Storybook Atlas

There are some fictional places you spend so much time watching that they start to feel almost real. King’s Landing is one of them.

For eight seasons of Game of Thrones, we watched characters walk through its narrow streets, stand along its stone walls, and look out over the sea. It was the center of the Seven Kingdoms, home to the Iron Throne, and the setting for some of the most unforgettable moments in the entire series. Of course, King’s Landing does not actually exist, but a surprising amount of it can be found along the coast of Croatia.

Dubrovnik sits on the edge of the Adriatic Sea, surrounded by massive medieval walls and filled with limestone streets, stone staircases, and terracotta rooftops. Beginning in the second season of Game of Thrones, the city became the primary filming location for King’s Landing, and once you know what you are looking for, pieces of Westeros seem to appear everywhere.

You can walk the same steps used for Cersei’s Walk of Atonement, stand beneath the fortress that became the Red Keep, and wander through gardens where some of the quietest and most dangerous conversations in the series took place.

With House of the Dragon bringing us back into the world of Westeros, it feels like the perfect time to visit the city that helped make the Seven Kingdoms feel real.

Welcome to King’s Landing. Just try not to get involved in the politics.

Walking the Walls of King’s Landing

If you want to understand why Dubrovnik was chosen to become King’s Landing, start with the city walls.

The walls completely surround Dubrovnik’s Old Town, stretching for nearly two kilometers around the city. From the top, you can look across rows of terracotta rooftops, church towers, narrow streets, and the bright blue Adriatic Sea. Even without the dragons and ships added for the show, the view feels immediately familiar.

The walls appear throughout Game of Thrones, often transformed with CGI to make King’s Landing feel larger and even more imposing. Still, so much of what you see on screen is unmistakably Dubrovnik. The pale stone, crowded rooftops, and sea stretching beyond the city already had the look of a powerful coastal capital.

Walking the full circuit takes you above different parts of the Old Town, with the view changing around nearly every corner. On one side, you can look down into the maze of streets below. On the other, the walls drop toward the Adriatic, where waves crash against the rocks beneath the city.

For Game of Thrones fans, this is probably one of those places where you will constantly stop and think, wait, I know this view. Even scenes that were heavily edited often kept Dubrovnik’s skyline and walls at the center of King’s Landing.

Go early in the morning if you can. Dubrovnik can become incredibly busy, especially during the summer, and the walls are much easier to enjoy before the largest crowds arrive. Plus, there is something much more convincing about pretending you are walking through King’s Landing when there are not fifty people taking selfies directly in front of you.

No promises you won’t hear the opening theme playing in your head the entire time.

Standing Inside the Red Keep

Just outside Dubrovnik’s city walls, a stone fortress sits high above the Adriatic Sea. If you watched Game of Thrones, you probably know it better as the Red Keep.

Fort Lovrijenac stands on a rocky cliff overlooking the water, and from the outside, it already looks like it belongs somewhere in Westeros. Beginning in season two, the fortress was used as a filming location for the Red Keep and appeared in several scenes set around the center of power in King’s Landing.

One of the most recognizable moments filmed here was Joffrey’s name day tournament. The fortress courtyard became the setting for the celebration, where knights fought for the king’s entertainment and Sansa was forced to stand beside him through another one of his increasingly cruel moods.

Walking through Fort Lovrijenac today, you can still recognize the stone courtyard, walls, and terraces that appeared on screen. The show added plenty of its own details, but the fortress itself did a lot of the work. With thick stone walls and the sea stretching out below, it is not difficult to see why it was chosen.

The climb to the fortress does involve quite a few stairs, but the view from the top is worth it. From the terraces, you can look directly across at Dubrovnik’s Old Town and the city walls. It is one of the best places to see the real city and King’s Landing at the same time.

Thankfully, visiting the Red Keep in real life is much less dangerous. No Lannisters, no royal weddings, and your chances of being accused of treason are relatively low.

Walking in Cersei’s Footsteps

There are plenty of Game of Thrones filming locations hidden throughout Dubrovnik, but the Jesuit Stairs might be one of the easiest to recognize.

The wide Baroque staircase rises from Gundulić Square toward the Church of St. Ignatius. In season five, the top of these steps became the starting point for Cersei Lannister’s Walk of Atonement through the streets of King’s Landing.

You probably know the scene. Cersei steps out in front of the crowd while a bell rings behind her, beginning one of the longest and most uncomfortable walks in the entire series. It is a scene that is almost impossible to forget, and standing at the top of the Jesuit Stairs gives you a completely different view of where it began.

The staircase itself is beautiful, with curved stone railings and the church rising above it. Without crowds, costumes, and a woman repeatedly ringing a bell, it feels surprisingly peaceful. Still, if you have watched the series, it is difficult to stand here without immediately hearing one word in your head.

Shame.

The Jesuit Stairs are right in the middle of Dubrovnik’s Old Town, so they are easy to add to a day of exploring the city. Like many of the most popular filming locations, they can become crowded, especially during the summer. Visit early in the morning if you want a chance to see the staircase without dozens of other Game of Thrones fans recreating the same scene.

You can walk the steps yourself.

Clothes strongly recommended.

Wandering Through the Gardens of the Red Keep

Not every dangerous conversation in Game of Thrones happened inside a throne room. Some of the best plotting in King’s Landing took place while characters casually walked through beautiful gardens.

About 12 miles northwest of Dubrovnik, Trsteno Arboretum was used as the setting for the gardens of the Red Keep. It appeared throughout the series as a place where characters could escape the walls of the castle, although very few of them seemed capable of enjoying the scenery without discussing murder, marriage, or the future of the Seven Kingdoms.

The arboretum is one of the oldest in this part of the world, with its history stretching back to the late 15th century. The grounds are filled with Mediterranean and exotic plants, stone pathways, fountains, and terraces overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Two enormous plane trees stand near the entrance and are believed to be more than 500 years old.

Fans of the series may recognize the gardens from scenes involving Sansa Stark, Margaery Tyrell, and Olenna Tyrell. This is where the Queen of Thorns quietly questioned Sansa about Joffrey’s character, all while strolling through what looked like a perfectly peaceful royal garden.

One of the most recognizable spots is the stone pavilion overlooking the sea. The view stretches across the water toward the nearby islands, and it is easy to see why the location worked so well as part of the Red Keep. Unlike many of Dubrovnik’s filming locations, the gardens needed very little to make them feel like they belonged in Westeros.

Trsteno Arboretum is a little outside Dubrovnik, but for Game of Thrones fans, it is worth making the trip. Just remember that if an older woman invites you for a quiet walk through the gardens, she is probably about to ask you something incredibly important.

Leaving King’s Landing for Qarth

King’s Landing may be the main reason Game of Thrones fans recognize Dubrovnik, but it is not the only part of Westeros you can find here.

Just a short boat ride from the Old Town is Lokrum, a small island covered in pine forests, gardens, and old stone ruins. In season two, parts of the island were used to bring Qarth to life, the wealthy city Daenerys visits after crossing the Red Waste.

The island’s Benedictine monastery and botanical gardens appeared in scenes set within Qarth. Fans may recognize the stone pathways and greenery from the garden party where Daenerys meets several of the city’s powerful figures. It is a very different landscape from the walls and rooftops of King’s Landing, which makes it slightly strange to realize the two locations were filmed so close to each other.

Lokrum itself is worth visiting even after you have found the filming locations. There are walking trails throughout the island, rocky swimming spots along the coast, and the ruins of the medieval monastery to explore. Peacocks also roam freely across the island, occasionally appearing on pathways and reminding you that they are completely uninterested in your plans for the day.

And because Dubrovnik apparently understands its audience, there is also an Iron Throne replica on Lokrum where visitors can sit and take photos.

Getting to the island is easy during the warmer months, with boats leaving from Dubrovnik’s Old Port. The journey only takes around 15 minutes, but once you arrive, the crowded streets of the Old Town feel surprisingly far away.

How to Experience Dubrovnik Like a Game of Thrones Fan

You do not need a guide to find Game of Thrones filming locations in Dubrovnik. Many of them are right in the Old Town, and once you know what you are looking for, you can easily create your own walk through King’s Landing.

I would start at Pile Gate and make your way toward Fort Lovrijenac. From there, head into the Old Town and wander toward the Jesuit Stairs before exploring the streets surrounding Stradun. Save the city walls for early in the morning if you can. They are one of Dubrovnik’s most popular attractions, and walking them before the largest crowds arrive makes the experience much better.

That being said, this might be one of the few places where I would actually consider booking a themed tour. Game of Thrones walking tours are incredibly popular in Dubrovnik, and guides often carry photos from the series so you can compare the finished scenes with the real locations standing in front of you. Some guides also share stories about the filming and how Dubrovnik was transformed into King’s Landing.

If you are planning to walk the city walls, it is also worth checking the Dubrovnik Pass before buying individual tickets. The official city pass includes access to the walls along with several museums and galleries around Dubrovnik, so depending on what else you plan to visit, it may make more sense than paying for everything separately.

Give yourself at least one full day in the Old Town if your main goal is finding filming locations. Add another day if you want to visit Trsteno Arboretum or take the boat to Lokrum. Trying to squeeze every location into a few hours would be possible, but I think half the fun is recognizing places as you wander through the city.

Also, wear comfortable shoes. Dubrovnik is filled with stone streets and stairs, and King’s Landing apparently did not believe in escalators.

Most importantly, do not spend the entire trip looking for screenshots from the show. Dubrovnik was a real city long before it became King’s Landing, and its history is much bigger than Game of Thrones. Look for Westeros, absolutely, but leave a little time to get lost in Dubrovnik too.

The City Behind the Seven Kingdoms

There is something strange about standing in a place you have already seen a hundred times on screen. You recognize the walls, the staircases, and the view of the sea, but without the costumes, dragons, and armies, it takes a second to remember that Dubrovnik was always real.

Game of Thrones may have transformed the city into King’s Landing, but so much of what made the capital of the Seven Kingdoms feel believable was already there. The stone walls, narrow streets, old fortresses, and bright Adriatic Sea did not need to be imagined from scratch.

Maybe that is what makes visiting Dubrovnik so exciting as a fan. You are not walking through a theme park built to look like Westeros. You are walking through a living city that just happened to become part of one of the biggest fantasy worlds ever put on screen.

So walk the walls, climb the steps, and sit on the Iron Throne if you get the chance.

Just remember, when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.

Thankfully, visiting Dubrovnik is a little less serious.