Have you ever dreamed of visiting the fictional worlds from your favourite film or TV show? Using Google search volume data, On The Go Tours have revealed the most searched-for fictional locations of all time and have provided some alternative locations you can visit, so that you can recreate the magic of your favourite fictional destinations in real life.
You can view the most popular fictional destinations and their real world alternatives here.
Though not all of the locations identified by On The Go Tours were filmed in real life locations, many are based on non-fictional destinations across the world, so you are still able to explore some of the places from your favourite books, TV shows and films. These include:
-
Diagon Alley from Harry Potter – based on a street in Edinburgh
-
The country of Genovia from Princess Diaries – based on the country of Andorra
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Lilliput from ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ – based on the island of Tasmania in Australia
Below are the most popular fictional locations, the global search volume these locations have received, and their real life alternatives:
|
Global Search volume |
Film/TV |
Fictional Location |
Real Life Alternative |
|
283,080 |
Black Panther |
Wakanda |
Cape Town, South Africa |
|
127,440 |
Avatar |
Pandora |
Tianzi Mountains, China |
|
94,920 |
Thor |
Asgard |
Cedar Creek Falls, Australia |
|
79,920 |
Peter Pan |
Neverland |
Belize |
|
64,920 |
The Hunger Games |
Capitol |
Les Espaces d’Abraxas, France |
|
55,560 |
Star Wars |
Coruscant |
Tokyo, Japan |
|
55,200 |
Harry Potter |
Diagon Alley |
Edinburgh, UK |
|
51,240 |
Superman |
Metropolis |
New York City, US |
|
44,880 |
Wizard of Oz |
Emerald City |
Kansas, US |
|
43,800 |
Batman |
Gotham City |
New York City, US |
|
43,800 |
Game of Thrones |
Dragonstone |
Gaztelugatxe, Spain |
|
29,040 |
The Lord of the Rings |
Rivendell |
Kaitoke Regional Park, New Zealand |
|
26,400 |
Star Wars |
Cloud City |
La Rinconada, Peru |
|
20,160 |
Princess Diaries |
Genovia |
Andorra |
|
20,040 |
Gulliver’s Travels |
Lilliput |
Tasmania, Australia |
Most popular location: Black Panther
The most popular fictional location (determined by global search volume) is Wakanda from Black Panther. Black Panther is an award-winning and record-breaking film released in 2018 that surpassed the $1 billion mark less than a month after release. This ground-breaking film is set in a fictional location called Wakanda, a made-up country located in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Wakanda has been searched for 283,080 times globally. If you’d like to make a trip to Wakanda a reality, the closest real life alternative is the capital of South Africa, Cape Town. The iconic shot of the Black Panther standing on the panther head rock overlooking Birnin Zana is very similar to the landscape of Cape Town when viewed from Pearl Rock.
Harry Potter
JK Rowling’s huge franchise Harry Potter unsurprisingly makes the list of films and TV shows with popular fictional locations, as many of the locations in the Harry Potter books are based on British cities or landmarks.
Diagon Alley, a street of shops where Hogwarts’ wizards and witches can buy everything from wands to owls, is known to be inspired by Victoria Street in Edinburgh. The street is full of colourful buildings and cobbled streets and even hosts a Harry Potter themed shop that sells memorabilia fans.
Thor
Cedar Creek Falls in Australia is known for its beautiful views over the open canyon, waterfalls and rock pools, and is a popular attraction amongst tourists. But for Marvel fans, there’s another reason to visit. Parts of the popular franchise Thor – which is set in the fictional location of Asgard – were filmed on location at Cedar Creek Falls, with the area creating a mythical forest backdrop for the Marvel film. The fictional location of Asgard is ranked as the third most popular fictional location, having received a global search volume of 94,920.
Avatar
When Avatar was released in 2009, the James Cameron blockbuster, which generated a whopping $2.788 billion at the box office, introduced us to the home of the indigenous Nav’ai, Pandora. Pandora is a mythical location that hosts an array of magical flora such as the Tree of Souls and Panopyra. It’s hard to imagine anywhere on earth as a comparison, but the Tianzi Mountains in China bear a resemblance. The mountains are located in a huge area of fantastical landscape with stacked pillars, caves, subterranean rivers and lakes, making it easy to see why it was the inspiration for Pandora.
With so many fictional locations taking inspiration from real life places, from Andorra to Tokyo, which film will inspire your next trip?
On The Go Tours Marketing Manager, Hollie Youlden comments:
“It’s fascinating to learn that a lot of the fictional locations in these films are based on places that it’s possible to travel to, especially when taking into account some of the more fantastical locations like Lilliput and Pandora.
It’s exciting to think that you can recreate the magic of your favourite fictional destinations in real life.”
