After the 2019 Emmys aired Sunday, great television is at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
Although some of television’s long-beloved shows, such as “Game of Thrones,” have concluded, a TV tour is a good way to dig deeper into a show you’ve enjoyed so much by finding out where the most famous scenes were filmed, what the historical relevance of the location is and what it’s like to actually live there — while maybe even meeting an extra from the show.
If you’re about to take a trip, you may want to consider adding a TV tour to your itinerary. There are tours all over the world, and we’ve rounded up some of particular interest from past and recent Emmy winners below:
‘Game of Thrones’
On Sunday, “Game of Thrones” won the highest honor at the 2019 Emmys, the award for outstanding drama series.
The fictional continent of Westeros spans several kingdoms, putting filming locations in different environments around the world.
“Game of Thrones” tours in Croatia visit Split and Dubrovnik, and others visit areas around Belfast, Ireland.
The five-hour Split tour in Croatia includes three filming locations:
- Diocletian’s Palace, where guests will take a walking tour and visit the streets of Split’s old town, which were transformed into the streets of Meereen for the show. They will also visit the palace basement and what was transformed into Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) throne room.
- Klis Fortress is next on the list, and a tour guide will share some Croatian history.
- Žrnovnica river and a stone water mill will also be included on the tour. Several scenes in “Game of Thrones” were set on the river.
The Split tour costs about $130.
In Dubrovnik, fans can take a separate tour of filming spots for “Game of Thrones” for $60. The tour includes:
Tours in the Belfast area are put on by Brit Movie Tours.
The “Game of Thrones” Tour From Belfast With Giant’s Causeway, includes stops related to the show such as:
- Carnlough, including Carnlough Harbor where Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) entered the chilly waters and the caves where Melisandre (Carice van Houten) gave birth.
- Ballycastle, where some of the show’s cast members are originally from, including Conleth Hill (Varys) and Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark).
- Camp of Renly Baratheon, where Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) fought Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones).
- Dunluce Castle is included in the tour for a photo stop. It was portrayed in the show as the House of Greyjoy.
- The Dark Hedgesare also included as a photo stop. In the show, Arya escaped King’s Landing on the road while dressed as a boy.
It costs about $55 per person.
The second tour that Brit Movie Tours offers, which costs about $60 is the Winterfell Tour. It includes stops such as:
- Inch Abbey used in the show as King Robb’s (Richard Madden) camp.
- Tollymore Forest Park, where the Direwolf pups were originally found and the White Walkers massacred Wildlings.
- Castle Ward‘sfarmyard was used as the set of Winterfell.
And along the way, the tour will offer guests an opportunity to meet two dogs, Odin and Thor, who played the Starks’ Direwolf puppies.
Lewis Swan, director of Brit Movie Tours, told USA TODAY that both their tours depart around 9 a.m. and return around 6 p.m. depending on traffic. He recommends booking weeks or months in advance, as the tours do sell out.
‘Friends’
Over the years, “Friends” won six Emmys, and this year the show celebrates its 25th anniversary. What better way to appreciate the decades of entertainment it provided to us all than with a walking tour?
Free Tours By Foot offers an online guide for a walking tour in that has tons of stops all over New York City, including:
- The “Friends” apartment building used for an outside shot of where Monica Geller (Courtney Cox), Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) lived.
- Central Perk — or rather, where the coffeehouse would be.
- Phoebe’s apartment located just around the corner from the “Friends” building.
- The Lucille Lortel Theatre, where Joey performed in a play.
- Bloomingdale’s, where Rachel worked.
More ‘Friends’:: NYC pop-up lets you get coffee at Central Perk, recreate iconic opening credits
‘The Crown’
“The Crown” has won eight Emmys. Brit Movie Tours offers a TV tour on which attendees “explore the lives and the world of HM The Queen and Prince Phillip.”
“The Crown” Walking Tour of London runs on select Saturdays.
The tour includes stops at:
The tour also aims to debunk any differences between the events of the Netflix show and what took place in real life.
‘Downton Abbey’
The “Downton Abbey” tour from Brit Movie Tours takes place in two locations. The tour departs from London and takes guests on a two hour journey to Downton Village and then guests will proceed to Highclere Castle, the real “Downton Abbey.”
The small and larger group tours range from about $95 to $150 and include stops at:
- Downton Village, where guests will be led on a full tour featuring filming locations from the show such as the hospital, post office and the church. Guests will also see the homes of characters such as Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton).
- Highclere Castle, the real “Downton Abbey.”
If you don’t want to do a full tour but still want to experience the castle, it’s open on select days.
One night only: You can stay at ‘Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle, thanks to Airbnb
‘Killing Eve’
Jodie Comer took home the 2019 Emmy for lead actress in a drama series on Sunday for her role in “Killing Eve.”
And while there isn’t an official “Killing Eve” tour together yet, Brit Movie Tours is launching one in London in April. The tour will include more than 10 filming locations and will span from London Bridge to Bloomsbury to Southwark.
The tour is set to cost about $15.
Follow Morgan Hines on Twitter: @MorganEmHines.
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