From Braavos to Besalú: Maps of movie locations in Catalonia

Mar i muntanya – sea and mountain – is a traditional Costa Brava dish combining meat and seafood, a Catalan surf and turf.

It also offers a clue as to one of the main attractions Catalonia offers to international film productions – the diversity of its locations.

"In a short drive you can go from a small cove in the Costa Brava, and then in the same day you can go to the Pyrenees and you can double for Scotland if you want," says Laia Boixader, technical manager at Catalunya Film Commission.

"In the middle you can find medieval towns or small cities and very cosmopolitan places, also farmhouses," she tells Catalan News. 

The result is that Catalan landscapes – and cityscapes – are no stranger to the silver screen, although the viewer may be immersed in what appears to be an Argentine beach, an Italian World War II village, or 18th century Paris.

(Scroll down to see locations in Barcelona)

International cinema's love affair with Catalonia began with Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, a 1951 British-American romantic fantasy starring Ava Gardner and James Mason. It was shot in Tossa de Mar on the Costa Brava, where today you can find a statue of Gardner as Pandora overlooking the town and beach.

Cardona castle is an imposing medieval fortress originally constructed by Wilfred the Hairy in 886. Now a hotel belonging to the state-owned Paradores chain, it served as a location for several scenes of Orson Welles' 1966 period comedy-drama film Chimes at Midnight.

No list of international productions in Catalonia could fail to mention Game of Thrones. Much of the sixth season of the hit HBO series was filmed in 2015 in Girona's Old Town, with visitors from around the world soon flocking there to see Braavos, King’s Landing, and (the aptly named) Oldtown brought to life.

Figures from Girona City Council's Tourism Observatory show that tourist flats more than quadrupled in five years, from 185 in 2015 to 866 in 2019. 

The picturesque medieval town of Besalú is a favorite among filmmakers, both local and international, thanks to its well-preserved historic buildings, Romanesque bridge, and cobbled streets. For season 3 of HBO's science fiction series Westworld, the northern Catalan town was transformed into fascist Italy during World War II. 

The action-adventure blockbuster Uncharted, Netflix period drama The Crown, and the historical thriller Perfume: The Story of a Murderer are three of the biggest productions to have been shot in Barcelona, but all three also filmed scenes around Catalonia.

Cala Sa Boadella stood in for an Asian beach resort in Uncharted, Viladecavalls for Bosnia in The Crown, and Figueres for 18th-century France in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.

Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon chose the Costa Brava hotspot Lloret de Mar as the setting for several key scenes. In fact, visitors to the Santa Clotilde Gardens, where filming took place, can enjoy sweeping views of Cala Sa Boadella – a House of the Dragon/Uncharted crossover, anyone?

Moving south along the coast, an African village was recreated in El Prat de Llobregat for the filming of The Gunman, a 2015 movie starring Sean Penn, while Sitges is looking to boost its appeal as a filming location after the success of Netflix's Who is Erin Carter? 

Penguins aren't a common sight in Catalonia, but one waddled onto Coma-ruga beach during the filming of The Penguin Lessons, starring Steve Coogan. The beach stood in for Argentina in the 2024 film adaptation of the bestselling memoir.

The jagged peaks of Montserrat certainly have an otherworldly, perhaps alien quality. No surprise then that they have made their way into the Star Wars universe, appearing in a galaxy far, far away in Andor, a prequel series to the film Rogue One.

Our cinematic journey around Catalonia ends in the capital Barcelona. 

Like Catalonia as a whole, the city is prized for the diversity of its locations within a compact area.

"In 100 square kilometers you can find a lot of different locations," says Montserrat Guiu, film office coordinator at Barcelona Film Commission.

"You have the beach, you have mountains, you have a bunch of different architectural styles, and you have streets with trees, which is not common in other cities."

For clarity, each title in the maps above is matched with just one standout location, though most were filmed in several places.

That's certainly the case with Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Penélope Cruz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but the city itself practically played the lead role. The Sagrada Família, Santa Maria del Mar, La Rambla, MACBA, the Miró Foundation, Gaudí's La Pedrera, and Picasso's favorite haunt, Els Quatre Gats, are just some of the iconic locations that appear in the movie.  

It's a similar story with Uncharted. "Shooting in Barcelona was a dream come true," British actor Tom Holland – who plays treasure hunter Nathan Drake – told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) ahead of the world premiere in the city in 2022. The action sweeps through the Catalan capital, from Montjuïc and Plaça Reial to the 15th-century church of Santa Maria del Pi and Gaudí's masterwork, the Sagrada Família.

The Passenger, a 1975 thriller, marked one of the first times Barcelona played a major role on international cinema screens. Starring Jack Nicholson, the city features in the plot, with prominent scenes shot at two Gaudí landmarks: Palau Güell in El Raval and La Pedrera on Passeig de Gràcia.

It's Barcelona but not as you know it in Bird Box Barcelona. The Netflix sequel features apocalyptic images of the city's Eixample district, Plaça Catalunya, and Sant Sebastià beach, complete with a sunken cruise ship and decrepit Hotel W Barcelona.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu's gritty Barcelona in Biutiful is another depiction that is a far cry from the tourist brochures, even as Javier Bardem's Uxbal moves through well-known spots such as La Rambla, Plaça Catalunya, and Plaça Reial.

Despite its California setting, The Machinist was shot in Catalonia, with Tibidabo amusement park the eerie backdrop for a nightmarish day out for Christian Bale's skeletal title character. The film is also one of many international productions to shoot at Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya in Terrassa.

Disney brought the glitz to Gaudí in The Cheetah Girls 2, as the girl group danced there way through Park Güell, Passeig del Born, Montjuïc and many more locations throughout the Catalan capital. 

In Netflix's The Crown season 6, Barcelona stands in for 1997 Paris. Plaça Francesc Macià and nearby streets were transformed with French signage as the production recreated the events leading up to the death of Princess Diana in a paparazzi car chase.

And finally, Barcelona was also dressed up as Paris, this time 18th century Paris, for Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.

Shooting took place all around Catalonia – in Girona, Figueres, Besalú, Cantallops, Tamarit and Tortosa – and in Barcelona's Gothic quarter.

But Poble Espanyol was the setting for the film's spectacular climax, featuring around 800 supporting actors and extras, some incredibly potent perfume and a wild, mass orgy. Barcelona is still there in the background, if anyone is looking!