Everyone loves movies and TV. There's nothing quite as cool as visiting the film locations of your favorites and, as the U.S. is home to the capital city of entertainment, there are quite a few to explore. Visit these sites on your own or take a group tour of several locations in one go for the most exciting student trip ever!
- Orange Grove Ave, Hollywood, CA - Few streets have seen so much horror as Orange Grove Avenue in Hollywood. Two houses on this street were used in the 1978 horror classic Halloween while just a few blocks over are the main character's house from Nightmare on Elm Street.
- Hook & Ladder 8, NYC - Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! Hook & Ladder 8 is the famous site of the Ghostbusters headquarters as well as a film site in Hitch. The street corner outside was also used in Enchanted, Zoolander, and It Could Happen to You.
- 128 Mott St, NYC - Although today you'll see a Chinese pharmacy, this was once the site of the famous scene where Don Corleone was shot in the Godfather. Little Italy has now been greatly absorbed by Chinatown but you might still see orange carts on the sidewalk.
- The Drake Hotel, Chicago -Scenes from the movies Risky Business, My Best Friend's Wedding, Hero, What Women Want, Continental Divide, Flags of Our Fathers, Wicker Park, and Mission: Impossible were shot at the Drake. As a real hotel, it has hosted dignitaries and royalty including Princess Diana, the Empress of Japan, and Queen Elizabeth II.
- Royal Victorian Manor, Woodstock, IL - You may recognize this quaint B&B as the film location of the Bill Murray classic, Groundhog Day. Even the white picket fence is still there, and you can stay the night in the inn just like Mr. Murray's character.
- Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC - As the largest privately-owned residence in the U.S., Biltmore has seen a lot of publicity, both in the mansion and on the grounds. Movies including The Last of the Mohicans, Patch Adams, Hannibal, Richie Rich, and parts of Forrest Gump among many others have utilized the setting. The estate offers tours daily and you can even stay in the cottages.
- Bradbury Building, L.A. - Sci-fi buffs will recognize the Bradbury as one of the most significant filming locations for the genre. Blade Runner filmed its climactic rooftop scene here and it was also featured in Quantum Leap, City of Angels, Chinatown, The Artist, Pay It Forward, Lethal Weapon 4, and many others. The building has also been a point of focus for comic series, detective novels, and music videos.
- Field of Dreams, Dyersville, IA - The farm used as the film location in the Kevin Costner movie wasn't always a baseball field but it is now. The location has been maintained as it was in the movie and is a popular tourist destination.
- Joseph A. Sylvia State Beach, Martha's Vineyard, MA - You know it as the beach from Jaws. The sandy shore is still open to sunbathers if you're not afraid of toothy creatures of the deep, that is.
- Stanley Hotel, Estes, CO - Redrum may still haunt these halls if you believe the ghost stories. The famed film site of Stephen King/Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, the Stanley has all of the crazy creepy sites from the movie including the long hallway (minus the weird little ghost girls) and haunted Room 217. The hotel is still open for guests and they offer in-depth ghost tours and have even recently announced opening a horror museum.
- Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. - The building is iconic for other reasons but it was also the film site of Forrest Gump, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, National Treasure, Planet of the Apes (2001), Wedding Crashers, Independence Day, and tons of others.
- Quality Cafe, L.A. - This little cafe has been a regular background location in a ton of movies. Among many others, the diner can be seen in Training Day, Old School, Se7en, Ghost World, Gone in 60 Seconds, and also the scene from Mad Men where Don meets his brother.
- Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, GA - While it's also a popular tourist destination, and a real cemetery, Bonaventure was also played a significant part in the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The book on which the movie was based was set in the shady oak streets and antebellum mansions of Savannah, many of which were featured in the film.
- Kualoa Ranch, Oahu - A beautiful stretch of land in Oahu, Kualoa Ranch has been utilized by many a Hollywood director. Nicknamed the "backlot of Hollywood," Kualoa has seen the sets of everything from Karate Kid (1986) to Jurassic Park, Fifty First Dates, Matthew Broderick's Godzilla, Hunger Games, Along Came Polly, Pearl Harbor, as well as TV shows like Lost and E.R. among others.
- Monument Valley, UT - While many people wouldn't recognize the name, Monument Valley is one of the most recognizable natural landmarks in the nation - and in the movies. These huge rock formations can be seen in the background of movies like Back to the Future Part III, The Searchers, Easy Rider, 2001: A Space Odyssey, National Lampoon's Vacation, Forrest Gump (where didn't Forrest Gump film?) and the 2013 Lone Ranger among others.
