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Croatia, the land of Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones in Croatia
Where is the World of George R.R. Martin actually located? In Croatia, for the most part. That’s where many of the scenes in the series were shot.
Dubrovnik
what King’s Landing looks like in real life? The capital of Westeros borrows many of its streets and places from Dubrovnik. The Red Keep, a fortress built by Aegon the Conqueror 300 years before the events of the series and seat of the King of the Seven Crowns, found there a grandiose setting: Fort Lovrijenac, or Fort St. Lawrence, the fortress of Dubrovnik. The pier located at the foot of the same Lovrijenac Fortress appears several times in the series, each time characters leave or arrive at Port Real by boat, in fact: the departure of Mircella, the Oberyn-Cersei conversations…
But other places also come back often: the steps of the Septuary, the many staircases, the long street that we often see… It is also in the streets of Dubrovnik that Cersei is forced to walk naked at the end of season 5, for her “walk of shame”.
The Dubrovnik city setting is also used to represent Quarth, a city of season 2, yet located far from King’s Landing on the Westeros map. It is here that you can see the buildings (Sponza Palace and Knezev dvor) of the palace of the very rich merchant Xaro Xhoan Daxos, who is interestingly hosting Daenerys and his meagre troops during season 2.
Still in Dubrovnik, still in Quarth: the tower Minčeta, used to represent the House of the Non-Dying, the strange trick of the magicians of Quarth who seek to steal the dragons of Daenerys, at the end of season 2.
But if Dubrovnik is everywhere in Game Of Thrones, over the seasons, buildings from different other cities have also been used: Imotski, Kastela, Split, Sibenik?
Trsteno
For example, the gardens of the Red Keep, an arboretum in which many characters like to walk, are in the Botanical Gardens of the town of Trsteno in real life.
Lokrum
Quarth is also the island of Lokrum. This is the setting for the villa and gardens of the very rich merchant Xaro Xhoan Daxos.
Braavos
The city of Sibenik only appears in season 5, to represent Braavos. Scenes (in the House of the Black and White or the Temple of the Faceless Assassins) were shot near the Saint-Jacques cathedral, classified as a UNESCO heritage site. Others, in the medieval streets of the city, perfect for frenzied chases between girls and discreet assassinations.
Klis
The large staircase ramps that lead to the city of Meereen, which Daenerys conquered to free the slaves? These are those of the fortress of Klis, with pyramids added in special effects in the background.
Split
Daenerys’ throne room when it conquered Meereen? Actually, it’s a room in Diocletian’s Palace in Split. And it is also there, in the basement of the same Palace of Diocletian (Split), that is the pit in which are locked the dragons a little too turbulent eating children.
Also worth seeing in Split: the street Papalićeva, in which the scene of the slave rebellion takes place; and the Villa Dalmacija which represents Dorne in season 5.
Finally, the last spot not to be missed: the arena in which the mythical fight between Oberyn Martell and Gregor Clegane, known as The Mountain, takes place.
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