Game of Thrones locations that you can visit in Spain

I am a HUGE fan of ‘Game of Thrones’ and the A Song of Ice and Fire saga. I think the adaptation of the show, especially on the first seasons, is one of the best adaptation work in the history of TV. And of course an important part of that is choosing right where to film the scenes. In that HBO has excelled, choosing some amazing locations for filming the show. I have collected some here that you can visit during your travels, to give a little spice to your trip. Game of Thrones has been filmed in six countries: Croatia, Iceland, Spain, United Kingdom (mostly Northern Iceland), Morocco and Malta. This post will focus on the locations in Spain where scenes for Game of Thrones were filmed. You can find links to the rest of the locations at the end of the page.

*Disclaimer: if you are not up to date with the show you may find spoilers in this article. Proceed at your own peril!

Spain

The country in which more regions of the World of Ice and Fire were filmed in is Spain. And no wonder why! Spain is one of the most diverse countries regarding landscapes and climates, so it is easy to see why the producers chose it to film so many of their scenes. From the Reach to Slaver’s Bay many of the regions in GoT where actually recorded somewhere in Spain.

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Spain (Dragonstone)

San Juan de Gaztelugatze is an islet on the coast of the Basque Country located a short ride from its capital Bilbao. This scenic location appeared several times in season 7 as the steps leading to Dragonstone, although in real life they lead to a hermitage.

Itzurun beach, Spain (Dragonstone)

Still in the coast of the Basque Country, nearby San Sebastián, you can find Itzurun beach, located in the small town of Zumaia. This Basque with stratified rock formations was chosen as the beach in Dragonstone where Daenerys lands and where Jon finds the cave with dragonglass and the drawings by the children of the forest.

Girona, Spain (Braavos, King’s Landing and Oldtown)

Girona, a town located in Catalonia around one hour north of Barcelona, has been one of the most versatile filming locations of the show. It has been used as the streets of Braavos, where Arya begs or runs from the Waif; as the steps of the sept of Baelor in King’s Landing where Margaery almost did the walk of atonement (Cersei’s is in Dubrovnik); and as the citadel of Oldtown where Sam goes to be trained as a maester.

Bardenas Reales, Spain (Dothraki Sea)

This beautiful desertic landscape is located in Navarre, Spain, close to the town of Tudela. It is a natural park and it has been used to film the Dothraki Sea in season 6, when Daenerys brings her khalassar back to Meereen and finds Drogon.

Itálica, Spain (King’s Landing)

The remains of the Roman town of Itálica near Sevilla are preserved in a wonderful state. They were used for filming the Dragonpit scenes in season 7, when most of the main characters come together in King’s Landing for the first time to negotiate a treuce to fight the Night King.

Photo credit: Carole Raddato with CC BY-SA 2.0

Los Barruecos, Spain (the Reach)

Los Barruecos is a beautiful landscape of a plain filled with granite formations sculpted by water located in the Cáceres region. It appeared in one of the most iconic scenes in season 7 when Jaimie and the Lannister army are attacked by the Dothraki and Daenerys riding Drogon after they send the Loot Train with the Tarly gold towards King’s Landing. The area represents a region in the Reach outside of Highgarden.

Photo credit: Fernando Jiménez with CC BY-ND 2.0

Castillo de Almodóvar del Río, Spain (Highgarden)

The Castle of Almodóvar del Río us a castle of Muslim origin in the region of Córdoba that doubles as Highgarden, the seat of House Tyrell. We see it in season 7 only once, when Jaime and the Lannister army defeat the Tyrell army eventually leading to Lady Olenna’s death and the acquisition of the Tyrell gold to pay for the crown’s debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos.

Castillo de Zafra, Spain (Dorne)

The Castle of Zafra, located in Guadalajara, Spain, is popularly known as “the fortress of Spain’s Siberia” because of the low temperatures that it reaches. This location was used to show Bran’s flashback of Ned’s fight with Ser Arthur Dayne and Lyanna Stark’s death in the Tower of Joy in Dorne in season 6, and again to confirm the R + L = J theory in season 7.

Photo credit: Borjaanimal with CC BY-SA 3.0

Alcázar de Sevilla, Spain (Dorne)

This palace for the caliphs in times of Muslim invasion and later on for the Spanish Catholic monarchs in the 15th century hosted one more another Royal member: the Prince of Dorne Doran Martell. The lush gardens, the baths of Doña María de Padilla and the Grotto of Sultans of the Alcázar de Sevilla were all used to film the scenes of the Water Gardens of Sunspear in Dorne.

Roman Bridge of Córdoba, Spain (Volantis)

The Roman Bridge of Córdoba, also in Andalucía, was built by the Romans (duh) over 2 millenia ago to replace a wooden one. This 247 metres long bridge became the Long Bridge of Volantis in season 5, where Varys and Tyrion make a stop on their way to meet Daenerys.

Osuna, Spain (Meereen)

Although not even close to the most beautiful bullring, the Plaza de Toros de Osuna in Andalucía was used to film the most expensive scene in the history of television: the fight in the Arena of Meereen (Daznak’s pit) when the Sons of the Harpy try to kill Daenerys and she escapes riding on Drogon.

Photo credit: Graeme Churchard with CC BY 2.0

Peñíscola, Spain (Meereen)

Peñíscola in the Valencian Community was also a setting for Game of Thrones in season 6 as the city of Meereen. Peñíscola is a fortified seaport built on a rocky headland joined to the mainland only by a narrow strip of land. You can Parque de la artillería (in the castle grounds), Rampa de Felipe II and Paseo de Ronda as Meereen’s streets, Plaza de Santa María as the square where Tyrion and Varys walk when they say goodbye and Portal Fosc as the spot where Tyrion and Varys find one of citizens giving a speach against Daenerys.

Santa Florentina Castle, Spain (Horn Hill)

The 11th century castle of Santa Florentina, located north of Barcelona, was transformed into Horn Hill, the seat of House Tarly (Sam’s family).

Photo credit: Jordi Domènech i Arnau with CC BY-NC 2.0.

Closing statement

The world is a fantastic set for many movies and series, and in Game of Thrones they have done a remarkable job at transporting us to Westeros and the other sites in the World of Ice and Fire. Discover the other filming locations in the links below:

→ ‘Game of Thrones’ locations that you can visit in Croatia

→ ‘Game of Thrones’ locations that you can visit in Iceland

→ ‘Game of Thrones’ locations that you can visit in United Kingdom

→ ‘Game of Thrones’ locations that you can visit in Morocco

→ ‘Game of Thrones’ locations that you can visit in Malta

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