Pop Culture Pilgrimages: Vacation in the Worlds of Your Favorite Stories
Plan your next trip with a bit of fandom tourism!
You might have heard of fandom tourism or pop culture tourism. What is it, and why do people love it? Well, the answer might be very simple: we love movies and TV for offering an escape or some other setting to immerse ourselves in. Actually going to that place in real life? Now that is an exciting prospect!
Sure, you could go to Los Angeles and take any number of studio tours to see indoor and outdoor filming locations as well as landmarks all over the city that have been featured on screen for decades. And don’t get us wrong–these are so much fun. But what other places are there to go where you can see real places related to your fandom? There are so many places on our list that we want to visit!
Theme Parks
Visiting a theme park is a thrilling way for fans to immerse themselves in their favorite worlds, because they bring beloved stories, characters, and settings to life. From the streets of Diagon Alley at Universal’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter to the galactic adventures of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, theme parks offer fans the chance to step directly into their fandoms and create new stories. And these parks in particular celebrate so many brands of IP, like Disney animated classics, Pixar shorts and feature films, Marvel, Super Mario Bros., Jurassic Park, and more–so there’s something for everyone. Theme parks uniquely allow fans to live out their fantasies and participate in their favorite stories firsthand.
Are you more into music fandom? Don’t worry–there’s a theme park for that! Dollywood is legendary country singer Dolly Parton’s theme park, located in Pigeon Forge, TN near where she grew up. The park not only offers thrilling rides, but it allows visitors to explore Dolly Parton folklore: you can step inside a replica of her Tennessee mountain home that she was raised in and wrote about in her songs. You can visit the Dolly Parton Experience where you can learn about her career timeline, see an exhibit on her clothing and style, and take a look inside her tour bus. Either way, you get to immerse yourself in all things Dolly–and it’s fun for the whole family.
Homes of Famous Figures
Speaking of Dolly’s Tennessee mountain home, there are many legendary musicians whose homes are pilgrimage destinations for fans. Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, is located in Memphis, TN. The mansion, now a museum, offers fans a glimpse into Elvis’s life, showcasing his personal belongings, stunning decor, gold records, and famous jumpsuits. A visit to Graceland also includes a tour of the Meditation Garden, where Elvis himself and several family members are laid to rest.
In Chanhassen, MN, you can visit Paisley Park, the home and recording studio of Prince. Now a museum, it offers fans an intimate look into Prince’s life and creative process, featuring his music studios, personal memorabilia, and iconic outfits. Visitors can explore the Purple Rain Room, see his private office, and pay tribute at the site where he lived and created much of his groundbreaking music.
Are you into literary fandom? You can visit the homes of authors Emily Dickinson in Amherst, MA, Ernest Hemingway in Key West, FL, and of course for a sobering history lesson, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Netherlands. All of these locations can be worked into a broader trip–you can’t go to Amsterdam without hitting up a few other museums, walking the canals, and eating frites! And you can’t go all the way to Key West without sampling some key lime pie.
If your fandom is American literature, you can visit three former homes of Mark Twain–author of the influential Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. His birthplace home is located in Florida, MO in a state park historic site. You can then travel about an hour east to visit his boyhood home in Hannibal, MO along the Mississippi River, where he drew inspiration for his most famous works. You can even see the exact white picket fence that makes an appearance in Tom Sawyer stories. Twain’s grand adult home and museum can be found in Hartford, CT.
Filming Locations for TV Shows and Movies
Fantasy fan? The breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand served as the stunning backdrop for the filming of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, making it a must-visit destination for fans. Key locations include Matamata, home to the lush rolling hills of Hobbiton, where visitors can tour the iconic Shire and enjoy a pint at the Green Dragon Inn. In Wellington, you can explore the dramatic peaks and valleys of the Tongariro National Park, (or, Mordor), and take a tour of Weta Workshop, where much of the films’ props and special effects were created. Fans can also go to Fiordland National Park, where the Elven realm of Lothlórien was brought to life, and Mount Sunday, which served as Edoras, the capital of Rohan. A trip to New Zealand is magical all on its own, but these sites add movie magic into your itinerary.
If Game of Thrones is your thing, there are many places to visit as it was filmed in ten countries, including Croatia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Iceland. The most well-known tourist destination is Dubrovnik, Croatia–a breathtaking seaside city that is well worth the trip for anyone in your party that might not be a fan of the show. And a trip to Scotland would be worth it to see Doune Castle, or, Winterfell. But this castle can also be seen in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Outlander.
Maybe you’re a Harry Potter superfan (and we trust you’ve already visited Universal’s theme park for real butterbeers and Diagon Alley wand purchasing), the United Kingdom’s King’s Cross Station is a must-visit. There are many fun Potter-themed locales in the London area; schedule a Tour for Muggles to see more. Looking for more cinematic locales in London? See Notting Hill from Notting Hill and Paddington Station from Paddington. And you can venture about two hours outside of the city to see the impressive Highclere Castle, featured on Downton Abbey.
The Harry Potter movies are of course based on the books. Another film based on a book is, famously, Wild by Cheryl Strayed. In Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Lorelai visits the setting of the memoir, the Pacific Crest Trail, and is humorously asked, “book or movie?” by her trail companions. Well, life imitates art imitates life when you can visit a Wild-inspired Pacific Crest Trail portion that features iconic scenes from the film.
For seaside fandom destinations, you can head to Seaside Heights, NJ where the MTV show Jersey Shore was filmed. You can visit the iconic shore house the cast lived in (you can even stay there overnight if you’re looking for an immersive experience!) as well as the Shore Store where they worked, and other bars and restaurants along the classic NJ shore boardwalk. Move up the coast to see Martha’s Vineyard, MA, the site of fictional Amityville from Jaws, and visit many filming locations throughout the island.
Oddly enough, the Martha’s Vineyard area and the Massachusetts coast was the fictional setting for Dawson’s Creek’s Capeside, but the filming actually took place far more southern in Wilmington, NC. Wilmington is the site of so many TV shows and movies and worth a trip to its charming downtown and surrounding beaches. You can see landmarks from Dawson’s, One Tree Hill, I Know What You Did Last Summer, A Walk to Remember, Safe Haven, and hundreds more shows and movies.
And if you want a destination where you can see any number of landmarks from TV, movies, and musicians–New York City is the place. Music lover? Visit Central Park’s Strawberry Fields and the Dakota apartment building if you’re a John Lennon fan, Taylor Swift’s Cornelia Street apartment, the Chelsea Hotel (too many musicians and writers have lived here to count!) any number of the city’s iconic venues like Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall. There’s no shortage of TV filming locations too. You can take a Sex and the City tour, a Gossip Girl tour by pedicab or bus, see Tom’s Diner from Seinfeld, the real Upper West Side apartment building that serves as the setting for Only Murders in the Building, and of course: the iconic Friends apartment located in the West Village. You can also hit up the Friends Experience, an immersive walk-through where you can see sets from the show and take pictures in Chandler and Joey’s big comfy chairs or on the Central Perk couch with some coffee at the real on-site shop.
Of course hundreds of movies have also been filmed in NYC; you can see the firehouse from Ghostbusters, take a Superheroes Tour that takes visitors to filming locations for DC and Marvel comics movies and other superhero TV shows, check out all of the locations in Washington Heights where In the Heights was filmed, take a tour of the city through the eyes of Midge Maisel from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and stroll through the places Harry and Sally hung out in When Harry Met Sally. You can also get lucky and even see a TV show or movie filming in real time!
Fandom tourism might be your main reason to visit a particular destination, but you can use the opportunity to explore more cultural experiences along the way. And that’s why movies and TV are great escapes: they encourage our wanderlust and desire to see new places! So get out there and take a trip!
Do you love fandom tourism as much as we do? Let us know the destination you’re hoping to visit in the comments!
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