From King's Landing to Meereen.
Between 2011 and 2018, HBO filmed Game of Thrones across four Croatian cities, transforming medieval old towns and Roman ruins into the capitals of Westeros and Essos without building a single set. Croatia became the most-used non-British filming location in the entire series, and nearly a decade after the show ended, its old towns are still full of fans tracing the same cobbled streets Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister once walked.
Dubrovnik: King’s Landing
Dubrovnik‘s walled Old Town played King’s Landing, capital of the Seven Kingdoms, throughout the series. Pile Gate marks the site of the Season 2 King’s Landing riot, where a mob very nearly kills Sansa Stark. A short walk away, the Jesuit Stairs, beneath the Church of St. Ignatius, are where Cersei Lannister walks her infamous naked Walk of Shame through the city in Season 5.
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Fort Lovrijenac, perched on a rock just outside the western wall, stood in for the Red Keep, most memorably during the Battle of Blackwater Bay in Season 2. Minčeta Tower, along the city walls, became the House of the Undying, which Daenerys enters in that same season. The Rector’s Palace provided interior scenes set in the city of Qarth.
A short ferry ride from the Old Town, Lokrum Island played Qarth’s exteriors, including the Season 2 scenes of Daenerys and her khalasar arriving in the city, and today houses the original Iron Throne prop from the show inside its visitor center. Twenty minutes by car from Dubrovnik, Trsteno Arboretum provided the King’s Landing palace gardens, seen in Season 3 when Sansa Stark reveals Joffrey’s plot against her brother Robb to Lord Varys.
Split: Meereen
Split, Croatia’s second-largest city, became Meereen, the largest of the three Slaver’s Bay cities Daenerys conquers in Season 4. The cellars beneath Diocletian’s Palace, a 4th-century Roman ruin at the heart of the city, became her dragon dungeons and, later, the throne room where the freed slaves of Meereen pledge their allegiance to her.
Klis Fortress, twenty minutes north of Split, provided Meereen’s exterior establishing shots, and is where Daenerys delivers her speech about answering injustice with justice before the city’s walls. Nearby Žrnovnica was used for additional Essos street scenes throughout the show’s run.
Beyond Dubrovnik and Split
Croatia’s Game of Thrones footprint extends further than its two headline cities. Šibenik stood in for Braavos, and Trogir appears as Qarth in later seasons, giving dedicated fans a reason to extend a trip beyond the two most obvious stops.
How to See It All
Dubrovnik and Split can realistically be combined in a single trip, with Split’s Meereen locations easily seen as a stop en route from Dubrovnik. Several licensed operators in both cities run dedicated walking tours, typically an hour and a half to two hours, covering the key filming locations with historical and behind-the-scenes context alongside the show trivia.
For travelers who want the filming locations built into a full Croatia itinerary rather than a single-day tour, our dedicated Game of Thrones itinerary covers Dubrovnik and Split in full, alongside Plitvice Lakes National Park.
