The 2010s featured some of the greatest TV shows ever filmed. Some of these series also had featured the best filming locations. Check out our ten favorites below:
Breaking Bad
Vince Gilligan’s attention to detail can be seen in every shot of Breaking Bad, from the coordinates Walt used to find his buried treasure to the season one callbacks in the final episodes.
This also meant all of the show’s filming locations were meticulously chosen, from the car wash to the house Walt shared with Skyler, even Jesse’s favorite fast food joint – the Dog House.
And that care has brought fans from around the world to Albuquerque, NM to see all of those now-iconic filming locations. The Albuquerque Trolly Co. even still offers a Breaking Bad Tour.
Check out our own do-it-yourself Breaking Bad tour.
Welcome to Sweden
Over the summer of 2014, we fell in love with Welcome To Sweden, the NBC comedy Greg Poehler based on his real-life experience of moving to Stockholm with his Swedish girlfriend, and the challenges he faced adapting to a new culture.
Because the show is set, and filmed, almost entirely in Sweden it provides the rare opportunity for U.S. audiences to get a glimpse into the lives of Sweden’s people, places, and culture.
Welcome To Sweden’s first season was filmed in Stockholm during the summer and highlights some of the country’s most beautiful locations, including the Stockholm archipelago, a cluster of islands that stretch from the city to the Baltic Sea. Other episodes were filmed along the Norrström river and in the Stockholm City Centre.
Bloodline
2015 brought us some seriously good TV, with equally compelling filming locations, but Bloodline stands out above them all as the one show that got people planning their next trip to Florida.
The Florida Keys play a major role in the series. From the stormy beach scenes to sweeping aerial shots of the Overseas Highway, the Keys are like another character on the show.
Especially The Rayburn House, the idyllic property that is actually The Moorings Village and Spa, located at 123 Beach Rd, Islamorada, FL. The Moorings offers a variety of rooms and villas for rent. If you don’t want to check-in, but do want to check out the resort’s beach, you can always have lunch at The Beach Cafe, also featured on the show.
Not only was The Moorings one of our Must-See Locations in 2015, but it was also one of our most searched-for locations.
Master of None
We all knew the second season of Aziz Ansari’s critically acclaimed Netflix series Master of None would be good, but most fans were surprised by the show’s change of scenery. The first couple of episodes of the second season were filmed in the Modena, Italy, located in the region of Emilia-Romagna.
This quaint city was the perfect location for the culinary-centric first episodes, in which Dev (Ansari) is deep-diving into the art of making pasta. The city is not only home to the world-renown cooking school, Scuola di Cucina Girasole, and Osteria Francescana which has been named the second-best restaurant in the world.
Of course, Dev also pays a visit to Osteria Francescana, this is the exclusive place that Arnold gets him into, despite the month-long waitlist. Among the other notable Modena eateries showcased in Master of None is Cafe Menomoka, Bar Schiavoni (where Dev and Arnold share sausage sandwiches) and Hosteria Giusti, where Dev has a delicious solo birthday lunch.
Dev also checks out the Tuscan town of Pienza while in Italy and tries the regional pecorino cheese and indulges in wine at Montepulciano.
Watching Dev tour Italy made us want to hop on the next flight to Modena!
Portlandia
Portlandia was set and filmed in Portland, Oregon. It captures the essence of the city, and it has us dying to visit, after all, who doesn’t want to go to the place where the dream of the 90’s is still alive?
The sketch show’s stars and creators, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, have said that Portland is like the “third, most stable, character in series”. They have also made a point to shoot the show entirely on location, so there are no soundstage housing sets for their popular sketches, like the “Women and Women First Bookstore” on the show, which is actually Portland’s In Other Words Feminist Community Center.
The show’s on-location shoots have also become a fantastic travel guide for those who are paying attention. We can’t wait to have a drink at The Gilt Club Restaurant, where Carrie and Fred interrogate the waitress about the organic chicken, or the authentic Fish and Chips serve up by The Frying Scotsman whose food truck made a brief appearance in season one, yum!
Hawaii Five-0
In 2010, our pick for Most Travel-Inspiring TV Show was Hawaii Five-0, not only because it actually films where the show is set, but because the series makes the most of the Hawaiian landscape.
Here’s a look at some of the iconic Hawaiian locations that have been featured in Hawaii Five-O:
Game of Thrones
Killing Eve
Killing Eve has featured so many amazing locations throughout Europe, it was a no-brainer for it to hit our list. Check out a comprehensive list at cntraveler.com.
Outlander
Outlander fans can’t help but get caught up in Claire and Jamie’s mystical world and this fantasy helped make the show, and it’s primary filming location Scotland, very popular. Check out Visit Scotland’s Official Outlander Map to see the best of the show’s locations.
Gossip Girl
“At first we didn’t have a lot of access to New York City, but very quickly, I think people recognized if you were on the show that was a good thing. We always saw the show as a love letter to New York City.” – Josh Schwartz
Whether you were a fan of Chuck and Blair or Serena and Dan, it’s hard to deny the real star of Gossip Girl was New York City.
Not since Sex and the City had a TV show captured the glamor, fashion, food, music, and iconic architecture of NYC with such love and passion.
The series even became a tourist destination, drawing fans from around the world who wanted to catch a glimpse of the cast filming, too.
And, on a personal note, Gossip Girl helped make OLV what it is today. The enthusiasm GG fans shared for the show spilled over onto our site through their photos, tips, and comments. We will be forever grateful to all of the Gossip Girl fans who helped spread the word about our site and have stuck with us long after the show ended. Check out our Top Five Favorite Gossip Girl Filming Locations.
