One of the great joys of watching new movies is to be inspired by the wonderful locations in which they were filmed, whetting our appetites for new cities and new landscapes. And there’s a bumper crop this year, reawakening our desire to visit or revisit some of the most desirable destinations on the planet. We’ve shared our favourites launching across the rest of 2024.
Gladiator 2 – filmed in Malta and Morocco
Launching in November, the long-awaited sequel to the multi-Oscar-winning movie was filmed in two glorious destinations that also feature in the original. Gladiator 2 was partly filmed in Ouarzazate in south-central Morocco, which has a long history as a filming location: movies and TV series part-shot here include Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Living Daylights (1987), The Mummy (1999) and Game of Thrones.
Malta similarly features in Game of Thrones, with the entrance to the ancient walled capital of Mdina doubling as King’s Landing. For Gladiator 2, an amphitheatre and other ancient Roman buildings were built near the shore at Fort Ricasoli overlooking the entrance to Valletta’s spectacular Grand Harbour.
The Fall Guy – filmed in Sydney, Australia
Out in May with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt as its main stars, this adaptation of the 1980s TV series was filmed at Disney Studios Australia in Moore Park, Sydney, in the city’s Goulburn Street parking lot, and at Sydney Harbour Bridge, among other locations. Australia’s biggest city is a destination in its own right, with attractions ranging from world-class museums to breathtaking walks along the coast from iconic Bondi Beach, and it’s also a great jumping-off point into the Blue Mountains National Park.
Dune: Part 2 - filmed in Wadi Rum, Jordan
Launched in March, this second of the two-part modern-day adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel filmed its Arrakis sand-planet scenes in Wadi Rum in Jordan. Also, known as Valley of the Moon, Wadi Rum has long been a popular filming location for those in need of stunning desert vistas, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Martian (2015), Aladdin (2019), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The luxury desert camps here are an atmospheric addition to any Jordan holiday.
Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 2: filmed in Norway and South Africa
In June, the eighth instalment in the Tom Cruise series had a number of exciting shooting locations, among them Aurland and Svalbard in Norway – the first a small village in the middle of the dramatic Aurlandsfjord, the second an Arctic archipelago and one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas, with glaciers, frozen tundra, polar bears, reindeer, and Arctic foxes. Many of our Norway cruises take in Svalbard.
In South Africa, Port Edward on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal – a place known for its vast iSimangaliso Wetland Park full of hippos, crocodiles, pelicans, and flamingos - was also used as a location.
Ballerina: filmed in Prague and the Czech Republic
This John Wick spin-off action thriller arriving in June was filmed mainly in the Czech capital and other locations around the country, including the historic town of Štramberk outside of Ostrava. In Prague, one major scene was shot in the area surrounding the National Theatre, while other locations included the front of the Hotel Opera at Tesnov and Masarykova nádraží train station. Ballerina is among six films given financial support by Prague to be used as a filming location.
To book your holiday in one of these fabulous filming locations, call your Travel Counsellor today.
There are so many great reasons to experience certain destinations in the shoulder seasons – that sweet spot between a region’s peak season and off-season. Think fewer crowds and queues for major attractions, better-value flights and other travel, and a more authentic experience of the destination. We’ve put our heads together to share a few of our favourite places that can be just as good or even better outside of high season.
Seeing the world, or parts of it, by cruise is more popular than ever as people realise just how fantastic it can be to float from place to place, discovering more than one destination in a single trip. Our Travel Counsellors say, ‘There’s a cruise ship to suit everyone, and yes you can get off at every port, as many times as you like!” If you’re in any doubt over whether a cruise is right for you, there are mini cruises of just a couple of nights that will help persuade you.
