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This Wes Anderson-Approved Town Is Europe’s Best Filming Location

This Wes Anderson-Approved Town Is Europe’s Best Filming Location

Grand Budapest Hotel

From iconic shows like F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Sex And The City to legendary movies like Star Wars, sleuthing out filming sites is like sport for the world’s most dedicated film and TV fans.

Last week, the newly formed European Film Commission Network (EuFCN) shone the spotlight on Europe’s iconic filming locations. Contenders for the continent’s best included fictional lands from Game of Thrones, like Dubrovnik, Croatia, which moonlights as King’s Landing, and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe in Spain, or Dragonstone.

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But taking out the top spot was a little-known German town called Görlitz (dubbed Görliwood), where much of Wes Anderson‘s 2016 Oscar-winning film The Grand Budapest Hotel was filmed. The film features many of the town’s most iconic landmarks, including the Stadthalle concert hall, Freisebad bathhouse, and the Görlitzer Warenhaus, an Art Nouveau-style department store.

Görlitz, Germany
Image: Wikimedia Commons

Other movies filmed in Görlitzer include the 2004 remake of Around the World in 80 Days, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and, more recently, The Book Thief.

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Görlitzer is the easternmost town in Germany, and one of its best-preserved post-WWII locales, meaning it’s also a popular set for historical European films.

Görlitz, Germany
Image: Mike Bonitz / Flickr

But you don’t need to be a movie star to enjoy the city. Located smack-bang on the Polish border, the town makes for a beautiful and inexpensive break from Germany’s urban hubs.

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The Eiffel Tower

Plus, you might just land in the background of a movie while you’re visiting.

How to get to Görlitz

  • Fly into Dresden Airport
  • Take a taxi 103km (about an hour) via the A4
  • Görlitz, Germany

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(Lead Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures)

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