Famous Filming Locations Pinned

Calling all movie fans (which, after more than a year of periodic quarantine, is probably just about everyone). It’s not every day you had a chance to buy the house from The Silence of the Lambs. The infamous Pennsylvania home went on the market in September 2020. But it’s not the only famous movie filming location you’re able to step foot in.

There are hundreds of movie locations to pay a visit. Most are clustered in three states, one of which may surprise even the most dedicated movie buff. Or, if your interest is piqued based on the types of sets (outdoors locations, hotels, prisons, etc.) you’ll find those on the map below.

View Famous Movie Locations in a full screen map

We combined data from The Active Times and Cheapism to make the map. We also added Silence of the Lambs’ house for good measure—along with images. Now let’s see where most of these famous movie houses, transportation stations, hotels, etc. are located.

The Cities & States With the Most Films

While plenty of twists and turns took place in quite a few of these film spots, where they’re located isn’t too shocking. Unsurprisingly, most of the locations where films are shot are located in major U.S. cities like N.Y.C. and L.A., as you’ll see below.

• New York City – 10 famous film locations
• Los Angeles – 9
• Chicago – 5
• London – 4
• San Francisco – 3
• Philadelphia – 3
• Winnetka – 2
• Boston – 2
• Beverly Hills – 2
• Atlanta – 2

London, England, is the only international city home to multiple famous film locations on the lists we used. Those London locales include Selfridges from Love Actually, the Notting Hill Bookshop, Buckingham Palace in Paddington, and King’s Cross Station for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

A place we didn’t recognize as a major city was Winnetka, Illinois. Both Home Alone‘s McCallister house and Uncle Buck‘s New Trier Township High School are located in the small village 16 miles north of downtown Chicago.

States With Several Sets

For film aficionados interested in road-tripping to multiple locations where films are shot, several states have more than one. Those eight states are:

• California – 23
• New York – 10
• Illinois – 8
• Pennsylvania – 4
• Massachusetts – 3
• Georgia – 3
• Ohio – 2
• Hawaii – 2

It was easy to guess California‘s place on this list. After all, three Golden State Cities were mentioned in the previous section. We also previously discovered New York‘s sets are all in the Big Apple. As for Illinois, Winnetka claims two famous movie locations. That leaves five in Chicago (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off‘s Art Institute of Chicago, the Crain Communications Building in Adventures in Babysitting, and The Untouchables‘s Union Station are just a few examples). Finally, one film set in Woodstock (Groundhog Day‘s Cherry Tree Inn), which wraps up where these famous movie sets are located. Now, let’s move on to the various types.

Types of Well-Known Movie Locations

Famous movie locations are made up of residences like the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (Pretty Woman), the Mrs. Doubtfire house, and Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment. But more public landmarks like Tiffany’s jewelry store, Alcatraz prison, and King’s Cross Station also qualify. As such, these locations may be divided into nine types of well-known film sets, including outdoor locations.

There are 16 famous outdoor locations pinned on the map. Many of these valleys, coasts, and islands are located throughout Hawaii, including Kauai’s Hanapepe Valley, where much of the Jurassic Park franchise was filmed. Additionally, James Cameron’s Avatar took place off of the Big Island of Hawaii’s Hāmākua Coast.

Multiple movie directors preferred to film throughout Ireland. The Emerald Isle’s Skellig Michael island was a location of two Star Wars movies (The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi). Additionally, the Irish beaches of Ballinesker and Curracloe were featured in Saving Private Ryan.

Outdoor locations aside, categories of famous movie locations include:

• Hotels & residences (15)
• Entertainment & shopping (12)
• Palaces, plazas, & other landmarks (11)
• Museums & prisons (10)
• Food & drink (9)
• Education & religion (9)
• Transport (7)
• Cities & towns (4)

Select one or multiple groups on the map to see the famous movie locations that fall into the nine categories. Or, keep reading for how and why to add images to your maps.

Incorporate Your Images

The places you want to visit—including your favorite movie locations—are cluttering your Notes app or spreadsheet. Instead, transfer them to a custom map so you can see where in the world you want to go.

In addition to plotting your points, you can add images you find on the web or Pinterest to your map, reminding you of why you want to visit in the first place. Start mapping your bucket list locations along with your images today at batchgeo.com.