Five More Fictional Places you can Visit

We have discovered that Hogwarts, The Floating Mountains from Avatar and Tatooine from Star Wars are all visitable locations on Earth. While doing research for that list I found far too many locations not to mention. Here is part two of Five Fictional Places you can visit.

1)      The Canyon City

The plot of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is that Indiana and his father fight the Nazis in a race to reach the Holy Grail.  After a magnificent scene that involves fighting on and in a tank that eventually falls off a cliff, the heroes go to Canyon City. Canyon City is aptly named because it is built inside a canyon, literally carved into the stone. The city is not an important aspect of the film but what many people don’t realise is that it is a real place.

Petra was lost to the western world until the 1800’s when it was rediscovered. It is a fully functioning city in Jordan and hosts a cinema, a casino, many temples and homes and has been listed as a World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Considering its status it is surprising many more people have not heard of it.

2)      Various locations in Game Of Thrones

The Game of Thrones universe is massive, arguably greater in size than Lord of the Rings.  Characters follow intertwining plot threads across the continents of Westeros and Essos, normally to meet a bloody end.  Locations such as King’s Landing, Winterfell and The Wall have become well known.

Although some sets have to be CGI, King’s Landing is a real location. Dubrovnik in Dalmatia is used to film many King’s Landing scenes. Dubrovnik still has a medieval wall around the city, as seen in the picture below and the architecture is similar to what the show runners need to create an authentic atmosphere.

Castle Ward in Northern Ireland is used to film scenes of Winterfell  and when not in use by the film crew it is frequented by fans. You can take a tour of the set and even sit in the Iron Throne should you wish too.

The Hverfjall Volcano and the Svínafellsjökull Glacier (How do hell do you pronounce that?) in Iceland were used to create the sinister backdrop for the White Walkers.

3)      Wonderland

When Alice falls down the rabbit hole she encountered Wonderland, a strange land filled with talking animals, magic potions and other impossibilities. Alice in Wonderland has become a children’s classic.  There is such a way to visit Wonderland without taking any form of…*ahem* medication.

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Have you heard about The Garden of Cosmic Speculation? It’s a garden inspired by Wonderland and built using biology, chemistry and both scientific and mathematical formulas.  The architect is Charles Jencks and the garden can be found in Scotland. Have a look at the pictures below.

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It would be an amazing place to host a tea party…

4) The TARDIS

If you are not familiar with the Doctor Who franchise you should still be able to identify the TARDIS, the blue box the Doctor travels around in. TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space. The Doctor stole his TARDIS when he was in his first incarnation to escape the Time War that destroyed his home and his race. The TARDIS has been labelled as a Type 40 and according to many characters in the show is an old relic compared to other types. It does seem that the ship is constantly breaking down, crashing, suffering faults and generally never lands when and where is it suppose to. You can hear the Ninth Doctor explain why the TARDIS looks like a police box below.

As he says there were police boxes in 1960’s Britain and a few still survive. One notable example can be found outside Earl’s Court tube station in London. Although slightly battered it has attracted many Doctor Who fans (nicknamed Whovians).

5)   The Disney Castle

Some say it is the most recognisable castle in the world. The Disney castle, officially called the Cinderella Castle is one of the iconic images of Disney. It is the grand attraction at two Disney parks and featured at the beginning at most Disney films.

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The inspiration of the castle is Neuschwanstein Castle. It was owned by Ludwig Il of Bavaria and built as a personal retreat. It survived both world wars intact and was used briefly by the Nazi’s to store plundered gold.  Prone to mist due to its position above a forest and decorated with spires and lavish battlements it is easy to see why the castle was adopted by Disney.