Today I am sharing Travel Destinations Inspired by Game of Thrones since the new season of the show starts on Sunday. My husband watches Game of Thrones, and I haven’t been able to really get into it. But I love travel destinations inspired by Game of Thrones. Purely by coincidence, I have been traveling to GOT filming locations this year. I would definitely recommend using the show as a source of travel inspiration. The locations are larger than life, epic places that make you feel like you are in another time.
Essaouira
Essaouira, Morocco is Astapor in the GOT universe. I traveled here last spring with my mother and sister, and we love this historic seaside city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Essaouira has more of a European influence than Marrakesh, and this is especially seen in the food which takes on a wide breadth of styles. The town has an incredible market, miles of beaches along the coast, and historic landmarks to explore. Overall, Essaouira was smaller and easier to navigate than Marrakesh.
Iceland
Parts of season 3 were filmed in Iceland, and the country’s lush green landscapes and glaciers seem supernatural. We stayed in Reykjavik using it as a jumping-off point for trips to climb glaciers and drive the golden circle.
I recommend visiting Iceland in the summer since it was still a little chilly when we visited at the end of June. Another benefit to going in the summer is that there are 24 hours of daylight.
Northern Ireland
My sister and I put together our own self-guided one-day driving tour of Game of Thrones filming destinations. We made stops at Downhill Beach, Dark Hedges, Dunluce Castle, Giant’s Causeway, and Carrick-a-Rede. You can read the full blog post about the adventure here. You can do a GOT bus tour, but we loved doing it on our own and getting to see the sights without being rushed or being part of a big crowd.
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, Croatia is known as King’s Landing on the show and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city suffered a war in the early 90s damaging over 50% of the buildings in Dubrovnik. Following the war, the damage was repaired in accordance with the UNESCO guidelines to match the original architecture.
Make sure to take the ferry over to Lokrum Island (it’s just 10 minutes offshore) to see the Game of Thrones exhibit. You can even sit in the Iron Throne.
Kotor
Kotor, Montenegro this fortified town on the coast hasn’t been featured on GOT yet… but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on future seasons of the show. Kotor is a medieval town on the Adriatic coast that is home to just over 13,000 residents today. The most important thing about Kotor, it’s close to Dubrovnik, but it attracts fewer tourists. Like Essaouira and Dubrovnik, Kotor is a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you are in Dubrovnik, I recommend going to Kotor for a night (bonus: hotels are significantly less expensive in Kotor).
Have you been to any of these places? Do you watch Game of Thrones? Let me know in the comments!
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