Skip to main content
Last updated: 8 August 2019

Holiday like a Hollywood star this awards season

Black ties, red carpets and silver screen sensations – it’s awards season for the film industry. While Tinseltown dons its finest for the Academy Awards and BAFTA brings the stars out in London, you can step behind the scenes of some of the most talked-about movies this year. Here are five film locations to visit when you’re holidaying – whether it’s a long weekend or a long-haul trip.

1. FOLLOW IN THE PETTICOATS OF THE FAVOURITE

The Favourite filmmakers stayed true to history by filming scenes at Hampton Court Palace, where Queen Anne spent time during her reign. The Cartoon Gallery, Fountain Court and Henry VIII’s Kitchens are key backdrops. Look out (and up) for Antonio Verrio’s majestic ceiling murals in the Drawing Room too. They depict the real Queen Anne – who commissioned them. And, if you visit before March, you can get an up-close-and-personal view of the costumes worn by the stars.

With a long weekend to play with, pop north of London and dip into Hertfordshire, home of Hatfield House. This period house prodigy was a sure-fire hit for The Favourite‘s cast and crew. But this is one star stately home that refuses to be typecast – it’s been the setting for productions as varied as The CrownWonder Woman and Paddington (plus its sequel).

2. HIT THE RIGHT NOTES ON THE TRAIL OF A STAR IS BORN

Los Angeles

Over to Hollywood. Many say the performances in A Star is Born shine so bright because they were filmed at genuine concerts – including Glastonbury Festival and Coachella. Outside festival season, time it right and you can step on hallowed ground at Empire Polo Club, the home of Coachella in Palm Springs. As well as Polo matches, this exclusive events space hosts sophisticated club nights and society weddings. Back in LA, catch a show at The Greek Theatre where acts can range from The Chemical Brothers to Steve Martin – and Lady Gaga performs alongside Bradley Cooper in one memorable scene. Or follow the sound of guitar strings to the smaller Regent stage that also featured in the movie.

3. DO THE FANDANGO WITH BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Ring the changes and visit London’s lesser-known neighbourhoods that Rami Malek roams as Freddie Mercury. Union Street in Southwark may look a little different though – in the film it doubles as a New York City sidewalk. The street itself paints an intriguing picture of London’s past, with Victorian shopfronts and 19th-century factory façades at either end. And it’s thought that Charles Dickens used to walk these pavements when he worked in the area. Nowadays it’s a good place to explore around lunchtime, with busy cafés and foodie-favourite restaurants on and around Union Street.

4. TURN BOOKWORM IN THE SPIRIT OF CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

New York

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the true tale of left-on-the-shelf biographer Lee Israel. Frustrated by the publishing industry, Lee turned to a life of deception and celebrity forgery ¬– with surprising success. Follow her story around New York, bookshop-hopping your way into ’90s literary culture. Start with family-owned Argosy on E.59th street and head to the upper floors that doubled as a film set. As well as rare vintage and contemporary books, you can browse its library of antique maps, letters and celebrity autographs. There are even signed manuscripts and letters of note by Martin Amis, Noel Coward, Victor Hugo and Bram Stoker.

After you’ve had your fill of first editions, scoot over to the Housing Works Bookstore Café on Crosby Street – appearing as Crosby Street Booksellers in the film. This atmospheric not-for-profit plays host to regular author talks and open mic ‘story slams’.

5. GO FROM SILVER SCREEN TO SCOTLAND IN SEARCH OF THE WIFE

While much of the present-day story is set in Stockholm, where Joe (Jonathan Pryce) and his long-suffering wife Joan (Glenn Close) are headed to accept his Nobel Prize, many of the scenes in The Wife were shot in Scotland. Follow their emotionally charged journey with a visit to Concorde at the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian – close to Edinburgh. Or, in Glasgow, pause beneath one of its most elegant landmarks: Hutchesons’ Hall. Restored and now preserved by the National Trust for Scotland, it’s a good choice for dinner – the former hospital is now a restaurant. You may even dine where Glenn Close and Christian Slater sat.

Stockholm