If you’ve totally fallen in love with a movie, chances are you’ve fallen in love with its setting, too. True cinephiles will delight in seeking out movie backdrops in the wild, visiting the cities and natural spaces that starred alongside their favorite actors on the big screen. From moody urban streets and vibrant cityscapes to lush countryside and stark desert landscape, these destinations have inspired unforgettable movie moments. Read on to learn about them all, as well as the best hotels and resorts to book for your cinematic stay.

As always, check for travel guidelines and closures before planning your trip.

Classic Cities

Atlanta, Georgia 

Legend has it that in 1986, when pioneering sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury saw the sweeping atrium of Atlanta Marriott Marquis, with its sinuous 52 floors, he declared, “This hotel is science fiction.” Directors agreed and often rely on the Atlanta Marriott Marquis for an urban, futuristic setting.  

In the series “Loki,” the hotel serves as the Time Variance Authority’s bureaucratic headquarters, while in “Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” it portrays the Tribute Center. The glass elevator’s journey up the atrium provides plenty of time for actress Jena Malone (as Hunger Games champion Johanna Mason) to take off her costume in front of Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, earning a glassy stare from Katniss for her boldness.  

That’s not the only fictional character who behaved badly at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. In “Flight,” Denzel Washington’s airline pilot Whip Whitaker tries to resist the temptations of the minibar on the eve of a hearing about his miraculous, life-saving airplane landing. In “Spiderman: Homecoming,” Michael Keaton’s villain The Vulture swoops down from the top of the atrium as he ventures out to do no good.  

Still, hotel guests have plenty of opportunities to pass up vice in favor of virtue through laps at the pool, reps at the 24-hour fitness center, and a delicious halibut dinner at Sear. Or lean into the sci-fi of it all and visit the annual Dragon Con pop culture convention (one of the top festivals in Atlanta) held at the hotel.  

The hotel’s downtown location makes it an ideal jumping-off point for exploring Atlanta. There are endless gems to discover in this dynamic city, but some highlights include its lively arts scene, Old-South-meets-New-South flavors, and other unique activities beloved by locals.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Many of the lavish settings featured in the blockbuster “Crazy Rich Asians” were filmed in and around Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. If you want to feel like the pampered characters in John M. Chu’s confection based on Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel, start at The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, where each suite includes the attentions of a butler,and the Iridium Spa looks out on the Perdana Botanical Gardens. If you venture into those lush, tropical gardens, you can see Carcosa Seri Negara, which serves as Nick Young’s palatial family estate in the movie. Back at The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, stop by Astor Bar, which was transformed for the movie into a luxury jewelry store where Nick’s cousin Astrid shops for million-dollar earrings. 

Cleveland, Ohio

In the 2025 “Superman,” Cleveland stars as the city of Metropolis, where Superman faces off with the growling, skyscraper-sized, tentacle-headed monster Kaiju in Public Square. If you book a table at Maker restaurant at Hotel Cleveland, Autograph Collection, you can enjoy a view of the plaza where, in the film, Kaiju appears to squash Superman before the Man of Steel burrows beneath the pavement and soars up to punch the creature in the face. Sip a Kon Tiki cocktail, inspired by the popular Polynesian restaurant found at the historic hotel in the 1950s.

Take a 10-minute walk from Hotel Cleveland to the Leader Building on Superior Avenue to see where journalist Clark Kent works at the Daily Planet in the movie. From there, continue walking for another 10 minutes to Progressive Field, where the Cleveland Guardians play. In the movie, the home team is the Meteors, and the field is the site of more Superman fisticuffs.

Hotel Cleveland, Autograph Collection first opened in 1918, and it was revitalized more than a century later with an extensive renovation, returning it to the burnished luster that the “Super Man” comics’ creators, Jerry Shuster and Joe Siegel, would have remembered from their Cleveland childhoods in the 1920s and 30s.

Dazzling Landscapes

Scotland 

Guillermo del Toro filmed 2025’s “Frankenstein” in Edinburgh, transporting Parliament Square back in time into a 19th-century street market through props. Mary Shelley published her famous novel in 1818, and you can stay just a 15-minute stroll away from Parliament Square at The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection, a boutique hotel with 19th-century details. The Glasshouse retains the original facade of Lady Glenorchy Church, dedicated in 1846, but the interior contains ultramodern amenities. And if you head upstairs, you can unwind at the hotel’s rooftop garden overlooking Calton Hill. 

About a 45-minute drive into the countryside you’ll find North Esk Reservoir, a lovely spot for a meadow promenade. It’s one of the filming locations for Scottish director John Maclean’s “Tornado,” a movie set in the 1790s about the adventures of the daughter of a Japanese samurai. About 15 miles to the east is Arniston House, a 1726 mansion that also serves as a backdrop in the film.

Namibia

Critics have praised “Mad Max: Fury Road” as one of the best action movies of the 21st century, with its location shooting near Swakopmund, Namibia, contributing to its frenetic, apocalyptic ambience. You can find the dramatic cliffs of the canyon chase scene in the Swakop River Valley, and the mud that Furiosa’s 18-wheeler becomes stuck in at Paaltjies in Walvis Bay. Director George Miller captured the majestic dunes near the Strathmore Mine in Dorob National Park in the background of Furiosa’s journey.  

After a day of spotting “Mad Max” nightmare settings, seek pleasant dreams in Walvis Bay at the lagoon-side Protea Hotel by Marriott Walvis Bay Pelican Bay, where you can see flocks of flamingos and migrating whales off the coast. The water views from the hotel are sure to quench your thirst.

Bewitching Destinations

England

Director John M. Chu said he wanted the movie “Wicked” to feel immersive and to that end built the elaborate sets of the Emerald City indoors at Sky Studios Elstree in Hertfordshire. However, you can visit the flower fields where the Munchkins harvest color at Norfolk Tulips. Register for tickets during the two weeks of prime bloom in the spring and you’ll receive the event’s precise location at the garden, with proceeds benefiting charity.  

Chu built Munchkinland in a field near the village of Ivinghoe and dismantled the set after filming. But you can visit The Village Swan pub and chat with the locals about watching a thatch-roofed village with a yellow brick road running through it arise near the canal. Next, drive down the coast to Seven Sisters Country Park, where the glittering scene with Glinda sailing her pink boat to Shiz University was filmed.  

Stay in St. Ermin’s Hotel, Autograph Collection in London and you’ll be day-trip distance away from Ivinghoe, Norfolk Tulips, and Seven Sisters Country Park. St. Ermin’s gleaming white lobby, accented with chandeliers and art nouveau details, looks like a wedding cake — suitable surroundings for a good witch or a princess.  

Speaking of princesses, Snow White would love communing with nature on St. Ermin’s Bee Terrace, where guests can observe Buckfast bees busy in the kitchen garden, producing the vegetables and honey used in its restaurants. A key scene from 2012’s “Snow White and the Huntsman,” with King Magnus and his troops galloping on horseback to battle a supernatural army that shatters into obsidian shards, was filmed in Bourne Wood, near Farnham in Surrey.  

A little more than an hour drive away from London, Bourne Wood is something of a movie star itself, having also appeared in “Gladiator,” several of the “Harry Potter” movies, “Wonder Woman,” “Napoleon,” and dozens of other films.

Washington State

Thirty years ago, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock starred as the sorcery-skilled Owens sisters in “Practical Magic,” and the actresses signed on to reprise their roles in the 2026 sequel. The original movie filmed on Whidbey Island in Washington state, with the town of Coupeville playing the part of a Cape Cod village. Coupeville has been celebrating this connection every October since, with movie screenings, pumpkin races, and a Spells and Brews Bike Ride. Dish into a bowl of mussels at Toby’s Tavern, the setting for The Catch and Fry in the film, and then visit the spot where Sandra Bullock’s Sally Owens ran the shop Verbena Botanicals — it’s now Molka Xete Mexican Kitchen.  

Whidbey Island is an easy day trip from Seattle, where you can stay at The Westin Seattle. The film crew for the 2002 horror movie “The Ring” used The Westin Seattle as the backdrop for two key scenes: when Naomi Watts’ character Rachel picks up vacation photos belonging to her niece, and when a man in a hood gives her son an uncomfortable stare. The hotel’s city view rooms showcase Seattle’s skyline, and it’s a 10-minute walk to Pike’s Place Market, featured in “Sleepless in Seattle” and many other films.