The movies sometimes spawn from more than just a writer's imaginations. The following locations either inspired or were used a actual sets :
- Harry Potter:
- Christ Church College is the inimitable location of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft. Located in Oxford, it is within an easy day trip of London.
- Platform 9 3/4 was actually filmed at Kings Cross station between stations 4 and 5 on a Sunday.
- There is a Warner Brothers Studios Tour in London featuring more Harry Potter sites.
- Avatar:
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- The mountains of Pandora were inspired by China's Southern Sky Column, situated in Zhangjiajie National Forest. Located in Central China, it was China's first national forest park, featuring the longest and highest glass bottom bridge between two mountains.
- Jurassic Park/World:
- You guessed right if you noticed that Kauai featured prominently in both the original Jurassic Park and Jurassic World as Isla Nublar and Isla Soma.
- The dinosaur's habitat is actually at Kualoa Ranch on Oahu. Movie sights and ATV tours are available here.
- James Bond:
- The ancestral home as shown in Skyfall was to be set in Glencoe, Scotland. The Skyfall Lodge which was blown up in the filming, was custom built in Surrey, England.
- Parts of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar and Grand Post Office were featured in the rooftop motorcycle scenes for Skyfall.
- Most of the ending for Casino Royale was really shot in Venice, Italy.
- Lord of the Rings:
- New Zealand's north island is home to Hobbiton, actually in the heart of Waikato. Some of the Shire abodes and glistening steams are there for folks to tour.
- Whakapapa Ski Field on Mt Ruapehu in New Zealand also was a stand in for Mordor. Yes you can ski on an active volcano; refer to ski trails for how to avoid deadly lahars.
- New Zealand's south island is home to Kawarau Gorge, where the Fellowship first paddled down the representative Anduin river. Twin stone statues were added in post-production but the gorge is still magnificent.
- Inception:
- The elaborate Japanese castle in Saito's dream was inspired by Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Japan.
- The mirror scenes used Paris's Pont de Passy bridge, which goes over the Seine.
