Best Game of Thrones filming locations in Croatia

Game of Thrones filming locations in (and around) Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik Old Town is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the world. If you look at it from above, you will see red rooftops, white stone walls, and a clear blue sea surrounding it – by no mean a picture perfect. Thanks to the great number of exceptionally preserved monumental buildings, a walk through the Old Town of Dubrovnik is truly a unique experience leaving no wonder why it was a great choice for a capital city of the Seven Kingdoms, the King’s Landing.

Pile Gate – entrance to King’s Landing

This gate is the main entrance to the Old Town. Its unusual name allegedly originates from the Greek word meaning gate. In Game of Thrones, it was the entrance to King’s Landing. It can be seen in several scenes, among which is the riot from season 2. Although throughout the year Pile gate is always open, for the purpose of filming, it got permission to be closed.

Saint Dominic Street

This is a small street used for some significant scenes. Golden Cloaks here killed one of King Robert’s illegitimate sons, and later Cersei walked through it in her walk of shame. As Saint Dominic Street is near the main street of Stradun in the historic core, it can be a great starting point for the city tour.

Jesuits Staircase of Saint Ignatius Church

Do you remember Cersei’s infamous walk of shame at the end of the fifth season? It was a punishment for her crimes, including adultery with her twin brother Jaime Lannister. She was forced to walk naked in front of the crowd from the Great Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep. As she was walking, a woman behind her rang the bell in her ear repeatedly, saying: shame. The most prominent parts of this scene happened at the baroque, 18th-century staircase that leads to the Church of Saint Ignatius. The real-life staircase was modeled after the Piazza di Spagna staircase in Rome, giving it an impressive appearance.

Dubrovnik West Pier

The largest battle in the War of the Five Kings is the Battle of the Blackwater. It happened in season 2 when Stannis Baratheon tried to seize the Iron Throne. The scenes were filmed in Dubrovnik West Harbour and Pier, which doubled the Blackwater Bay. This location was a key one for numerous other scenes as well, including the one when Sansa gets her glimpse of hope through Littlefinger’s offer of help.

The Rector’s Palace – City of Qarth

It is interesting how series producers combined more different locations and even cities to complement one place from the book. In this case, scenes from the trading city of Qarth took place in different locations in Dubrovnik, on Lokrum Island, as well as in Trogir. The indoor scenes were shot inside the Rector’s Palace. In the olden days, when Dubrovnik was the Republic of Ragusa, this historical building was used as the Rector’s seat. Its facade, built by the Italian architect, is a mixture of the gothic-Renaissance style, with many details that still catch the eye of a passerby.

Gradac Park – The Purple Wedding

The wedding between King Joffrey I Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell is one of the unforgettable episodes of the show. What started as a grand happening ended in disarray. When the wedding feast started, king Joffrey got poisoned and died. The main scenes were filmed at Gradac Park, the most famous Dubrovnik park situated close to the Old Town, above the Dance beach. As many physical props were added to the scene, the similarities with the real-life location could be hard to spot; what might help is recognizing a huge fountain and fort Lovrijenac in the background.

Dubrovnik’s Fortresses

Just two hundred years ago, the stunning town of Dubrovnik in the very south of Croatia was a republic on its own. Known as the Republic of Ragusa, it was a free merchant republic that successfully balanced political connections with the neighboring Ottoman and Venetian empires. This city-state, to keep its freedom, needed strong city walls protected with fortresses. Nobody could imagine that one day its defense system would become a filming background for one of the most popular TV shows in the world.

Fort Minceta

Situated on the highest point of Dubrovnik’s stone walls, with its specific circular architecture Minceta is one of the city’s symbols. In the Game of Thrones, this fortress is used as the House of the Undying. After her dragons disappeared, Danaerys circled the Minceta, wondering how to enter. She finally succeeded through the hidden entrance, making her look like she had disappeared. If you want to visit this fortress, you can do it by buying an access ticket to the city walls. Be sure to prepare your camera because the view is exceptional.

Fort Lovrijenac

Also known as St. Lawrence Fortress, Lovrijenac was built on a large cliff on the edge of the city walls to protect the city’s sea entrance from the west. Because of that specific task, it is considered to be Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar. In the Game of Thrones, it was used as the Red Keep, so it hosted many prominent Lannister moments, such as king Joffrey’s name day.

Fort Bokar

Situated about 10 minutes by boat from Dubrovnik, Lokrum is a distinct green oasis with rich history and hidden legends, which doubled the city of Qarth. The complex that stands out on this small island is the stunning luxurious residence of a royal Habsburg family. It was built on the remains of the Benedictine monastery from the 11th century. If you visit Lokrum, you might see a lot of peacocks. They live there wild and free, and Game of Thrones producers thought they were a great addition to the Qarth.

Lokrum island

Situated on the highest point of Dubrovnik’s stone walls, with its specific circular architecture Minceta is one of the city’s symbols. In the Game of Thrones, this fortress is used as the House of the Undying. After her dragons disappeared, Danaerys circled the Minceta, wondering how to enter. She finally succeeded through the hidden entrance, making her look like she had disappeared. If you want to visit this fortress, you can do it by buying an access ticket to the city walls. Be sure to prepare your camera because the view is exceptional.

Arboretum Trsteno

There is no better place for the King’s Landing Palace Gardens than Arboretum. An arboretum is a Latin word for a place planted with trees and various botanical species, and it usually has an educational purpose. On a short drive from Dubrovnik, you will find the small village of Trsteno with an amazing arboretum, one of the oldest in the region, established at the property of the Renaissance summer residence. If you take a walk through Arboretum Trsteno, you will most definitely spot a beautiful fountain dominated by a statue of the Sea God Neptune with nymphs. The same one that Sansa was looking at on her visit to Olenna Tyrell. In her scenes, Lady Olenna walked through the garden and across, leaving fans many places that can be easily recognized on the visit to Arboretum Trsteno.

Game of Thrones filming locations in (and around) Split

While Dubrovnik was used for the scenes that happened in King’s Landing, Split and the small towns around are bringing us into the world of Westeros. An exotic world where Daenerys will attempt to gather the army and return the house of Targaryen on the Iron Throne. One of the most spectacular filming locations on that journey is 17 centuries old city of Split with its unique Roman palace, inside of which walls many scenes from Song of Ice and Fire became alive.

Split – city of Meeren

Welcome to the city of fascinating history. At the very end of the fourth century AD, here began the construction of the ancient palace for the Roman Emperor Diocletian. He became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicated imperial office, spending the last years of his life peacefully on the Adriatic coast. Thousand and seven hundred years later, the palace is still there, in the heart of the modern-day Split. Many parts of the palace are greatly preserved, especially the basement halls, which were used as Daenery’s throne room as a Meeren ruler and a place where she kept her dragons.

The streets of Diocletian’s Palace can be recognized in many scenes as well. Their alleys welcomed the army of the Grey Worm and the Unsullied, while secret pathways intertwined Roman history with dragons, wars, and dangerous plots about winning the throne in the most amazing way.

Zrnovnica

Zrnovnica is a small village just outside Split, beloved among the locals for weekend day trips and family get-togethers. It is well known for its grain mills, most of which are today lost. One mill still can be seen at the small family farm Antonicin Mlin. The lovely surrounding of this estate is a background for the bathing scene of Daenery’s handmaid Missandei in season 4. Zrnovnica also has a quarry where the Unsullied army marched to the Meereen gate under the Daenery’s command.

Kliss Fortress – Meereen

This is another great filming location with its history of wars and battles. Strategically positioned above the Split, it was mentioned for the first time as early as the 5th century. The Klis fortress earned its fame in the era of the Turkish wars, resisting the attempts of the Ottoman conquest for decades. In the series, it was used as a Meeren. This location brought many dramatic scenes, including punishing the rules by nailing them to crosses and the city siege.

Kastel Gomilica – Braavos

Only 20 minutes away from Split lays Braavos, the most powerful of the Free Cities. Braavos is Kastel Gomilica, one of the seven settlements under the city of Kastela. While walking through the waterways, canals, and lagoons of this lovely small sea town, it is easy to evoke some of the Game of Thrones scenes, were searching for vengeance Arya starts her service for the Many-Faced God.

Trogir – Qarth

The greatest city that ever was or will be is how the trading city of Qarth was described in the series. A description worth of Trogir, a city with an astonishing old town whose old core is protected by UNESCO. Trogir and its harbor were important filming locations for the second Daenerys arrived here after crossing the Red Waste. She was hosted in the villa, and those scenes were most likely shot inside the saint Dominic church and the monastery ensemble in the old town’s center.

Sibenik – Braavos

At the end of the tour, we have Sibenik – the fourth destination (after Dubrovnik, Split, and Trogir) on our Game of Thrones list with the sights under UNESCO protection. Although many scenes of Braavos were filmed in Kastel Gomilica, some took place in Sibenik as well. One of them is following fearless Arya Stark on the boat entering the city with the St. Nikola Fort while they pass the colossal statue of Titan of Braavos. The symbol of Sibenik, St. Jacob’s Cathedral, for the series represented the Iron Bank. What amazes the fans is the fact that this protected, centuries-old building didn’t need any additional changes or modifications to be shown in the series.

If you want to make sure the first hand, save this list, book the next flight to Croatia, and start your Game of Thrones adventure.