House of the Dragon’s various filming locations bring to life dragons, battles, bloodshed, and hard-earned borders. In reality, they make for a nice trip to the countryside.
With the amount of screentime Westeros has had in the last decade, we mostly know what the Seven Kingdoms look like by now. But it takes a village to make a TV show, and HOTD utilizes historic locations across the world to bring the fantasy series to life.
House of the Dragon Season 2 takes us to never-seen-before places in Westeros, as the Greens and Blacks vie for support in the Dance of the Dragons.
While we don’t advise visiting King’s Landing in Game of Thrones’ fictional universe, HOTD is shot in perfectly luscious European destinations.
House of the Dragon filming locations
House of the Dragon was filmed in Spain, the UK, and Portugal, with cobbling together cities, battlefields, and lavish throne rooms from specially selected sites.
The Game of Thrones spin-off follows in its big brother’s footsteps – the original show used European countries too. With House of the Dragon Season 1 and 2 largely utilizing the same fictional places in Westeros, there were no major changes to cast trips for the sophomore season.
If you’re curious about where major story beats, weddings, and beheadings took place, let’s break down the most significant settings in more detail.
Driftmark
Location: Cornwall, England
The ancestral seat of House Velaryon is shot in Cornwall. The island’s historic castle and garden are found off the coast of Marazion.
The exteriors of High Tide Castle are not CGI or painted, but rather the St Michael’s Mount on the south coast. At low tide, you can use the ancient causeway to walk to a cobbled path to the island.
Shooting here presented logistical challenges. For example, there was a narrow time window to deliver materials to the site. Most had to be sent weeks in advance, and if something went wrong on the day and they needed to retrieve more… well, good luck.
Laena’s funeral in Season 1 Episode 7, titled ‘Driftmark’, was shot there in May 2021. Rhaenyra and Daemon’s romantic moment on the beach and Aemond finding Vhagar were filmed at Holywell Beach on the north coast, a popular surfing spot.
King’s Landing
Locations: Plaza Mayor, Trujillo, Spain, and Old Town of Cáceres, Spain
House of the Dragon shot the Main Square of King’s Landing at Plaza Mayor in Trujillo. We’ve seen it in the franchise before when it stood in as the High Garden fortress in Game of Thrones.
Churches and Renaissance architecture envelop the gorgeous main square, and the series replaced a famous statue in the center with a dragon.
They filmed Season 1 Episode 1’s brutal City Watch scenes and Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen’s inappropriate uncle-niece outing to a brothel in the Old Town of Cáceres in Spain.
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Additionally, the premiere episode’s nighttime massacre features the city’s Plaza de Santa María.
Dragonstone
Locations: Monsanto, Portugal and Gaztelugatxe, Basque Country, Spain
They shot much of the interior work in House of the Dragon within the comforts of a soundstage made for the series, but they used Monsanto in Portugal’s Castelo Branco District for Dragonstone Castle’s exterior.
Another important scene in Dragonstone was the confrontation between the Greens and Blacks on the bridge. The scene where Otto Hightower delivered Alicent’s message to Rhaenyra in Season 1 Episode 10 was filmed in Gaztelugatxe, Basque Country.
Stepstones
Location: Kynance Cove, Cornwall, England
One of the most memorable action scenes in Season 1 was young Daemon’s fight against the Triarchy forces. He battled on Stepstones’ shores before pulling a trick to fake surrender.
Cornwall makes another appearance in the spotlight here, with Kynance Cove as the setting of that sandy skirmish.
This sounds like one of the best locations to visit if you’re planning a tour. There are walking routes, seasonal wildlife (Cornish heath, ferns, lichens, and rare moths), and sunset here is a spectacular sight. White sand and turquoise water… bring your camera.
The Iron Throne room
Location: Warner Bros. Leavesden Studio, England
Soundstages are the norm for TV show interiors, even ones as expensive as House of the Dragon. Various scenes, including ones set in the dreary Iron Throne room, were filmed inside Warner Bros.’ Leavesden studio in the UK
This site began life as Leavesden Aerodrome. Bought by The Ministry of Defence during World War II, it produced aircraft including Halifax Bombers.
It was the 90s that turned the grounds into a production studio. Production crew working on the James Bond movie Goldeneye discovered the unoccupied site and shot the film there.
Since then, the Harry Potter movies, 2012’s Edge of Tomorrow, and more used Leavesden studio.
Now we’ve taken the tour, stay updated with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms or all of Rhaenyra’s children explained. We’ve also written guides on the Targaryen kings in order and the wildest House of the Dragon fan fiction.