Set-jetting hot spots for 2023: Holidays inspired by White Lotus, Bridgerton and more

Indeed, whole tourism enterprises have grown up around fictional worlds, catering to appreciative audiences that have gone the distance to visit a screen-familiar location. Just ask the folks at Highclere Castle, better known to the masses as Julian Fellowes’ fictional Downton Abbey series. Or the residents of Northern Ireland where official and unofficial Game of Thrones tours and experiences take visitors along the Dark Hedges, through Winterfell and deep into the Seven Kingdoms from the hit HBO fantasy show.

Search engines show ‘Inisherin’ is top of the set-jet list for 2023, which is no surprise. Those dreamy, wind-swept islandscapes may represent a fictional island, but Martin McDonagh’s Oscar nominated Banshees of Inisherin is busily swelling tourist numbers, drawing visitors to Galway’s Inis Mór and Mayo’s Achill Island, where it was filmed. Raising Ireland’s set-jet status, the islands join Skellig Michael (Luke Skywalker’s home in two Star Wars movies), Lough Tay in Wicklow (Kattegat settlement for Vikings) and Wexford’s Curracloe Beach (Normandy for the D-Day landings in Saving Private Ryan) as landmark location settings.

While some destinations draw TV tourists because of irresistible characters (the apartment building of Friends or the Modern Family homes), others win our hearts as beautiful scenery is given a Hollywood gloss. Paris is always spectacular, but a little Netflix magic, à la Emily in Paris, makes shinier than ever, tempting newbies and returnees to explore, even if it’s not specifically to walk in Emily Cooper’s footsteps.

Feel like planning your travels based on your favourite show? Here are 2023’s best set-jetting spots.

1. Sicily in The White Lotus

A slice of drama to go with your poolside martini? Then grab a clifftop suite at San Domenico Palace, the 14th-century monastery-turned-luxury hotel we’ve swooned over in Season Two of The White Lotus. Perched above the Ionian Sea, and attracting celebrities since 1896 (from Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn to Madonna and Sharon Stone), opulent interiors and sensational setting make this Four Seasons Hotel in Taormina the ultimate set-jetting destination. Romantic, sexy, the slick setting is all real, including suites with pools and interconnecting doors. Management has confirmed many suites are booked out for the year, and while you are guaranteed the glamour and meticulous service you see on screen, the hotel will leave it up to you to create your own after-hours fun.

• www.fourseasons.com/taormina/

2. Montana in Yellowstone

The vast state of Montana fills our screens in Yellowstone, Paramount’s hit series, awakening all would-be cowboys, pioneers and outdoor lovers. With sweeping shots of the snow capped Rockies, deep valleys, dense forests and swathes of rangeland, this is Kevin Costner country, saturating our senses with Montana’s phenomenal scenery. Equestrians, thrillseekers, hikers and bikers are swelling numbers in Big Sky Country, channelling the tense cowboy succession drama and drinking in that pure, open landscape. 

The tourist board is working overtime as die-hard fans line up to stay on Chief Joseph Ranch, a working cattle ranch that doubles as the Dutton’s Yellowstone Ranch. Five hours from Yellowstone National Park, it is privately owned with two rental cabins, if you fancy starring in your own Western.

3. Paris in Emily in Paris

Whether you’re Team Gabriel or Team Alfie, there’s no denying Emily’s real co-star is the city itself. Vibrant and glittering, constantly covering new ground, from The Place de l’Estrapade where Emily lives in the 5th arrondissement to shooting her perfume ad for Maison Lavaux on the Pont Alexandre III and Jardin du Palais Royal where she meets Mindy (Gabriel’s bistro, an Italian restaurant in real life). The ultimate setting is the Haute Couture Eiffel Suite at the legendary Hôtel Plaza Athénée, where Emily has to manage spoiled American actress Brooklyn Clark, whose suite, the best in town, has knock-out views of the Eiffel Tower, costing a cool €17,000 to check-in for the night.

4. Bath in Bridgerton

Most notable is 1 Royal Crescent, its magnificent Palladian doubling for the exterior of the Featherington household. Indoors you’ll find a townhouse museum of fashionable life in Georgian Bath, furnished as it would have looked in the late 18th century.

Nearby, the city’s honey-coloured Holborne Museum of Art is the exterior of wealthy widow Lady Danbury’s home while Bath’s handsome Assembly Rooms hosted one of the show’s many balls. To recreate a little scandal or gossip of your own, seek out the familiar exteriors of the Modiste Dress Shop and Gunter’s Tea Shop, for great photo backdrops.

5. Cáceres in House of the Dragon

The prequel to Game of Thrones, HBO’s successful fantasy series, takes viewers back to Westeros, chronicling the tale of the Targaryens. Here Cáceres’ Old Town is the fictional King’s Landing, site of the Iron Throne. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the city’s mesmerising streets have known real life battles between Moors and Christians with its architecture a heady blend of Roman, Islamic, Northern Gothic and Italian Renaissance styles. Used as a trade route through Extremadura in the 15th and 16th centuries, Game of Thrones fans may recognise Cáceres as King’s Landing in the original show, its well preserved walls, magnificent towers, cobbled streets, palaces and churches making it a fantastical vision for visitors. Reports suggest that HBO will be shooting Season Two in the medieval city between April and May, when fans may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the stars.

6. Florence in From Scratch

Filling our screens with the ultimate FOMO-inducing footage of Firenze, the show follows an American art student who falls in love with a Sicilian chef in Florence, their real life romance playing out against the city’s spectacular architecture and artistic heritage. Showcasing a city of picturesque piazze, narrow cobbled streets and rooftop views, landmarks such as the iconic Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and Franciscan church of Santa Croce, final resting place of Michelangelo and Galileo, shimmer on-screen, with Lino’s delicious food in a supporting role.

Putting the art into heart, set-jetters looking for a cultural or culinary break with a romantic edge will be swept away.