Los Angeles

Movies filmed in Los Angeles:

The Terminator (1984)
The Karate Kid (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Rain Man (1988)
Pretty Woman (1990)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Clueless (1995)
The Nutty Professor (1996)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Die Hard (1998)
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
50 First Dates (2004)
Tropic Thunder (2008)
The Hangover (2009)
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Super 8 (2011)
The Artist (2011)

Entertainment for movie lovers in LA

If you’re looking for some conventional movie tourism, check out a film studio and celebrity homes tour before making your way through the city.
Warner Brothers Studios
is a popular destination where you can appreciate the production company responsible for some of your favorite films— think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), The Dark Knight Rises (2013), and Inception (2010).

Griffith Observatory
—used as a filming location in The Terminator—gives you a great view of the idyllic Hollywood sign. There’s a bit of a hike up to Griffith Observatory from
Griffith Park
below, but the observatory gives stunning views of the city, which is why it was featured in films like Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Transformers (2007), and La La Land (2016).

Cinephiles will appreciate the
Egyptian Theater
, which hosted Hollywood’s first movie premiere in 1922.

Stop by the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery,
where some of your favorite stars (like Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph Valentino, and Cecil B. DeMille) are laid to rest.

You can check out the
Margaret Herrick Library
, which is maintained by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The library pays homage to loads of film history and includes items like historic movie posters and scripts from classic films—a treasure trove for classic film lovers!

Key Takeaway Los Angeles proves a great road trip destination for contemporary and classic movie lovers alike.

New York City

Movies filmed in NYC:

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Portrait of Jennie (1949)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
West Side Story (1961)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Manhattan (1979)
Tootsie (1982)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Big (1988)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Hitch (2005)
I Am Legend (2007)
Enchanted (2007)

Entertainment for movie lovers in NYC

Take a ride on the subway and grab a bite to eat at
Katz’s Delicatessen
, featured in When Harry Met Sally (1989).

Next, you might want to swing by the
NYC Hook and Ladder 8 Fire Station
, which functioned as the home base in the Ghostbusters franchise (you can also catch it in Hitch and an episode of Seinfeld). The fire station is still in use today, so you can’t go inside—but it makes for a great photo opportunity!

A trip to NYC isn’t complete without a stroll through Central Park, one of the most popular filming locations in NYC. The park has been featured prominently in films like Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Enchanted (2007), Serendipity (2001), and Portrait of Jennie (1949).

Grand Central Station
, another hot-spot tourist location, will probably be bustling, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’ve made it all the way to NYC. This iconic terminal has been a filming location for countless films, including Superman: The Movie (1978), North by Northwest (1959), Men in Black (1997), and I Am Legend (2007).

For some fun for the whole family, take a gander through the
American Museum of Natural History
. Though it’s not an actual filming location, the museum was used as inspiration for the set of Night at the Museum (2006).

Don’t end your trip without stopping by
Times Square
, the major commercial intersection that can be seen in The Terminal (2004), Taxi Driver (1976), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Wonder (2017), and Spider-Man (2002).

Key Takeaway All movie lovers will enjoy New York’s wholesome homage to the film industry.

Chicago

Movies filmed in Chicago:

The Sting (1973)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Risky Business (1983)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Home Alone (1990)
A League of Their Own (1992)
The Fugitive (1993)
Groundhog Day (1993)
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
High Fidelity (2000)
Road to Perdition (2002)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
I, Robot (2004)
Batman Begins (2005)
Stranger than Fiction (2006)
The Dark Knight (2008)

Entertainment for movie lovers in Chicago

Stop by the former IBM building at 330 N. Wabash Ave, which was used for Wayne Enterprises in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008). The film also shows Batman looking out over the city from the top of
Willis Tower
. If you take a cab through Lower Wacker Drive in the downtown area, you’ll drive by the filming locations for some of the Joker’s chase scenes from the film.

For some entertainment that will prove doubly interesting, visit the
Art Institute of Chicago
, where Bueller takes his friends in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). In the film, Bueller catches a Cubs game at
Wrigley Field
, looks down over the city from a top floor of Skydeck Chicago, and parades down Dearborn Street—all locations you can visit on your Chicago road trip.

The Picasso statue in Daley Plaza, the
Chicago Hilton Hotel
, and the
Wells Street Bridge
are all prominent locations seen in the opening 20 minutes of The Fugitive (1993).

Chicago hosts
Free Tours by Foot
, tours you can take through the city to see various Chicago movie hotspots — or, try out
Chicago Film Tour
for guided movie tours through the city!

Key Takeaway Like LA and NYC, Chicago is bound to keep movie lovers fully entertained.

San Francisco

Vertigo (1958)
The Graduate (1967)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Fearless (1993)
The Princess Diaries (2001)
Milk (2008)
Steve Jobs (2015)
Beautiful Boy (2018)

Entertainment for movie lovers in SF

Alcatraz
—the once high-profile, high-security prison featured in Escape from Alcatraz (1979)—is still here! No longer an operating prison, Alcatraz now serves as a popular tourist destination. Take a ferry through the brisk bay to the island and get a guided tour through the prison.

And no road trip to San Francisco is complete without a stroll on the Golden Gate Bridge. Check out
Fort Point
under the bridge (as seen in Vertigo). You can also stop by the steps of City Hall, where Sean Penn delivers a galvanizing speech in Milk (2008).

Catch a film screening at the famous
Castro Theater
, a historical landmark in SF. The theater was built in 1922 and reflects the Spanish colonial style of the nearby Mission Dolores. Or, view a showing at
Sundance Kabuki Cinema
, a Japanese-inspired theater with a cocktail bar and reserved seating.

The Walt Disney Family Museum
in the Presidio of SF is a great stop for families who want to learn more about the father of Disney.

Key Takeaway San Francisco is a great road trip stop for movie lovers.

How to prepare for a road trip

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