On our first trip through Spain, we heard from our good friends from “Voyage a plein temps” that there are a lot of filming locations with many different landscapes. We decided to look for them! After some research, we realized that we unfortunately already missed some of the spots in the north. As we didn’t want to miss more spots, we made a list with the others and kept an eye on that specific list while planning our trip. Now, for the second trip through Spain, we are making sure that we see them all!
We made you a list with all the spots starting at the western border between France and Spain. For the itinerary, just consult the map below:
Itzurun Hondartza beach, Zumaia
The beach Itzurun Hondartza in Zumaia is the first stop when you start your journey in the north. We unfortunately missed this spot during our first trip. Now we saw it and it is breath-taking! It is used as the beachside near Dragonstone, where John and his men mined for dragonglass. They even left some dragons made out of stone on the entry at the beach and you can visit the same hole as John did! Jus enter one of the caves. Another interesting thing about this beach is that it tells the story of our earth from a long time ago, through all the different stone layers. Also, the water here seems to be good for your health because it contains a lot of iodine.
Zumaia: We advise you to go to the tourist office first. They have some relevant information to get there and they have many folders which can be interesting if you want to visit the area.
Parking fee: around the tourist office is free
Attraction fee: free
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
A 100 km further to the west, you can go to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (don’t try to pronounce it, but it means castle rock) near Bermeo. It is a little island with a chapel on it and connected to the mainland by a man-made stone bridge. The stairs are very long, 241 steps, and are used as the stairs to Dragonstone Castle. They just replaced the chapel with the bigger castle. We went to this place, not knowing that it was used for the scenes where John and Khaleesie went up to Dragonstone. Even when you’re not searching for Game of Thrones locations, this spot is awesome to visit. You can ring the chapel’s bell 3 times when you arrive on top to make a wish. Make sure to visit it in the low season, it isn’t that crowded.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe: There are multiple parkinglots. Make sure not to follow the road but walk past a restaurant to find the trail to get to the chapel.
Parking fee: free
Attraction fee: free
Bardenas Reales
Some scenes from the 6th season were filmed in the natural park called “Bardenas Reales” under the Pyrenees in the middle of the North of Spain. The stunning stone figures are erosion-related and formed over the years. As beautiful as the surroundings are, as ugly are the scenes from Game of Thrones. The Mother of Dragons was held captive by the Dothraki tribe a while after she met them here. It is difficult to find exactly the same spots that were used, but even just walk and climb around on the “monuments” build by nature is worth it. Maybe you are luckier than we were and you can find better spots.
Bardenas Reales: To visit this place you have to get passed an info center. Go in to get a map of the desert and ask if they can tell you where the scenes were filmed, that way you can find it more easily.
Parking fee: no parking, just driving around with your car or bike.
Attraction fee: free
Castillo de Zafra, Guadalajara
The castle of Zafra in Guadalajara is a little private castle in the middle of nowhere, so don’t give up if the way there looks like it leads nowhere, just go ahead. You can’t visit it but you can walk all around. In GoT, it is used for the Tower of Joy where John Snow is born. We really could see where the actor of young Ned Stark stood and fought to get to his sister. If you have time, take a little walk in the nature too, it is an amazing place, even the casting thought the same way as you can see in the video below! We were there all alone and we could enjoy it perfectly.
Castillo de Zafra: To get to the Castillo you have to drive dirt roads. Best is to have a normal car, but we managed to get our campervan up there. The place is called the “north pole” of Spain, since it’s the coldest place of the country.
Parking fee: free
Attraction fee: it’s private terrain.
Trujillo castle, Caceres & Barrueco de Arriba Lake
A few locations from season 7 are situated in or near Caceres, an old city near the Portuguese border. In the cities’ area, you can find the Trujillo castle, at 45 km to the east, which played a role in S7E3 and S7E7. It appeared on screen as some of the walls of King’s Landing where the Unsullied intruded the castle and Jaime Lannister and Bronn of the Blackwater watch the rival army. It’s closed in May but it costs only 1,50€. Then you go to Caceres, which narrow streets and squares appear in S7E3 when Euron Greyjoy marches with his prisoners toward the Redfort, at King’s Landing. In the series, you can see the Plaza de Santa Maria, Arco de la Estrella, Torre de Bujaco, Torre de los Púlpitos, Cuesta de la Compañía and the façade of Fundación Mercedes Calles y Carlos Ballestero. The Caceres museum also had a little role in the series, it appeared in the 5th episode while Sam Tarly and Gilly rode in front of it to leave the Citadel. At Barrueco de Arriba Lake, a Natural Monument with beautiful nature, a few kilometres to the west of Caceres. The boulders took different shapes thanks to erosion and are like animals, things and even people. They filmed the scene where the Lannister’s armies fought a great battle against Daenerys’ armies. We didn’t visit this spot yet, but will in a few weeks, so come around later to see the pictures.
Trujillo castle: closed in May.
Parking fee: free when you park outside the city center
Attraction fee: Trujillo Castle – € 1,50
Italica
Now we head further south towards Andalusia where even more locations were used in the series. The first spot we get to is the old roman city Italica with his Amphitheatre. This is used as the dragonpit where the largest gathering of characters finds place. Also some scenes of the last season will play there. The entry is free for EU citizens and open all year, but check the times first.
Italica: open all year.
Parking fee: you can park around town for free.
Attraction fee: free for European citizens.
Seville
Then you have the city of Seville. Some scenes find place in Dorne were filmed here for the 5th season. At the Maria de Padilla’s baths in the Real Alcazar of Seville plotted the Sand Snakes about the vengeance of their father Oberyn. His little brother welcomes Jaime in his salon, which actually is the Ambassadors Hall in the non-fiction city. The courtyard of the Real Alcazar served as the residence of the house Martell. To visit these you should come on Monday because the entrance is free. But without an audio guide, it is still only 1€, otherwise, it’s 7€. At the same time, a part of Kingslanding was filmed in Seville, namely in the “Reales Atarazanas”, the old yard. In the crypts of the Red Fortress, Cersei learned about the crossbow that could kill the dragons in S7E1. We found the information that it will open after reformations in 2019, so fingers crossed that this happens before we arrive. We went to Seville on our first trip, but we didn’t have the time to visit this spots so we will go back there in march and we will let you know what we thought about it.
Reales Atarazanas: open after reformations in 2019.
Parking fee: there are multiple parking areas in and around the city withdifferent prices.
Attraction fee: free on Mondays; rest of the week without audioguide € 11,50
Castillo Almodovar del Rio
100 km to the east, you can find the “Castillo Almodovar del Rio”, better known as the residence of House Tyrell, High Gardens. This castle is seized by Jaime in the 7th season, but you can visit it without being scared of the Lannisters, it is open to the public. We just had a look at the outside with its stunning walls because we arrived short before the closing times (which happens a lot to us). You can have a special GoT visit, which costs € 13,- guided or € 9,- on your own or € 8,- for students (same as the normal visit).
Castillo Almodovar del Rio: The castle lies not that far from Cordoba. There is also a special GoT tour!
Parking fee: free
Attraction fee: € 8,- – € 13,-
Cordoba
In the beautiful old roman city of Cordoba, the cast was working too while filming the 5th season. The whole city could be part of the set, but they only took the Roman bridge to figure the bridge to Volantis. The bridge was used by Tyrion and Varys to enter the fictive city, surrounded by market stalls where you can buy everything you need. Just take a walk on the bridge and feel like Tyrion or Varys depending on your size. If you are in Cordoba, don’t miss the Mezquita, which is a cathedral in a mosque, if you live on a budget, go there from Monday to Saturday, between 8.30 and 9.30 am, it’s free, otherwise it’s 10€. And if you can afford it, pay the 2€ for the Bell Tower. You can see the whole city from the top!
Bridge: Cross the bridge and enjoy the view of the city.
Parking fee: free if you park at the zoo, only a 10 minute walk from the city.
Attraction fee: free
Osuna
Now, Osuna! We were surprised of the dedication the people of this little city had. We found a museum with pretty costumes, autographs and accessories from GoT for an entrance fee of € 2,-. Then you have the Plaza de Torro where they filmed the scene from S5E9 in the fighting pit of Meereen where Daenerys is attacked by men with masks while Jorah Mormont is fighting. She calls her dragons who save her, his head is still in the fighting pit. Also, nearly all the residents show up as figurants in this episode and they seem to be very proud of it. This pit is open the whole year, but only in weekends during the high season and costs € 2,-.
Osuna: The village is really cute, take a walk around and find some hidden treasures. Don’t forget to ask if you can see the Dragon head at the bull ring, it is not exhibited to the public.
Parking fee: free around the city.
Attraction fee: museum – € 2,- & bull ring – € 2,-
Desert of Tabernas
We had to skip Almeria on our last journey due to appointments but we won’t miss it this time! In the surroundings of this beautiful city, you can find its already-legendary Desert of Tabernas, home of the “spaghetti western”, which became the Dothraki Sea, a gigantic steppe in Essos. You can visit this desert and its filming locations on your own by foot, bicycle or car following the Ruta Principal Tabernas-Polopos or with a guided tour even on horseback but it costs around € 30,- and more.
Desert: You can visit the desert by foot, car, bike or horseback.
Parking fee: free
Attraction fee: horseback riding tour € 30,-
El Chorillo, Almeria & Cabo de Gata park
In the landscapes of EL Chorillo, in Pechina, on the foot of the baños de Sierra Alhamilla, the city of the Dothraki tribe, Vaes Dothrak, was filmed. Here, in the 6th season, Daenerys came out alive of a burning cabin and Jorah and Daario hid between some houses. In Almeria, only the Alcazaba was used in the famous series, as a part of the residence of house Martell in Dorne. Another home of Daenerys’ for a short time was filmed in Cabo de Gata park at EL Torre de Mesa Roldan: Meereen. More exactly S6E9, the scene where Khaleesi tried to negotiate with the Masters, but then punished them and rode Drogon into the bay. Some shots were also taken in the caves near Sobras, but we couldn’t find any information about which scene, maybe we will know when we visit.
Parking fee: there are a few free parkings around the Alcazaba of Almeria.
Attraction fee: free
Peniscola
200 km further north, on the coast, you have to stop at Peniscola where also a lot of shots for the 6th season at the city of Meereen were filmed. Here are some examples: Calle Mayor, Tyrion and Varys are walking and discussing strategies along this street; Portal Fosc, the red Priest preaches to people of the city; Parque de languages Artilleria, Tyrion, Missandei and Grey Worm are discussing about the Masters of Astapot and Yunkai; Plaza de Santa Maria, Tyrion and Varys walking through a granary. The tourist info will be happy to help you out with a hand out to find your way with all the information you need to not get lost or miss a place.
Peniscola: Visit the tourist office first, they are happy to help and give a lot of information.
Parking fee: there are a lot of free places to park.
Attraction fee: free
Santa Florentina Castle
Also in season 6, a private castle near Barcelona was used to represent Horn Hill, the home castle from the House Tarly. Its real name is Santa Florentina Castle and you can visit the it. You only need to book. When we arrived, even the gate was closed so we couldn’t see much of the outside. f you want to see it, make sure to book in advance and you will have to pay € 12,-.
Castle: the castle is private terrain, you can only visit when you vook it in advance.
Parking fee: free
Attraction fee: € 12,-
Girona
The last stop is Girona and it’s totally worth it, even if you aren’t seeking for GoT sets. A lot of streets in the Jewish quarter and the Barri Vell where used by Arya, Waif and Jaqen H’ghat while training, fighting, chasing and talking in Braavos in season 6. Go look for Ferran el Catòlic, de la Claveria (Arya jumps out of a window), l’Escola Pia and Bisbe Josep Cartaña (she’s fighting blind), the steps at Sant Martí convent (she falls down), the Arab baths (€ 2,- entrance, € 1,- for students) and the little bridge (she escaped) at Monastir de Sant Pere de Galligants where you only have to imagine the characters. The theatre piece in episode 5 about the Starks and the Lannisters Arya was watching takes place at Placa dels Jurats. Only a few people know that the Monastir de Sant Pere de Galligants was used as the entry room from the citadel where Sam and Gilly arrived. One big old building was used a lot of times: the outside from the Santa Maria Cathedral as the Great Sept of Baelor, which explodes because of Cersei and it was also in the background in a lot of scenes.
Girona: the whole city is lovely to visit.
Parking fee: free outside the city center
Attraction fee: Arabic baths € 2,-
Besalu & Montgri in Baix Empordã
We found some information that Besalu in La Garrotxa will be seen in the last season, we already went there and are excited to see what they used! Also the Montgri in Baix Empordã, a mountain near Girona, will probably be used for some scenes.
Besalu: try the local madeleines (small cakes).
Parking fee: free outside the city center
Attraction fee: –
Make sure to check specific information for the spots with an entry or opening hours.
The whole trip is around 3000 km and you need at least 2 weeks if you really want to see everything and enjoy the time. But you should better plan 3 weeks, so you don’t have to hurry and take your time to be amazed by this spots.
Check out what the crew thought of filming in Spain.
