Ten Movie-Inspired Travel Ideas
By Richard Jones
The 95th Academy Awards ceremony has taken place at the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The 10 contenders for the main prize – the Best Picture Oscar – were set and filmed at locations scattered all around the world.
If you’re a film lover, here’s how you can add a slice of movie magic to a holiday.
All Quiet on the Western Front
The First World War film, which tells the harrowing story of the conflict from the German point of view, has become one of Netflix’s most-watched foreign-language films. The movie was filmed in Prague, although much of it is set in La Malmaison and Champagne in Northern France. Focusing on the key sites of WW1 in Belgium and France, Leger Battlefields’ popular All Quiet on the Western Front tour allows you to spend either four or five days visiting Ypres, the Somme, Arras and the Vimy Ridge.
legerbattlefields.co.uk
Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron’s long-awaited Avatar sequel was filmed on Manhattan Beach, California. However, if you really want to get a taste of the fictional exoplanetary moon of Pandora, head to Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida (pictured above). Here, you can climb atop a winged mountain banshee for a breathtaking 3D flight over an otherworldly landscape in the Avatar Flight of Passage ride. Or take a mystical journey by boat deep into a glowing bioluminescent rainforest in Na’vi River Journey.
disneyworld.co.uk
The Banshees of Inisherin
The acclaimed tragicomedy which follows two lifelong friends (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) in 1920s Ireland is a strong contender for the Best Picture gong at the Oscars. Filming took place on Inis Mór (top image), the largest of the Aran Islands in County Galway, before moving to Achill Island, County Mayo. The site of the fictional pub, JJ Devine’s, is on the Atlantic Drive at Cloughmore, while Keem Bay/Beach is the location of the final scene of the movie and of Colm Doherty’s cottage.
ireland.com
Elvis
Baz Luhrmann’s spectacular drama explores the life of The King (Austin Butler), seen through the eyes of his enigmatic manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Elvis’s home Graceland (pictured above) is located in Memphis, Tennessee. Here you can explore the beautiful mansion, walk the gardens where the singer found peace, tour the aircraft that he travelled on from show to show, and view legendary costumes, artefacts and mementos from the Presley family’s estate.
graceland.com
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The winner of the Best Picture prize, a bizarre fantasy about a Chinese immigrant who gets embroiled in an epic adventure, was partly filmed at San Fernando Majers Coin Laundry in LA. The San Fernando Valley is home to the world’s major movie studios, where celebrities live, work and play. There are also parks, art galleries, shopping centres, world-class sushi restaurants and Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
discoverlosangeles.com
The Fabelmans
Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film is inspired by his youth and the time his family spent live in Phoenix during the 1950s. The Arizona city is home to first-class golf courses, unique architecture, spas and resorts, but a trip there wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Grand Canyon (pictured above). A day tour of the South Rim takes approximately three hours and takes in the national park as well as a stretch of the iconic Route 66.
nps.gov/grca
Tár
Set in the world classical music, Todd Field’s psychological drama centres on Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), the first female director of the Berlin Philharmonic, who is accused of sexual abuse. The German capital is an excellent venue for a weekend break, with more than 100 museums, as well as Michelin starred restaurants and quirky bars and clubs to choose from. There is also Germany’s oldest zoo and what remains of the historic Berlin Wall.
visitberlin.de
Top Gun: Maverick
The sequel to Tom Cruise’s 1980s megahit was partly shot in San Diego, California. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was once home to the Navy Fighter Weapons School, the inspiration for the movie, while Kansas City Barbeque (pictured above) near the Downtown waterfront provided the setting for the memorable scene from the original Top Gun film when Maverick and his pilot pal Goose performed ‘Great Balls of Fire’.
sandiego.org
Triangle of Sadness
Ruben Östlund’s wickedly funny Palme d’Or winner about cruise ship passengers fighting for survival on a desert island was shot on Chiliadou Beach on the eastern, Aegean side of the island of Evia in Greece. In the summеr, sunbeds and pаrasols are provided by а couple of beach tavernas there. However, the hotels closest to Chiliad are located in the village of Steni Dirfios, 12km away.
visitgreece.gr
Women Talking
Based on the 2018 novel by Miriam Toews and inspired by real-life events, this sensitive drama chronicles the shocking events that occurred at the remote Manitoba Colony in Bolivia. Despite the harrowing subject matter, don’t let that put you off visiting the South American country. It is land of spectacular landscapes, ranging from the snow-capped peaks surrounding La Paz, the stunning Salar de Uyuni and the Amazon rainforest.
lata.travel/bolivia/
