Christmas Film Locations Around the World

Here at Civitatis, we’re already feeling the festive cheer and getting excited for Christmas. One of the best ways to get into the festive spirit is by watching our favourite Christmas movies… or by visiting the places where these Christmas classics were filmed!

If you’re not sure where to go, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are 10 Christmas Film Locations around the world you can visit to see where your favourite festive flicks came to life.

Warning: Not suitable for the Grinch!

New York

The Big Apple is certainly the place to be this festive season, full of stunning light displays, bars brimming with mulled wine, eggnog and other festive cocktails, emerald trees and shiny ice rinks. In fact, this famous rink is the scene of our first Christmas film location. Where better to start your trip than the New York Rockefeller Center, where a heartwarming reunion occurs in New York when in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The youngest of the family Kevin, Macaulay Culkin, is reunited with his mother under the famous New York Christmas tree.

Another Christmas classic that is shot in New York is the 2003 comedy ELF. Buddy the Elf travels all the way from the North Pole to be reunited with his father. Of course, we can’t miss out the Empire State Building, a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City where Buddy first meets his father.

Brighton

One of our beloved Christmas classics would be The Snowman, an animated wordless television film that first graced our screens in 1982. You can see some of the places included in this animated film by visiting Brighton, a colourful seaside city in southern England. 

During their adventures, the boy and the snowman fly over the Brighton Palace Pier and the Royal Pavillion on their way to Norway to see the magical Northern Lights. While you won’t be able to go walking in the air all the way to Norway, you can still explore this Christmas film location and Brighton’s iconic monuments.

Scotland

Next we’re off to Scotland, to continue our Christmas tour. The adequately cheesy and feel-good Christmas movie, A Castle for Christmas (2021). While the fictional town Dunbar doesn’t exist you can explore the beautiful region of Fife that inspired the film and where many of its locations can be visted in real life! In this film, Brooke Shields plays Sophie a young woman who decides to travel to Scotland to get away from her chaotic life. But in true festive spirit she ends up crossing paths with and falling in love with a Duke with a castle! The castle in the film is actually Dalmeny House, in South Queensferry near Edinburgh, which is open to the public to visit.

Oakville, Canada

In the 1994 Christmas comedy, The Santa Clause stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, and his son find that Santa Claus has fallen through their roof (not the chimney!) and is unable to deliver the presents for Christmas. So the task falls to Tim and his son Charlie to save the holidays! The film was shot in the Greater Toronto Area, with Oakville serving as the city of Lakeside, Illinois. In fact the reindeer used in the film were all from the Toronto Zoo, you can come and say hello to these furry friends. Why not take a private tour to explore this fabulous city!

Spere

If you’re after a quiet Christmas in a charming English village, then Shere would be the perfect place for you. This historic town in Surrey was the spot chosen for Kate Winslet’s house in the 2006 Christmas classic, The Holiday. Often cited as one of the most beautiful villages in England, Shere has long been a popular destination for shooting blockbusters, making it the perfect Christmas film location. By hopping on a train from London, you too can explore the narrow streets and quaint shops visited by Cameron Diaz on her transatlantic adventure.

Budapest

We’ve got another classic as we go back to 1940 and travel all the way to Budapest. The Shop Around the Corner, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan is a Christmas movie as it culminates in a day of record pre-Christmas sales for the shop. Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other’s anonymous pen pal. So while not a strictly Christmas film, it’s the perfect time of year to re-watch. Why not take a historic tour of Budapest to explore this beautiful city over the holidays.

Bruges, Belgium

From Budapest to Belgium. Another potentially unconventional Christmas movie is In Bruges (2008): a black comedy-drama crime film. Okay so we have to admit this does movie definitely does not have particularly Christmas feel good vibes does take place over the festive period. Two London-based Irish hitmen (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) are forced to hide out in Bruges, to escapes their their enraged boss, Ralph Fiennes. The film is set and was filmed in Bruges, which is UNESCO World Heritage Site, full of stunning sights, why not come and see for yourself on the Bruges free tour. Among the sites visited by the duo are the Belfry, Groeninge Museum which houses Hieronymus Bosch painting of The Last Judgment.

New Zealand

Next we’re off to the magical land to the magical land of Narnia! Well actually did you know that lots of the filming locations for the films can actually be visited in real life in New Zealand. In the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Lucy arrives in Narnia where they were experiencing an eternal Winter thanks to the White Witch but they never celebrated Christmas. In fact an hour north-west of Auckland, the dark trees of Woodhill Forest were transformed into the dreaded camp of the White Witch of Narnia.

Once the hold over Narnia began to loosen after the children’s arrival, we see three of them meet a ‘Father Christmas’ who gives them each “presents” which were weapons and potions that were useful for battle. So in our books it does count as a perfect Christmas movie to re-visit this season.

Los Angeles

Let’s change things up a bit and head to Los Angeles for a warm Christmas. In the slightly unconventional Christmas movie, aptly named Bad Santa (2003), a con man and his partner pose as Santa Claus and his Helper to rob a department store. Willie visits the beach bar on Long Beach.

Since we’re in LA, we can’t not mention the action-packed Christmas movie Die Hard (1998). Fox Plaza, also known as ‘Nakatomi Plaza,’ where John Mclane (Bruce Willis) saves his wife´s Christmas party is just southwest of Beverly Hills. It also serves as a corporate headquarter for 20th Century Fox. You can even visit Universal or Warner Bros film studios to see where so many blockbusters have been filmed!

London

While we don’t usually need an excuse to visit the UK’s vibrant capital, here’s another one! London is used in countless Christmas films for its symbolic sights.

One of the nation’s favourite Christmas films would be Love Actually (2003), a classic Richard Curtis rom-com. On your next trip to London, you can go shopping the Selfridges on Oxford Street to see the spot where Rowan Atkinson wraps Alan Rickman’s Christmas present in a torturously slow manner.

While you’re in London you can also visit Covent Garden, an area filled with shops and restaurants that are beautifully decorated during the festive period. One of these would be as Emilia Clarke’s Christmas shop in the 2019 film Last Christmas.

Another classic British film shot in London is Bridget Jones’s Diary. This fan favourite begins and ends at Christmastime and includes plenty of festive cheer! You could see Tower Bridge in London and walk across the River Thames just like Renée Zellweger does in this 2001 classic. 

You can discover all these places and more on our private tour of London, during which you’ll see the city’s most symbolic sights. If you’d prefer to see the city’s monuments adorned with Christmas lights, then you’ll love our sightseeing tour of London’s Christmas lights.

From all of us here at Civitatis, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!