Are you a Game of Thrones fan?
Do you wish you could visit the city of King’s Landing or maybe take an adventure through Braavos like Arya Stark?
Well, while we eagerly wait to see who will sit on the Iron Throne, here are some real-life Westeros locations that you can travel to!
Just watch out for the White Walkers!
Winterfell (Doune Castle, Scotland & Castle Ward, Northern Ireland)
Winterfell, the Stark’s ancestral home and the fortress was actually created using a number of locations, most prominently Doune Castle in Stirling, Scotland and Castle Ward in Northern Ireland.
Doune Castle is a medieval castle near the River Teith. The historic castle was built sometime in the 13th century by Robert Stewart, the great-grandson of famed king Robert the Bruce.
During the Scottish Wars of Independence, the castle was badly burned, but was later rebuilt. In the late 17th century and early 18th century, the castle was all but destroyed during the Jacobite Risings.
Doune Castle was also featured prominently in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The castle is now owned by the Historic Environment of Scotland and has since been resorted.
While exterior scenes of Winterfell were split between Doune Castle and a film set, the great hall and interior scenes were shot in Castle Ward in County Down, Northern Ireland.
This 18th century castle is unusual in its architecture. Half is designed in a classic style, while the other half is traditional Georgian Gothic with the difference split right down the middle.
Castle Ward has numerous tours, including a Game of Thrones focused tour.
Royal Palace of Dorne (Alcazar Palace of Seville, Spain)
The fictional Dorne is a place of exceptional beauty just like the real-life counterpart, Alcazar of Seville.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site was built for the Christian King Peter of Castile, after the Christian conquest of Seville. The palace is still used by the royal family to this day and is the oldest palace in Europe still in use.
Alcazar’s architectural detail is truly breathtaking. Its gardens are full of flowers and fruit trees.
In addition to the city of Dorne, the palace has also been used as a filming location for the movies Lawrence of Arabia and Kingdom of Heaven.
King’s Landing (Dubrovnik, Croatia)
Dubrovnik, Croatia has been used as the main filming location of Westeros’s capital city of King’s Landing.
Barely altered with special effects, a walk through Dubrovnik will make you feel like you’re really in Westeros.
There are many must-see sites in Dubrovnik including Old Town (where the majority of the King’s Landing scenes have been shot) as well as the city’s walls. These 82-ft stone walls, complete with towers guarding against attacks, will really make you feel like you’re in a fantasy city.
Make sure to also visit the seaside walls, the site of the famous Battle of Blackwater Bay.
While most of the city is used to film King’s Landing, there is another well-known Game of Thrones scene shot within these very walls.
Minceta Tower was featured prominently in season 2 as the House of the Undying in Quarth. It is here that Daenerys Targaryen really starts to transform into the Mother of Dragons.
Game of Thrones tours are available for many locations in the city.
While Westeros may seem like just a fantasy world, you can find many of its cities and castles in real life.
From the cave in Iceland where Jon and Ygritte fell in love, to the mighty seven gates of King’s Landing in Malta, or the mysterious Woods outside the capital city in Northern Ireland, there are many destinations where you too can live out your own fantasy adventure.
