the city tour.
The sign, the Boulevard, the canyon houses and two working backlots sit within an hour of each other, which is why one open-air bus can cover a hundred credits before lunch. Go early: the light on Mount Lee is better and the traffic has not started.
- 1Full-Day Iconic Sights of LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Beaches and Morefrom $99
- 2Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywoodfrom $76
- 3Hollywood, Beverly Hills & Celebrity Homes Tour by Open Air Busfrom $39
What a day on location actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. The walks are pub money; the studio tickets and the day trips are where the budget goes.
Location walks, self-guided audio routes and the city bus tours.
Studio tickets, the Hobbiton departures and the coast-road day trips.
Private guides, small-group day trips with lunch and the long drives.
What actually decides a location day.
None of this runs on a whim. Sets are ticketed attractions with timed entry and no walk-ups. Working locations close when a production books them. Half the famous streets are free to stand in, and you are paying a guide to tell you which door it was. And a lot of these places are two or three hours from the city they are sold from.
Four location bookings that will not wait.
Most of these tours can be arranged the night before from a hotel lobby. These four run on timed tickets, fixed departures and estates that open when they feel like it.
- 01Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio TourEntry is by timed ticket only and there are no walk-ups. Peak weeks go weeks ahead.
- 02Hobbiton Movie Set: Guided Tour TicketThe set sits on a working farm and you only go in on a guided departure from Shires Rest. Departures cap out.
- 03Downton Abbey Village, Blenheim Palace and Cotswolds Day Trip from LondonHighclere Castle opens to visitors on limited dates, and the tours are built around them.
- 04The Outlander Experience Guided TourDoune and Midhope keep their own opening days, and both shut when a production books them.
By city — where the tour starts
By kind of day — ticket, walk or long drive
London, Oxford, Bath, Edinburgh, the Highlands, Belfast: a fortnight of British locations.
Bath
InvernessThe newest location tour reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
Lord of The Rings Full Day locations tour incl Weta & keepsake
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Wellington Lord of the Rings 6-8 hour Private Tour & Feast
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The Supernatural TV Show Locations Tour: Vancouver
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Half Day Star Wars Film Set Locations Private Tour from Tozeur
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Tozeur: Tamerza, Chebika, Mides and Star Wars locations Day Tour
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Tamerza, Chebika, Mides Canyons and Star Wars Full-Day Tour
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Hobbiton movie set tour and a lot more beautiful NZ sights
Read our review →
Tokyo Anime Adventure: Studio Tour, Drawing Class & Museum Visit
Read our review →
Tokyo WB. Studio Tour Harry Potter’s Creation E-Ticket Optional
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Nami Island and Petite France – Filming location
Read our review →
Private Tour – Day Hollywood Tour of Los Angeles – 6 Hours.
Read our review →