nicole toro

Have you ever watched your favorite movie and just sat there with equal parts amazement and sadness because you wished you could just BE there? While there is very little chance that you will ever actually sail the seven seas with Captain Jack Sparrow on The Black Pearl, you may be interested in these 10 popular movie locations that are very much open for business. 

Family Classics

Our first destination is the infamous “8 Hook and Ladder”, still a functioning fire-house, this iconic brick building with the bright red door is none other than the Ghost Busters headquarters! Although, when you do visit, try to get your photos from across the street as a fire could spring up at any time. 

Every kid from the 80’s and 90’s knows the “truffle shuffle”. Drive up to Astoria, Oregon and get your shuffle on outside the original “Goonies” house.  There is a tour a few times a year, but the neighbors don’t seem to mind if you just want to snap a few shots of this now historical landmark. 

Who doesn’t remember the crazy one legged lamp from “A Christmas Story”. Relive your favorite childhood holiday memories and make your way to Cleveland, Ohio. The house is open year round for tours and yes, you can even see that darn lamp shining in the front window. 

Fandoms for Everyone

“What is your quest?” “To seek the HOLY GRAIL!” 1975’s “Monty Python and the Holy Grail Fans” should have no problem trekking to the isolated Doune Castle to reenact their favorite Python moments. Located in Scotland and boasting several tours a year, this film location is a must for die-hard fans.  

Do you know how to get onto Platform 9 ¾? Every Potter-Head in the world can tell you! To get to the ACTUAL platform, one would presumably have to manage to get through the wall, but for the rest of us “muggles”, we’ll have to make do with just looking at the entrance, now permanently located in New Western Departures Concourse located in Kings Cross Station in London. 

Did you know that you can experience Middle Earth from The Shire itself? Located in Matamata, in Northern New Zealand, this private farm land boasts year round tours for Hobbit and Lord of the Ring fans alike! Not only can you frolic like Frodo through the rolling green hills, the set is still in fact a working farm, so you can also help tend to the animals! 

For the Guys

Test your endurance as you sprint up the 72 stone steps marking the entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, made famous by the iconic scene in Rocky 1. Double points if you blast “Eye of the Tiger” while wearing a track suit! 

Who can forget Jodi Foster’s heart-felt performance in “Contact”? Visit the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, between 9am-4pm year round except between the months of August and December. Check out their website for visitor center information and guided tours. 

Built in 1924 and designed by the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright, The Ennis House in Los Angeles, California boasts a couple movie claims to fame. First used in 1933 for “Female”, then gaining a bit more exposure for providing the creepy exterior shots for 1959’s “House on Haunted Hill”, the Ennis House finally gained infamy as the inspiration for most of the architecture in 1982’s “Blade Runner”, although only a handful of scenes were actually shot at the physical location. Now an historical landmark, The Ennis House is open for tours but as of recent is under renovations. 

Eastern State Penitentiary was transformed into a mental institution for the cult classic, “12 Monkeys” starring, Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. Known as one of the most haunted locations in Pennsylvania, you can even attend their annual “Terror behind the Walls” haunted attraction.  They offer year round tours and they will even host your wedding! 

Even the greatest of movie and film buffs have shied away from visiting the last on our list, but give it a shot, plan your next road trip or family vacation to include one of our top 10 movie location destinations!