Your guide to the best trips to film and TV locations, from Emily in Paris to Ticket To Paradise
Forget the ‘jet-set’, now ‘SET-JET’ is all the rage – trips to film and TV locations, from Emily to Paris to Ticket To Paradise
- Vacationers can stay at the Qualia resort on Hamilton Island where Ticket to Paradise was filmed
- Travel agents say Netflix show Emily In Paris has helped many fall in love with the French capital all over again
- Expedia added tastings to its Italian vacation after the success of Stanley Tucci’s Searching For Italy
Advertising
Each week, our holiday hero, Neil Simpson, takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the groundwork so you don’t have to. This week: TV-inspired travel trends.
Atmosphere, character and certainly drama are quickly becoming major selling points for many destinations next year.
But it’s not the jet-set that creates this trend, but rather the “set-jet”, holidaymakers going to see where their favorite films and TV shows were filmed.
“When we asked customers about their travel plans, we found that more than a third had booked holidays after falling in love with UK and overseas destinations seen on screen,” says Natalie Allard, from Expedia. “Even more are telling us they plan to do the same next year.”
Main role: vacationers go to see where their favorite movies and TV shows were made. Emily In Paris, with Lily Collins, above, has boosted interest in Paris
The Eurostar from London plus two nights in a Paris hotel costs from £170 pp
In recent years, the fixed jet trend has been led by Harry Potter fans who roamed the UK from the platforms of King’s Cross in London to Alnwick Castle in Northumberland and the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland.
Now fantasy fans can head to Belfast to visit the just-opened Game Of Thrones Studio Tour and see how key episodes were filmed. Two-night mini breaks in January, with flights, from £158 pp (lastminute.com). Shuttles to the attraction and entrance cost £39.50.
Travel agents say the Netflix show Emily In Paris has helped many people fall in love with the French capital all over again, searching for the bakery where Lily Collins’ character buys croissants, the galleries she visits, etc. . The Eurostar from London plus two nights in a Paris hotel costs from £170 pp (eurostar.com).
This fall, the sunny sets of George Clooney and Julia Roberts’ romantic comedy Ticket To Paradise captivated movie theater audiences.
The sunny sets of George Clooney and Julia Roberts’ romantic comedy Ticket To Paradise captivated cinema audiences
Ticket To Paradise is supposed to be set on the Indonesian island of Bali, but scenes were actually filmed on Australia’s Catseye Beach and the resort town of Qualia on Hamilton Island (pictured)
But while the film is supposed to be set on the Indonesian island of Bali, set designers will have to travel a few thousand miles to Australia to recreate scenes that were filmed on the white sands of Catseye Beach and at the five-star resort. Quality. on Hamilton Island, one of the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland. Get international flights to nearby Brisbane from £1,007 and stay at Qualia from £550 per night (trailfinders.com).
But it’s not just comedies or dramas that attract viewers. Actor Stanley Tucci’s BBC2 cooking show, Searching For Italy, has attracted such interest from holidaymakers that Expedia has added cooking lessons and tastings to his Italian holiday.
One of the most popular shows was Tucci’s exploration of the small plated cuisine, or cicchetti, served in Venetian bars, which can be relived in luxury at the canal-side Baglioni Hotel Luna, along Piazza San Marco. From £844 pp for three nights including flights. Add a four-hour Venetian cicchetti cooking class with a local chef for £190.
Actor Stanley Tucci’s BBC2 cooking show, Searching For Italy, has generated so much interest among holidaymakers that Expedia has added cooking lessons and tastings to his Italian holiday.
Tucci’s exploration of Venice can be relived at the canal-side Baglioni Hotel Luna along St. Mark’s Square (pictured)
Or recreate the TV magic of Tucci with a £90 bar and tasting session of five cicchetti paired with five Italian wines, which includes a canal trip by gondola to reach lesser-known local bars (expedia.com).
Closer to home, TV fans can enjoy escorted breaks with guided tours of UK filming locations.
On the Call The Midwife tour, an actress in costume leads guests through the cobblestones of Chatham Dockyard in Kent, where much of the BBC show is filmed. Vacationers can also explore some of the show venues in London.
Three-day coach tours with two nights in a hotel cost from £219 pp (justgoholidays.com).
On a Peaky Blinders break around Chester and Liverpool, delve into the underworld of BBC drama with storyboards, props and drinks at an ‘as seen on screen’ bar. Two-day breaks with coach travel, guided walks and hotel stay cost from £99 pp (nationalholidays.com).
Advertising
