The exact lineup behind “15 Fictional Places We Wish Existed In Real Life (13 That Actually Do)” could not be verified, so it would be misleading to assign specific places to its 15-and-13 counts. A related TravelTriangle article, updated 22 October 2024, lists real locations connected to fictional settings—but its examples mix filming sites, digital backdrops, claimed inspirations and visual similarities. Here are some of those pairings, clearly labeled by what the connection actually is.
What “actually exists” can mean
A fictional setting may be connected to a real place in several different ways. A film crew might shoot there; artists might combine its landscape with digital effects; a creator might have drawn inspiration from it; or it may simply resemble the imagined setting. Those are not interchangeable claims. TravelTriangle’s list, “20 Fictional Places That You Can Visit In Real Life,” updated 22 October 2024, is a secondary source and does not establish the exact 15 fictional and 13 real places in this article’s title.
- Filming location: a real place used in a screen adaptation. It does not mean the fictional place exists there.
- Digital backdrop or composite: a real landscape may appear in a scene whose final setting was digitally created or altered.
- Inspiration or resemblance: a real place is said to have inspired a setting, or looks like it. Similarity alone does not prove a creative connection.
- Loose association: a travel article pairs the two, but the nature or strength of the link may be unclear.
Fictional places paired with real locations
The following are examples from TravelTriangle’s 2024 list, not a verified reconstruction of the title’s 15-plus-13 lineup. The relationship labels describe what that article says; they should not be read as independently confirmed creator intent or current travel advice.
| Fictional place | Real-world pairing | Relationship described by TravelTriangle |
|---|---|---|
| Elsa’s Ice Palace, Frozen | Hotel de Glace, Canada | Pairing in the article; it does not establish that the hotel inspired the palace. |
| Arendelle, Frozen | Nærøyfjord, Norway | Pairing in the article; not proof that the fictional kingdom is a real place. |
| Paradise Falls, Up | Angel Falls, Venezuela | Pairing in the article; resemblance or inspiration is not established there. |
| Pride Rock, The Lion King | Serengeti National Park, Tanzania | Pairing in the article; no specific filming connection is established. |
| Great Lake, Harry Potter | Loch Shiel, Scotland | The article associates the film image with the location. |
| Hogwarts Castle scenes, Harry Potter | Alnwick Castle, Northumberland | Filming location: the article says Alnwick was used in the first two films. |
| Hogwarts Express shots, Harry Potter | Glenfinnan Viaduct, Scotland | Railway location associated with the shots in the article. |
| Great Hall, Harry Potter | Christ Church dining hall, Oxford | Filming location, according to the article. |
| Mordor, The Lord of the Rings | Tongariro National Park, New Zealand | Pairing in the article; it does not mean the fictional realm exists there. |
| Hobbiton, The Lord of the Rings | Matamata, New Zealand | Film-set location, according to the article. |
| Rivendell, The Lord of the Rings | Kaitoke Regional Park, New Zealand | Digital creation using the park’s setting, as described by the article. |
| Winterfell, Game of Thrones | Castle Ward, Doune Castle, and Audley’s Castle and Woods | Multiple filming locations are named; the fictional castle does not correspond to just one site. |
| Pentos, Game of Thrones | Azure Window, Malta | Pairing in the article; it is not current visitor guidance. |
| Hallelujah Mountain, Avatar | Wulingyuan, China | Visual similarity and naming association described by the article, not proof of a filming or inspiration link. |
| Arkham Asylum | Danvers State Hospital, Massachusetts | The article asserts a basis for the association; the claim is not established here. |
| Canyon City, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Al Khazneh at Petra, Jordan | Screen-location pairing in the article. |
| Flintstones House, The Flintstones | A stone house in Malibu | Pairing in the article; no further evidence for the connection is given. |
| Isla de Muerta, Pirates of the Caribbean | Haiti | Broad pairing in the article; the exact relationship is unclear. |
| Tatooine, Star Wars | Matmata, Tunisia | Pairing in the article; it does not establish that the fictional planet exists there. |
| TARDIS / police box, Doctor Who | A mobile police box at Earls Court Station, UK | Comparison in the article, not a real time-travel device. |
Why a screen location is not the fictional place
Film and television settings are often assembled from several ingredients: a real exterior, a different interior, visual effects and locations standing in for one another. The Winterfell examples in the list illustrate why a single fictional place may map to multiple real filming sites. The article also describes Rivendell as digitally created against the setting at Kaitoke Regional Park. In both cases, a visitor may see a location connected to the production, not the complete fictional world as it appears on screen.
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What the list does—and does not—establish
TravelTriangle’s headline count is 20 places, and its introduction says, “Scroll down to see a list of 20 places (among many others), from the fantasy world that you thought never existed, but they actually do.” That statement refers to TravelTriangle’s own list. It does not verify the separate 15-and-13 count in this article’s title, nor does it make all of its pairings equally direct.
The source does not establish current opening status, safety, access rules or what visitors can see at these locations. Check local authorities or the site operator before planning a visit, particularly where an entry is a broad association rather than a documented filming location.
Source: TravelTriangle, “20 Fictional Places That You Can Visit In Real Life”, updated 22 October 2024; accessed 8 October 2026.
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