5 episodes have been already released of the hit HBO series House of the Dragon and only 3 are left. And here I am, brought for you a new House of the Dragon post. But this time it is not about any characters, moments, battles or my favourtie…..Dragons, it is about House of the Dragon shooting locations.

In this post I will take you to the locations where this magnificient show has been shot. Sure, many scenes have been shot in Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios (for example, indoor scenes) but most of the outdoor scens like battles or scenes that were captured by the wide lenses, or when various characters were interacting with one other, the scenary that we got to see in the background…..yes they are real. One thing HBO orginal serieses are known for is using real life locations as much as possible.

Few days ago I was searching “best places to visit in the world” on Google and suddenly it came to my mind lets search House of the Dragon shooting locations and there they were. I just had one problem there are various articles and blog posts pointing out different locations which are not that important and not a single blog post that has all the major locations at once. That is when I thought about creating this post. This post might help those who are also House of the Dragon fans like me. And if you travel a lot or like to travel, you will love this post even more.

Before starting this, you can check out my other posts related to this topic,

House of the Dragon, Dance of the Dragons, Dragons ranked from HotD.

List of House of the Dragon Locations:

Castleton, Derbyshire, England

We see this location when Daemon visit his first wife, lady Rhea Royce in Vale. It was shown in Season 1 Episode 5.

Castleton is a village in high-peaked Derbyshire, home to one of the oldest lead mines. The area first settled by Celtic people is known for its classic English hamlets and its central national park that’s home to Cave Dale, a limestone valley.

La Calahorra, Granada, Spain

This medieval castle that was seen during Season 1 Episode 6. Daemon and Laena was residing in here when they were in Pentos.

Granada is already a popular city, thanks to its stunning medieval architecture and location on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This medieval architecture dates back to the Moorish occupation, and Castillo de La Calahorra, a stunning 14th-century castle whose exterior defies the conventions of Gothic architecture, making it one the first Renaissance-inspired structures built in Spain between 1509-1512. Its gorgeous split-level interior includes marble, four corner towers, and a central courtyard.

Cornwall, England

In Cornwall, the Stepstones scenes were filmed. The Stepstones are a chain of islands that link Westeros with Essos. In Season 1 Episode 3 this is where the battle takes place between Daemon Targaryen and the Triarchy.

Holywell Bay Beach

This beach featured many times in season 1. There, on this large stretch of sand, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon meet to discuss their future marriage during episode 5. Then again this was shown during the evening conversation between Daemon and Rhaenyra in Season 1 Episode 7.

St. Michael’s Mount in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall, England

The island’s main castle serves as House of the Dragon’s fictional Driftmark (home of House Velaryon). At the edge of King’s Landing there is a large body of water called blackwater bay, it is situated there. The castle is basically a church. It has been shown throughout Season 1.

Lloret de Mar, Spain

In House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 2 where Viserys and Laena are walking through beautiful, manicured garden with views of the sea surrounding Kings Landing. It was filmed in the Gardens of Santa Clotilde in Lloret de Mar, Spain and that seascape is actually real.

Plaza Mayor, Trujillo, Spain

The historic town square in Trujillo, Spain was used for additional King’s Landing scenes specifically for King’s Landing Square.

Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain

This beautiful city was used for all the King’s Landing scenes. House of the Dragon predominately used this Spanish town as the setting for King’s Landing.

It is one of Spain’s most beautiful cities and literally takes you back in time. This medieval city is filled with ancient walls, cobbled streets, turrets topped with creepy gargoyles, and pointed roofs. Architecture admirers will enjoy the mix of Roman, Moorish, Gothic, and Renaissance towers, walls, buildings, and squares throughout the city. The Old Town of Cáceres, a walled section of the capital, was founded in 25 BC by the Romans. It was named a World Heritage City by UNESCO in 1986.

Gaztelugatxeko, Spain

The Dragonstone fortress is impressive in itself. But it’s the narrow, stone stairway with a sheer drop to the ocean on either side that truly turns the ancient home of the Targaryens into a mysteriously magical sight. The beauty is that there’s nothing magical about it! This magnificent walkway exists in real life, it won’t lead to the castle but to a church.  It was first seen in Season 1 Episode 2, then in Season 1 Episode 10.

Monsanto, Portugal

This remote and historical hill town in central Portugal known as the “Holy Mountain”. Some scenes from Dragonstone, the ancestral home for House Targaryen was shot here.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site will look awfully familiar to you, with its giant boulders, mountain–top fortress and crumbling walls, and that’s because it’s the ancestral seat of House Targaryen. Once declared the “most Portuguese village in Portugal”, its landscape features hilltop prehistoric rock formations, a medieval clock tower, lush green landscape, and granite cottages that sit between giant boulders. Its streets are carved out of tiny cobbled rocks and climb up a very steep hill, also known as Mons Sanctus. One of 12 historical villages in Portugal, Monsanto sits close to the Spanish border and was first carved over 500 years ago.

Conclusion:

In conclusion I would like to mention that the pictures that I used here were taken from various websites, as I myself haven’t had the fortune to travel there. Also most of the scenes from HotD takes place either in King’s Landing or in Dragonstone. And as you have already seen from the locations above, there isn’t a singular location for these places. The makers have used different locations to create a single place in the HotD world, it is particularly apparent for those two locations that I just mentioned.

The majority of HotD was filmed in the UK and Spain. Also the interior and of Dragonstone is CGI (mostly) and we get to see a lot of beaches in the show, they have been shot in various english beaches. If you go there anyday, I guarantee you, you won’t be able to recognize them bacause they are crowded like any normal beach. Finally these locations are from Season 1, Season 2 is currently airing. So after it finished, I will make a post of it separately.