We all know House of the Dragon serves as the prequel to Game of Thrones, setting the stage for the Targaryen family’s infighting 200 years before the Wall was breached. But while fans often dissect the show’s place in the Westerosi timeline, few talk about what—or where—actually sets the scene for the prequel itself.

If watching House of the Dragon leaves you wanting to experience the world of Westeros for yourself, you’re in luck. While the show utilizes plenty of CGI to bring dragons and fortresses to life, much of it is filmed on location across Europe, showcasing stunning natural landscapes and real-world medieval architecture.

From the ancestral seat of the Targaryens to the rugged lands of the Vale, here are six real-life filming locations from the series that you can visit.

1. Cornwall, England
2. Gwynedd, Wales
3. Cáceres, Spain
4. Monsanto, Portugal
5. Surrey, England
6. Gaztelugatxeko, Spain

Cornwall, England

Most travel photos of this Cornwall landmark show it at low tide, when the shallow waters below glisten like a path beckoning you inside its ancient walls. But in House of the Dragon, St. Michael’s Mount is best known for its High Tide, serving as the filming location for the ancestral seat of House Velaryon in Driftmark.

Complete with a medieval church and castle, the location has been under the care of the St. Aubyn family for centuries—a lineage that can be traced back to the Norman Conquest. In addition to its role in the prequel, the site was previously featured in Game of Thrones as a location for the Battle of the Blackwater.

To make the most of your Cornwall visit, you can also explore Holywell Beach and Kynance Cove, where the battle and camp scenes in the Stepstones were filmed.

Gwynedd, Wales

A country with folklore seemingly embedded in its very bedrock, Wales—also a filming location for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword—serves as an important backdrop in House of the Dragon season two. Situated within Snowdonia (Eyri) National Park, the Ogwen Valley doubles as the Vale of Arryn, boasting vistas of both the Carneddau and Glyderau mountain ranges.

You can also see a bit of the Targaryen world for yourself at Trefor Quarry in Gwynedd, which production used to portray Dragonstone’s exterior. It’s a great spot to get a feel for the home of the Targaryen dragons without having to worry about being roasted by one.

Cáceres, Spain

Dubrovnik, Croatia, has become one of the most famous stops on the unofficial Game of Thrones Euro-tour as the unmistakable King’s Landing. But did you know there’s an under-the-radar Spanish spot that took over as the capital in House of the Dragon?

A time capsule of weathered walls and cobbled streets, the medieval city of Cáceres transformed into the sun-drenched capital of King’s Landing for filming. The city also stands in for Oldtown, the home of the Citadel and House Hightower.

Monsanto, Portugal

While the journey from King’s Landing to Dragonstone seems much longer on House of the Dragon—even when your mode of transportation is a dragon—their real-life counterparts are just a short trip away from each other. Located roughly a two-hour drive from Cáceres, Portugal’s Monsanto village is a unique landscape of giant, round boulders and red-roofed houses.

In the House of the Dragon cinematic universe, this Portuguese village serves as the main filming location for Dragonstone. The mountain-top town—fortress, crumbling walls, and all—was a perfect fit for the ancestral seat of House Targaryen, leading co-creator Ryan Condal to remark, “When we saw Monsanto on a mountain, we found Dragonstone.”

Surrey, England

It wouldn’t be House of the Dragon without a forest to ground the storyline, and in season two, that honor went to Bourne Wood in Surrey, England. Serving as the dramatic setting for the Battle at Rook’s Rest, these are the same moss-covered woods you see on screen—just without the bloodshed.

Beyond the dance of the dragons, the wood’s vast clearings famously provided the backdrop for the opening battle in the 2000 film Gladiator.

Gaztelugatxeko, Spain

You might be thinking: how can everywhere, from the U.K. to Spain, serve as Dragonstone? The answer is in the details. Located on the northern coastline of Spain near Bilbao, the islet of Gaztelugatxe features a narrow, winding stone bridge that leads to a 10th-century hermitage. If it looks familiar, it’s because this iconic stone stairway serves as the site of some of the most important dragon-related drama that took place on the bridge of Dragonstone during the first season of House of the Dragon.

True fans might also remember it from season seven of Game of Thrones, when the Basque islet briefly served as the ancestral home of the Targaryens as it appeared in the original series, centuries after the events of this prequel.

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