A Hitchhiker's Guide to Westeros
Prepare for the deadliest vacation of your life....
Every Game of Thrones fan has probably fantasized about a vacation to Westeros.
After all, who wouldn't want to stay a few nights in King's Landing or Winterfell? I hear they've both got some really quaint Airbnb's. Or maybe you just want to snap a few selfies from the top of The Wall (or, you know, take a piss off of it). Perhaps the warm sands or Dorne are more your style.
**This article may contain spoilers**
Unfortunately, with all the dragons, Whitewalkers, incestuous power couples, face-stealing assassins, Hagrid-sized zombie henchman, sadistic dick-removing bastard sons, brother-killing blood magic babies, AND the endlessly revolving door of regicide, patricide, infanticide, fratricide, and just about every other "cide" you can imagine (is there a "cide" for the killing of one's favorite character?), you'd probably be safer vacationing in North Korea than you would in the Seven Kingdoms.
Luckily, like Lord of The Rings fans can book a trip to Hobbiton , there are several iconic Game of Thrones locations that could be the perfect backdrop for your next nerdcation. So, step onto the Kingsroad, stick your thumb out and pray whoever picks you up is flying friendly colors. This is your hitchhiker's guide to Westeros.
First stop!
Winterfell.
What better place to kick off your trip than in the same place where the show began? Hop in the backseat and Game of Thrones Tours will take you as far as Castle Ward, in Ireland the real-life backdrop for the courtyard and tower of the ever-contested Winterfell.
Up Next:
Tower of Joy (Zafra Castle, Spain)
While you're reveling in the legacy of the Starks, stop by the Tower of Joy, which fans will recognize as the site of young Ned Stark's epic (if questionably honorable) duel against Ser Arthur Dayne.
Ireland is riddled with locations from the show. Pushing a little further North means the opportunity to stand on the shores of Pyke in the Iron Islands, see the beach where Brienne of Tarth pledged her service to Renly Baratheon, and cringe in the cave where Sir Davos brought Melisandre to give birth to Renly's assassin.
Tommen has named you as Hand of the King. Off to the capital!
King's Landing (Duborvnik, Croatia)
The city of Duborvnik looks as though it's scarcely changed since it was founded in the 7th century. You can take in Lovrijenac Fortress (which has served as the Red Keep since season 2), Minceta Tower (otherwise known as the House of The Undying in Quarth), as well as the bay used during the Battle of the Blackwater—enflamed ships and cowardly Jauffre excluded.
King's Landing Gardens: (Trsteno Arboretum, Croatia)
A stone's throw north of Duborvnik, you can plot some treachery with Little Finger or maybe exchange a few quips with the Queen of Thorns in the location used to weave King's Landing's intricate the web of the intrigue.
You've received a raven. The Dornish would like an audience.
Water Palaces of Dorne (Alacazar de Sevilla, Seville, Spain)
Perhaps the hedonistic, tropical lifestyle of the Martell's is more your speed? If so, you'll need to drop the name of the late Prince Oberyn to get into his LUSHurious, palatial home.
The Mother of Dragons demands your help from across the narrow sea. Hopefully, you have an easier time crossing it than she's had for 6 seasons!
Next stop: The Free Cities and Slaver's Bay
From Ireland, you'll need to commandeer a dragon for a quick flight to Girona, Spain, the setting for The Free City of Braavos, where, for the last couple seasons, Arya Stark has been busy honing her face-stealing and her getting-the-crap-beat-out-of-her skills.
Meereen (Peniscola, Spain)
For those of you on team Daeny, move further down the coast, about three hours south of Barcelona, and you'll find Peniscola, Spain, sight of Slaver's Bay and the newly-liberated city of Meereen.
Because it's not a real Game of Thrones trip without a meeting with the Horselords.
The Dothraki Sea (Alhamila Mountains, Spain)
Ok, ok, I know technically these last few locations are in Essos, not Westeros, but heading into Spain's Alhamila mountains with a southbound khalasar might be your only chance to see the sun-scorched, Dothraki homeland.
Jon Snow needs your aid against the White Walkers!
Quickly, to the Land Beyond the Wall (Vatnajökull)
At this point, you're probably pretty tired—you know, the sun, beaches, and comfortable temperatures. Good thing many of Jon Snow's antics beyond the wall take place in Iceland, huh? Barter passage North of the wall if Giants, whitewalkers, and Europe's largest glacier are what you're trying to find.
Grjótagjá, Iceland: Jon and Yggrite's Sexy Time Love Den
If you were a wildling—between the cold, the whitewalkers, the living in a giant camp with 100,000 people—it'd be my guess that finding a good place to engage in some *ahem* aggressive cuddling would be pretty challenging. So, Kudos to Jon Snow and Yggrite for happening across this gorgeous natural spring. Maybe Jon knows something after all!
Svìnafellsjökull Glacier: The Fist of The First Men/Frostfall Mountains
Finally, end your tour of Westeros where it all began: standing where the first men stood. Keep your Valyrian steel handy though. Your trip may be over, but winter, as always, is coming.