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How I met direwolves, became a pirate and ruled the Seven Kingdoms

Updated: Aug 7, 2019


When Game of Thrones became a world phenomenon, some wise people decided to organize filming locations tours across Europe. Naturally I HAD to sign up.



Game of Thrones tours are organized by various companies around Europe, but they all have some common features. A walking or bus tour of filming locations, a guide who often has been directly involved with the show, (stunt people and extras), and a hands-on segment where you can play with copies of props from the show or, if you're lucky, get to know someone from the cast.


Winterfell Tour | Northern Ireland | 50 € | www.gameofthronestours.com/belfast-winterfell/


The Winterfell bus tour leaves from Belfast in the morning and takes you to the southern part of Northern Ireland. The first stop is Castle Ward. The main keep of this 13th century castle, with its iconic clock tower, has been continuously used in the show as Winterfell, home of house Stark. A medieval guard tower standing on a hill not too far from the castle was instead used as the set for Robb Stark's camp in Season 2.



We were particularly lucky with this tour: our guide, who was an extra in the show, happened to know the handler of the dogs who played the Starks' direwolves. Long story short, we got to meet Summer and Greywind, respectively Bran Stark's and Robb Stark's direwolf, and play with them for about an hour. You can tell from my face that the whole thing was a dream come true to me.



The second location you visit is Inch Abbey, a ruined monastic site dating back to the 12th century and used as a set for the camp where Robb Stark was proclaimed King in the North (Season 1, Episode 10). Not only this site is particularly iconic for the show. The place exudes a fantasy novel atmosphere so powerful that you expect a druid coming out of the ruins at any moment. Also, here the guide gaves us capes, swords and shields to dress up like the Starks and take some adorably geek pictures.



The last stop in the afternoon before heading back to Belfast is Tollymore Forest Park. This enchanting forest is more than 60 years old and contains, beyond countless remarkable trees, various artificial and natural features along the Shimna river, including caves and bridges. One of these bridges was the location of the iconic scene where Ned Stark and his sons find a litter of direwolf pups (Season 1, Episode 1).



Iron Islands tour | Northern Ireland | 50 € | www.gameofthronestours.com/belfast-ironislands-ropebridge/


The Iron Islands bus tour leaves from Belfast in the morning and takes you to the northern part of the state. The first stop is Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. This rope bridge was used as a model for the the one connecting the towers of Pyke, ancestral home of the Greyjoy family. Regardless, Carrick-a-rede is a great place to visit, especially in summer. Crossing this rope bridge, put together by fishermen 350 years ago and suspended almost 30 m above sea level, is pretty fun and the cliffs of Carrick-a-rede, gently hit by the ocean waves are truly breathtaking.



For its second stop, the tour moves along the coast of Northern Ireland, but you virtually remain in the land of the Grejoys. Ballintoy Harbour is where Theon came ashore on Pyke Island and later rededicated his faith to the Drowned God (Season 2). During the hands-on segment of this tour, you get to wear the pirate attire typical of the Grejoy house. In the picture, me dressed and armed up as Yara Greyjoy, one of the most badass characters in the show.



After a quick stop at Giant's Causeway (be ready to run: there's barely time to get to the coast from the parking lot and come back, and the place is always packed, being a UNESCO World Heritage site), the bus heads to the last location of the tour: the Dark Hedges. This is a very suggestive countryside road, covered by a natural tunnel of beech trees branches. The road has been used in Game of Thrones as part of the Kingsroad, the road Arya Stark takes to escape King's Landing.



King's Landing Tour | Croatia | 55 € | www.gameofthronestourcroatia.com


The King's Landing walking tour covers all Game of Thrones filming locations in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in little less than 3 hours. The first stop is Fort Lovrijenac, an 11th century fortress that played a key role in the Croatian resistance against Venetian rule. The fort was used during the first four seasons of the show as the set for the Red Keep, royal seat and house to the Iron Throne. From the walls of Fort Lovrijenac you can admire Dubrovnik old town, which has been used in countless occasions as set for King's Landing, capital of the Seven Kingdoms.



Dubrovnik IS King's Landing. Its medieval setting and perfectly preserved historical landmarks allowed Game of Thrones directors to use any corner of old town to film iconic scene with little to no CGI. In the pictures below, the alley where Littlefinger's brothel is located, and the set where the brutal scene of the murder of King Robert's bastards (Season 1) was filmed.



The last locations on the tour are two iconic stone stairs. The first made famous by Cersei Lannister's Walk of Shame (Season 5) and the second, located in Sponza Palace, used as set for the meeting between Daenerys Targaryen and the Spice Merchant (Season 2). The activity segment of this tour includes playing and taking pictures with three of the show's most famous swords: Brienne of Tarth's Oathkeeper, Arya Stark's Needle and Jon Snow's Longclaw.



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