Game of Thrones Filming Locations: Every Real Place on One Map

Westeros doesn't exist, but you can walk through most of it. Game of Thrones was filmed across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Croatia, Malta, Spain and Morocco, and a surprising number of its castles, beaches and courtyards are open to anyone with a ticket or just a good pair of shoes.

This map puts 41 of those places in one spot. Every pin says what was filmed there, in which season, and whether you can actually visit. The folders follow the story rather than the countries: King's Landing, Winterfell, Dragonstone, Beyond the Wall, Meereen, Braavos, Dorne and the rest. So you can plan a trip around the places you remember, not around a list of towns.

King's Landing, mostly in Dubrovnik

From season 2 onward, King's Landing was Dubrovnik. Walk the old city walls and you're on the battlements of the Battle of the Blackwater. Fort Lovrijenac, the fortress on its own rock outside the walls, stood in for parts of the Red Keep. And the baroque Jesuit Stairs are where Cersei's walk of atonement begins in the season 5 finale. People do re-enact it, with varying levels of commitment.

The capital also borrowed from elsewhere. Season 1 was filmed largely in Malta: Mdina's gate is where Catelyn Stark enters the city, and Fort Manoel was the Great Sept of Baelor, where Ned Stark is executed. Later seasons used Girona Cathedral's huge staircase for the outside of the Sept, and Cáceres for the streets of season 7.

Winterfell and the North

The very first episode was shot around Tollymore Forest Park in Northern Ireland, where the Starks find the direwolf pups. Castle Ward gave its farmyard and tower to Winterfell in season 1, and in Scotland, Doune Castle played Winterfell in the pilot. Fans of a certain other film will recognise it too.

Dragonstone, twice

Dragonstone changed coasts. In season 2 it was Downhill Strand in Northern Ireland, the long beach below Mussenden Temple where the statues of the Seven burn. In season 7 the island fortress moved to the Basque coast: Daenerys lands on Itzurun beach in Zumaia, under its striped flysch cliffs, and climbs the stairway of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. That stairway is real, long, and best done early in the day. Check the access rules before you go, visits are regulated in busy months.

Beyond the Wall is Iceland

Iceland did the cold parts. Svínafellsjökull glacier was filmed for the lands beyond the Wall in season 2 (only walk on the ice with a certified guide). Near Lake Mývatn, the lava pillars of Dimmuborgir were Mance Rayder's camp and Grjótagjá is the small cave with a hot spring where Jon and Ygritte have their famous scene. Bathing is no longer allowed there, so the scene stays on screen. Kirkjufell, the arrowhead mountain, shows up in season 7.

Essos, from Croatia to Morocco

Daenerys travelled a lot, and so did the crew. Aït Benhaddou in Morocco was Yunkai, and the sea ramparts of Essaouira were Astapor. Meereen was assembled from Klis Fortress above Split, the Roman cellars under Diocletian's Palace (where the dragons are chained), the streets of Peñíscola and the bullring of Osuna, which became the fighting pit.

Smaller cameos are on the map too: Lokrum Island and Minčeta Tower in Dubrovnik for Qarth, the Roman Bridge of Córdoba for Volantis, Šibenik for Braavos, the badlands of Bardenas Reales for the Dothraki Sea, and the Real Alcázar of Seville for the Water Gardens of Dorne.

How to use the map

Each pin has hashtags for the season and the story place, plus #visitable when you can go in or walk there freely. Filter on #season1 to follow the beginning, or on #visitable to drop the private and closed ones. One honest note: the photos on the pins are illustrations of the real places, not stills from the show.

The map is free and public. Like any Ikuzo map, you can copy it into your own account, keep the places on your route, add your hotels and the restaurants you find on the way, and turn it into your own trip. No dragons were harmed in its making.