For those who want to see what the lands of the wildlings and King's Landing, Astapor and Braavos actually look like, Gazeta.Ru suggests going to where the previous five seasons were filmed. By the way, for the laziest, tours to places known from the series are organized in Spain, Northern Ireland, Croatia and Iceland.
Spain
Andalusia is the southern part of Spain, which includes, among others, Seville and Cordoba. The Game of Thrones team took a liking to this region in 2014, and since then tourist interest in it has grown by 30%.
There has always been something to see here: the famous Alhambra in Granada, the Giralda Tower in Seville, the Mosque of Cordoba. However, the fifth season of the series revealed some new treasures to viewers.
Fans of Game of Thrones come here to see the Alcázar of Seville – a Moorish fort that over time became a palace of Spanish kings. In the series, the fort became the residence of the Martells in Dorne, a happy land where girls are supposedly not mistreated. The bullring in Osuna, a town near Seville, turned out to be the fighting pit of Meereen.
If you are in Osuna, by the way, have lunch at the Casa Curro restaurant – they prepare Game of Thrones-style dishes. And the Roman Bridge in Cordoba – a 16-arch ancient Roman structure 250 meters long, under which the Guadalquivir River flows, – will remind you of the long bridge in Volantis.
Morocco
You probably still remember that Daenerys Targaryen managed to travel the world. So you'll want to see where she was – that is, where all those amazing sun-scorched landscapes and streets of Astapor, Yunkai and Pentos were filmed. Look for all this in Morocco.
The Moroccan ksar, that is, a fortified city, Aït Benhaddou, built in the 11th century on the caravan route from Marrakech to Timbuktu, is a veteran movie star: the city appeared in Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, The Last Temptation of Christ, Gladiator, Babel and other films. In Game of Thrones, Aït Benhaddou played the role of Yunkai and Pentos.
Essaouira, a port city on the Atlantic coast, portrayed Astapor. In the series it looks harsh – no wonder, have you seen that fortress wall and the Unsullied? In reality, the city has a relaxed atmosphere: since the 1960s, hippies have been drawn here.
Morocco also has its own analogue of Los Angeles with its own Hollywood: in the city of Ouarzazate near the Atlas Mountains, one of the world's largest film studios – Atlas Studios – is located.
Iceland
North of the Wall – cold, desolate, uncomfortable. Wildlings in furs roam there, and at night in the forest it becomes really scary. But in Iceland, where all this was filmed, it's not like that at all.
Yes, it's not too warm there, but there are hot springs and volcanic caves, blue lakes and sharp cliffs, and the people are friendly and don't harm strangers. The only problem is the unpronounceable geographical names. But we'll still try.
So, a Game of Thrones fan must definitely see the volcanic cave Grjótagjá, inside which a hot spring erupts – that's where Ygritte and Jon Snow had their love. And Dimmuborgir – not far from Grjótagjá and Lake Mývatn: this lava formation, black rocks and caves, resembling a fortress in outline, housed the wildling camp. And you can feel like the brave Jon Snow who just crossed the Wall – hair flying, beard dusted with snow, but never put on a hat – if you climb to the top of the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest in Europe.
By the way, not only the lands of the wildlings were filmed in Iceland. If you're interested in the picturesque places where Arya and Sandor Clegane wandered, here's the answer – it's the Thingvellir National Park.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, they long realized that the success of Game of Thrones needs to be monetized: in 2014 alone, Belfast's tourism organizations became richer by a total of £8.6 million. Guided tours of filming locations and the Titanic Studios film studio are almost the main reason to go to Belfast, a city that has never been popular with tourists.
'Spending two or three days here can be wonderful,' says Kit Harington, the actor who played Jon Snow, who lived here for about five years. 'There are three attractions here: a hotel that suffered the most from bomb explosions in Europe, a memorial dedicated to the Titanic, a ship that sank on its maiden voyage, and now also Game of Thrones, the most depressing series in the history of television. In short, Belfast has depressing attractions.'
Among them are Castle Ward (aka Winterfell), Tollymore Forest Park, the Dark Hedges – a road lined with beech trees (the one that leads to King's Landing), the village of Ballintoy and Murlough Bay (the Iron Islands).
Croatia
As in Northern Ireland, Croatia knows well how to gain additional benefit from the Game of Thrones filming taking place here. The authorities of Dubrovnik even issued special booklets marking places recommended for visiting to all those interested – not to mention the numerous walking routes and boat trips.
There is certainly something to see – and not only in ancient Dubrovnik, the typical King's Landing. The city wall, or rather one of its towers – Minčeta, the highest point of the city, played the role of the House of the Unsullied in the series. The Red Citadel in the heart of King's Landing is actually called Lovrijenac Fortress and is located 37 km from Dubrovnik.
The mysterious city of Qarth was placed by the series creators on the island of Lokrum in the Adriatic Sea, the magnificent royal gardens were filmed in the Trsteno Arboretum, gloomy Braavos – in medieval Šibenik. In addition, the series featured Diocletian's Palace in Split and Klis Fortress.
Malta
Only the first season of "Game of Thrones" was filmed here: tiny Malta quickly refused the producers, and the filming moved to hospitable Croatia. If you still remember anything about the first season, know that initially King's Landing was filmed there.
The ancient city of Mdina (about 4000 years old), or more precisely, its gate, is the gate to King's Landing, where Catelyn Stark and Ser Rodrik came to investigate the circumstances of Bran's accident (ah, how long ago that was).
Fort Ricasoli, built in the 17th century, initially portrayed the Red Keep. However, it was not alone – San Anton Palace in the municipality of Attard and Fort St. Angelo also did. The place where Ned Stark was executed is also known – it is Fort Manoel.
Just don't think that only fortresses were chosen for filming. Remember how Daenerys married Khal Drogo? The scene takes place against the backdrop of a famous Maltese landmark – the Azure Window, a giant rock 50 meters high forming an arch over the sea. You can easily find it – it is located on the west of the island of Gozo.