Game of Thrones Trail Croatia: 5-Day Filming Locations Itinerary
Dubrovnik: The ultimate Game of Thrones city walking tour
Westeros in Croatia: managing your expectations
Game of Thrones used Croatia extensively as a filming location between 2011 and 2016, and the result is one of the most successful pieces of destination tourism in television history. Dubrovnik’s Old Town became King’s Landing; Split’s Diocletian’s Palace became the slave city of Meereen; other Croatian locations stood in for Braavos, the Stormlands and other corners of Westeros.
The honest reality: most filming locations look nothing like they did on screen. Production design, digital extensions and camera angles transformed ordinary medieval streets into fantasy strongholds. Fort Lovrijenac — the Red Keep — is a 12th-century fortress, not a CGI palace. The Walk of Shame staircase is a Baroque Jesuit staircase with pedestrians and ice cream vendors. Going with a guided tour significantly helps: a good guide contextualises every location with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and shows you angles the average visitor misses.
This 5-day trail focuses on the two main locations — Dubrovnik and Split — because trying to see all Croatian filming locations in one trip creates a rushed, unsatisfying experience. Quality over completeness.
Day 1: Arrive Dubrovnik — King’s Landing begins
Fly into Dubrovnik Airport (DBV) and transfer to accommodation in the Old Town or Lapad peninsula. This first evening: walk the Stradun (King’s Landing’s main street) after sunset, when the day-trippers have gone and the limestone glows under streetlights. The atmosphere is closest to the show at dusk, when the crowds thin and the old town feels almost medieval.
Where to sleep (Dubrovnik, 3 nights): For immersion: an apartment within the Old Town walls. For value: Lapad peninsula, 20 minutes by bus.
Filming locations in view from the Stradun:
- The Stradun itself appears in multiple season 5 and 6 street scenes.
- The Sponza Palace arches at the east end of the Stradun: the King’s Landing market.
- The Onofrio Fountain: background location for several street scenes.
Day 2: Dubrovnik GoT walking tour — King’s Landing in depth
Book a dedicated Game of Thrones walking tour for this morning. The specialist GoT tours go to sites that generic city tours skip — the specific alleys and corners used for Littlefinger’s brothel exterior, Ros’s house, the scenes behind the Red Keep.
Key Dubrovnik filming locations:
Fort Lovrijenac (the Red Keep): The fortress on the western promontory, accessible via the City Walls ticket or a separate entry fee. The interior courtyard appeared as the Red Keep’s tournament grounds in Season 1. The exterior — the massive red walls over the sea — was extended digitally into the full Red Keep for exterior shots. Standing outside in the right spot, the resemblance to Joffrey’s tournament scenes is immediately clear.
The Jesuit Staircase (Cezmatin trg): The broad Baroque staircase between the Stradun and the hilltop church is where Cersei’s Walk of Shame (Season 5) was filmed. It is always in use by tourists; the actual filming required significant crowd management. The similarity to the show is one of the most direct 1:1 matches in Dubrovnik.
Pile Gate (King’s Landing’s main gate): Every arrival and departure scene at King’s Landing used the Pile Gate area. Stand outside the main gate arch and the framing is immediately recognisable.
Minčeta Tower (House of the Undying, Qarth): The round tower at the highest point of the City Walls appeared as the exterior of the House of the Undying in Qarth (Season 2). The walls circuit passes directly over it.
St. Dominic Street: Background street scenes for King’s Landing.
Lokrum Island (Daenerys in Qarth): The ferry to Lokrum takes 10 minutes from the Old Harbour. The island appeared as various Qarth locations and has a Game of Thrones exhibition with the Iron Throne replica (popular photo opportunity).
Day 3: City Walls and Karaka boat GoT experience
The City Walls circuit is both a GoT experience and the best view of Dubrovnik. The walls are 2 km; the Minčeta Tower at the top of the circuit; the Bokar Tower at the southwest corner overlooking the sea — all used in filming.
Afternoon: the traditional wooden ship Karaka offers a GoT-themed cruise with a walking tour — combining the harbour view of the walls with the old town locations. One of the more theatrical tour options, but popular and well-reviewed.
Evening: dinner in the old town, followed by a walk to the Buža bar (the bar built into a cliff in the walls, accessed by a hidden gap — it appeared in passing shots of King’s Landing’s cliffs over the sea).
Day 4: Train or bus to Split — Meereen awaits
The journey from Dubrovnik to Split by bus takes 4–4.5 hours and passes along the coastal road. Book ahead in summer. No rail connection exists between Dubrovnik and Split.
Arrive in Split by early afternoon. Check in for 2 nights (or 1 night if your schedule is tight).
Split’s Diocletian’s Palace was used as Meereen, the slave city where Daenerys rules in Seasons 4, 5 and 6. The palace cellars (Podrumi) — the underground vaulted chambers beneath the Peristyle — appear as the catacombs where Dany kept her dragons. The atmosphere in the cellars, even knowing they are Roman rather than fictional, is remarkable.
Key Split filming locations:
- The palace cellars (Podrumi): The dragon vaults. The vaulted chambers opened to the public since excavation in the 1950s; some still have the chain attachment points used during filming.
- The Vestibule (entrance hall above the cellars): Appears in several Meereen court scenes.
- Klis Fortress (21 km north of Split): Used as the exterior of Meereen — the slave city hillside. A separate excursion (car or taxi, 30–40 minutes). Game of Thrones tours from Split often include Klis.
Day 5: Split GoT tour and Klis Fortress
Devote the morning to a proper Game of Thrones tour of Split, including Klis Fortress. The specialist tours run from Split city centre and take 3–4 hours with transport.
Klis is a remarkable site on its own: a medieval fortress above the Solin valley used by the Croatian kings and later the Ottomans for 130 years before its fall in 1537. The GoT association has dramatically increased visitor numbers; the views from the fortress walls over Split and the sea are exceptional.
Back in Split for a final lunch in the palace. Afternoon transfer to Split Airport (SPU) for departure.
Practical information for this GoT trail
Tour booking: Book GoT tours in advance, especially in summer when they sell out. Look for small-group options (max 10–15 people) for a better experience than the large group tours.
Photography: The best photos of the Dubrovnik walls are from the sea-level looking up (from the Bokar or Lovrijenac areas), not from the top of the walls looking down. For Lovrijenac, the shot matching the show is from the adjacent cliff area outside the walls.
Season comparison: The show’s King’s Landing used digital extensions to create the full Red Keep, the Sept of Baelor, and the city sprawl. None of these are visible in Dubrovnik itself — but the bones of the city are entirely recognisable. Split’s Meereen match is closer: the actual cellars and Vestibule appear directly on screen.
Budget: This itinerary can be done budget to mid-range. The GoT tours are the main added expense (€25–50 per person). Dubrovnik is expensive regardless.
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