While tourists flock from all corners of the globe to get the perfect Game of Thrones ‘gram, those of us living in Northern Ireland are lucky enough to have many of its fantastic filming locations right on our doorstep.
Buzz Bingo have compiled a list of filming locations along with how often each is hashtagged on Instagram and, unsurprisingly, the Dark Hedges (43,403 hashtags) and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (38,007) both ranked among the top four.
Other popular County Antrim locations included Ballintoy Harbour (7,718), the Glens of Antrim (7,480) and Murlough Bay (4,285).
Here are the top 10.
1. Krka National Park (Croatia) – 92,343 hashtags
Krka National Park serves as the landscapes of Westeros in numerous scenes including season 4, episode 3 ‘Breaker of Chains’, where Arya Stark and The Hound cross the Riverlands.
2. Ait Benhaddou (Morocco) – 58,933 hashtags
Ait Benhaddou portrays the city of Yunkai, which was the second slaving city on Slaver’s Bay that Daenerys Targaryen liberates.
3. Dark Hedges (Northern Ireland) – 43,403 hashtags
In the first episode of season 2, Dark Hedges represented the road out of King’s Landing that Arya escaped on.
4. Carrick-a-Rede (Northern Ireland) – 38,007 hashtags
This bridge stands in as the bridge between the two towers of Pyke on the Iron Islands. Euron Greyjoy murders Balon Greyjoy by pushing him off this bridge.
5. Gaztelugatxe (Spain) – 33,947 hashtags
Gaztelugatxe is instantly recognisable as Dragonstone Island – the base from which Daenerys plans her attacks in season 7.
6. Bardenas Reales (Spain) – 31,045 hashtags
This desert region in southeast Spain portrays the Dothraki Sea. Daenerys leads her Dothraki horde across these plains in her quest to cross The Narrow Sea.
7. Vatnajokull (Iceland) – 18,893 hashtags
Europe’s largest glacier covers 8% of Iceland’s landmass and is harnessed for countless scenes beyond the wall. In fact, the wall itself was formed using CGI shots of the glacier.
8. Thingvellir National Park (Iceland) – 18,533 hashtags
This mountainous region near the Hengill volcano sets the stage for Brienne and The Hound’s epic duel.
9. Italica (Spain) – 18,046 hashtags
This Roman amphitheatre (situated in the city that birthed Hadrian) portrays the Dragonpit in season 7 where the leaders of Westeros convene to discuss an armistice.
10. Doune Castle (Scotland) – 13,106 hashtags
Doune Castle was the the first location used to depict Winterfell. Aside from exterior shots, the castle was also employed for Robert Baratheon’s feast in the pilot episode.
Belfast Telegraph Digital
