Famous film locations in Croatia

by Welcome Center Croatia | Last updated Feb 28, 2022 | Published on Feb 28, 2022

Croatia may be known as a tourist country that has beautiful beaches, the bluest sea, and breath-taking nature. But – Croatia’s beauty is not only exceptional when seeing it but also when it is captured on a camera, especially on a Hollywood camera. That is why various Croatian landscapes served as an ideal location for filming many films and TV shows.

Croatia’s one-of-a-kind and stunning landscapes are getting more and more popular for filming various movies and tv shows – from the HBO hit show that you must have heard of – Game of Thrones to the blockbuster sequel Mamma Mia!

Eager to find out what are the most famous film locations in Croatia?

Keep reading and find our top 6 pics for the most famous movie and series locations in Croatia:

1. Dubrovnik, Game of Thrones

It is not likely that you haven’t heard about this mega-popular HBO series called Game of Thrones which chose Dubrovnik as its filming location! Dubrovnik, the city of rich history and natural beauties, was the perfect spot to embody the main city in the Game of Thrones world – called King’s Landing. The whole Dubrovnik and even the island of Lokrum served as a perfect setting for fascinating book serial to come to life.

After Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik became a popular spot for fans of the show – but also for future Hollywood projects - from Star Wars: The Last Jedi to Robin Hood in the 2018 movie adaptation. Due to its historical sights, Dubrovnik was also casted as a location for the historical series The Borgias.

2. Rovinj, Hitman’s Bodyguard

Another Croatian gem, the Istrian city of Rovinj, was recently turned into a movie set thanks to filming a sequel of the popular movie Hitman’s Bodyguard.
Istria is a favorite place to shoot different movies and tv shows because of its specific architecture and nature wonders so it is not a surprise that the writers of the action movie Hitman’s Bodyguard choose Istria to film it.

The Hollywood stars – Salma Hayek, Ryan Reynolds, and Samuel L. Jackson spent time here recording the scenes which gained even more popularity to this picturesque Istrian city.

3. Vis, Mamma mia!

We are sure you heard ABBA’s famous song Mamma mia! (don’t start singing now in your head!) – but have you also watched the musical?

And did you know that the sequel of the well-known musical Mamma mia! Here we go again was actually shot on the mysterious, yet a beautiful island of Vis? Yes! The island of Vis plays the Greek resort of Kalokairi, where the whole plot of the musical takes place. What an honor, right?

The Island of Vis has mostly been isolated due to its important military function – it was a military base and a secret hiding spot in the former country of Yugoslavia so it only recently opened up for tourists and now even for Hollywood stars. Vis, mysterious Adriatic island, quickly turned into one of the most beautiful Hollywood movie backdrops.

4. Opatija, Diana

From Dalmatian secret island we are moving to a region that has been a touristic bait for a long time. We are of course talking about Kvarner bay and the town of Opatija.
Opatija, also known as the Pearl of the Adriatic and the Queen of tourism, has been a film location for a special biographical movie, the one about the never-forgotten British Princess Diana.

The biographical movie Diana is focused on the last two years of Princess Diana’s life – from when she divorced Prince Charles. For the needs of the filming, many of Opatija’s famous hotels were used – mainly because of their architecture but also because of the stunning views of the Kvarner bay!

Opatija is a pitch-perfect place for filming movies like this one, because of its Austrian-like charm and many aristocratic villas where royals of the past used to stay.

5. Rijeka, The White Crow

While we are in the neighbourhood there is another city worth mentioning for its famous filming locations – Rijeka! Rijeka, a city full of rich culture and mixed architecture, is a common choice for filmmakers.

A city that was also a European culture capital in 2020 served as a stage for shooting many movies, but the one that it stands out for is The White Crow, a biographical drama that was made by Oscar-winning director Ralph Fiennes. The movie revolves around the life of the famous ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, portrayed by Oleg Ivenko.

Rijeka, a city of rich historical happening and always at the crossroad of cultures, nations and languages told the tale of a young man who always strived after culture and art and managed to change the history of ballet. Perfect combo, right?

6. Various Croatian locations, Winnetou

Legendary Winnetou movies, based on the novels by the German author Karl May, were set in various exceptional locations in Croatia. Many of the Croatian inland beautiful places - from the Paklenica, Plitvice Lakes, and Krka national parks, Modrič-Rovanjska, Jasenice, the Zrmanja River canyon, Tulove grede cliffs, Prezid Pass, Raštević, Vransko Lake, Omiš – Cetina River, Grobnik Field, Platak and many more - were featured in the Winnetou movies.

Winnetou, the son of the Mescalero Apache chief, is the main protagonist of the movie. He is portrayed as a courageous and loyal warrior and an excellent rider, and he sets out to negotiate the building of the railroad into his tribe’s land but gets captured by the “white people”.

And did you know that in 2009 the Winnetou museum was opened? Yes, as a homage to the German writer but also as a thank you sign to the filmmakers and the whole team that chose the not-so-touristic areas of Croatia for filming such special movies.

From breath-taking Dubrovnik, over Vis to Rovinj and Kvarner to the inland attractions – Croatia has its fair share of famous film locations. We would say that a lot of potentials still lies in the whole country for being a star of many Hollywood films!

Our recommendation? Visit some of the above-mentioned locations and imagine yourself as a character in one of the popular films or TV series!