Game of Thrones Locations: Aerial Views

Avid traveler and content creator iDrone Aerials, gives us a cinematic HD view of the magnificent Croatian seaport city of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic Sea.  This well-preserved 11th-century city on the Dalmatian Coast has gotten an enormous boost in recent years after it was chosen as a filming location for seasons 2-8 of HBO's hit show "Game of Thrones" (Dubrovnik is the fictional King's Landing, the capital city of Westeros.) This video was a finalist in the Game of Drones category for the 2nd Annual Drone Video Awards.

If you have seen HBO's Game of Thrones, you've likely seen the Castillo de Almodóvar del Río; this castle in southern Spain was the shooting location for Highgarden, seat of the house of Tryell, in the show's seventh season.  The 8th century Moorish (Muslim) castle is situated in the province of Cordoba, part of Spain's semi-autonomous Andalusia region.  In this video, contributor Eminorcks gives us an epic bird's eye view of this castle, which was an important center of rule during Spain's period under Islam.

In this video, you'll get a drone's eye view of a stretch of coastline in Spain's Basque Country that fans of HBO's Game of Thrones series will recognize from the show's seventh season.  The first part of the video features Gaztelugatxe, a tiny islet on the Bay of Biscay whose staircase leading to the hermitage atop the island was used as the staircase for the fictional Dragonstone Castle.  The remainder of the video was shot the beaches around nearby Zumaia; these appeared as Dragonstone's beach in the show.

Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in Iceland and one of the largest in Europe.  Within its massive area of 8.1k square km (3k square mi) lie many caves resulting from the icecap's melting patterns.  Contributor Snorrithor flew his DJI Phantom 3 drone into one of these caves, creating a one of a kind "aerial" of this gigantic cavern.  The glacier is the land "Beyond the Wall" in Westeros in HBO's Game of Thrones; the video was a Winner for the Game of Drones category in the AirVuz Drone Video Awards.

Breath of Iceland created this stunning aerial view of one of Iceland's famous "black sand beaches."  Reynisfjara is located near the town of Vik, near the south end of the island.  Dyrhólaey (once known as Cape Portland) is a small peninsula jutting into the North Atlantic.  This was the filming location for the fictional spot Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, where Jon Snow lands with Jorah Mormond, and Gendry in Episode 5 of Season 7 of HBO's Game of Thrones.  

Zadar and Split both lie on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea.  Both feature stunning beaches, Roman and Venetian ruins, and architecture spanning centuries.  The allure of Split led to it being chosen as a filming location for HBO's Game of Thrones series; the character Daenerys Targaryen kept her dragons here.  Top contributor Hamza Mujtaba was nominated for the 2017 AirVuz Drone Video Awards in the Cities category for this amazing aerial video featuring these two beautiful cities.

Top contributor Justin Poore created this amazing video of the Croatia's Klis Fortress, one of the most famous fortifications in Europe.  Perched on a hill overlooking the city of Split on the Dalmatian Coast, the site dates to Roman times.  The structure was later converted into a castle which was the home of the Kings of the Croatian Kingdom, which ruled over the region from roughly 900-1100AD.  Much later, the fortress appeaed as the City of Meereen in Slaver's Bay in Season 4 of HBO's Game of Thrones.

Almeria is one of the provinces of Spain's Andalusia region in the southern part of the country.  Its inland territory is extremely dry and mountainous, which has made it an attractive filming location, beginning with the 1966 classic The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and more recently in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).  Contributor Sartanafc created this epic drone video of the region, which was also the home of the Dathraki horsemen in Seasons 5 and 6 of HBO's Game of Thrones TV series. 

Lestilestudios created this drone video of Fort St. Angelo on the Mediterranean island of Malta.  It is situated in the Grand Harbor, in the city of Birgu (Città Vittoriosa).  Built by the Knights of St. John, the fortress was the focal point of the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.  Here, the fort's defenders held off an amphibious invasion by the Ottoman Empire, marking the end of the Ottoman bid for control of the Mediterranean.  About 450 years later, it was a filming location for the Red Keep seen in Season 1 of Game of Thrones.  

Morocco, in northwestern Africa, offers a unique blend of Arab, Spanish, and French cultures.  A fascinating place, it's been used as a filming location for numerous episodes of HBO's Game of Thrones series - Yunkai and Astopor, among others, are actually Moroccan towns.  Contributor Bernardo Bacalau used a DJI Phantom 3 drone to create this unforgettable aerial survey of the country.  This video was chosen as a finalist for the AirVuz 2017 Drone Video Awards in the Countries category. 

A popular tourist trek in Northern Ireland is to go along the Causeway Coast in County Antrim.  Along the way, they’ll find attractions such as the Rope Bridge and the Giant’s Causeway, as well as a few of the filming locations for the HBO series Game of Thrones such as Dunluce Castle (Harrenhal), Ballintoy (the port of Pyke), the Cushendun Caves, (Stormlands), Downhill Strand (Dragonstone), and the Dark Hedges (King’s Road).  Several of these landmarks are shown in this video.

Built in the last part of the 18th century, Mussenden Castle is a distinctive circular building sitting on a cliff in Northern Ireland.  It sits in County Londonderry, the northernmost of the six counties of Ulster which are part of the UK as Northern Ireland.  Mussenden overlooks Downhill Strand (Beach), which was visited by the characters Stannis Baratheon and Melisandre in HBO's Game of Thrones series.  Contributor Pato Williams used a drone to create an aerial tour of this magnificent building.  

Top contributor and drone pilot Uncle Dam had occasion to visit the Mediterranean island nation of Malta at the height of the spring season.  While there, he was able to create this spectacular aerial tour of the main island as well as the surrounding islands Gozo and Comino.  Malta was a primary filming location for much of Season 1 of HBO's Game of Thrones; the initial King's Landing location was the ancient walled city of Mdina in the center of the main island, which you'll see at the :50 mark.   

Contributor and drone pilot flyingbydaniel created this beautiful aerial video of Iceland's most famous mountain and "Game of Thrones" star: Kirkjufell.  Translated roughly to "Church Mountain", the mountain has a peak elevation of 1.45km meters or around 4.8k ft.  It's situated on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, west of Reykjavik.  Its highly symmetrical shape caught the attention of the producers of the hit HBO TV series; it appeared in Seasons 6 and 7 as "Arrowhead Mountain".    

The Adriatic Coast continues to be a popular tourism destination, especially with the backpacking type who enjoy moving from spot to spot to enjoy a multifacted vacation. AirVuz contributor Mercurybackpackers shared their journey through Bosnia and Croatia, where they enjoyed time within the walls of Dubrovnik, which served as King's Landing throughout Seasons 2-8 of the popular Game of Thrones, as well as on Lokrum Island. This charming island, off the shore of Dubronik, served as Qarth in Season 2.

Top contributor Anthony Tori used a drone to create this aerial tour of some popular spots in southern Iceland.  The video includes footage of Fjaðrargljufur canyon, Gljúfrabúi waterfall, Glacier Lagoon, the downed DC-3 at Sólheimasandur beach, and more.  Note that at about the :50 mark and again at around 1:30, you'll see the Öxarárfoss waterfall in the Þingvellir National Park; a path leading to this falls was the Bloody Gate in HBO's Game of Thrones (S04E08).  

The United Kingdom region known as Northern Ireland was used extensively to film the HBO TV series Game of Thrones.  Examples include the The Dark Hedges in County Antrim (which served as the King's Road, used by Arya Stark to escape the city in Season 1), and Ballintoy Harbour in County Antrim (which stood in as Port of Pyke in Season 2, when Theon Greyjoy returned to the Iron Islands).  These are some of the amazing sights captured by AirVuz contributor and drone pilot Foto-events in his video recapping a trip to Northern Ireland.

Trujillo is a small town in the province of Caceres, Spain, part of the Extremadura autonomous community in the west-central part of the country.  The city was home to some of the most famous conquistadoras who conquered much of the world on Spain's behalf.  The castle atop the hill overlooking the town was a shooting location in Season 7 of HBO's Game of Thrones; it was cast as Casterly Rock.  In this video, contributor and drone pilot EBMDrone gives us an aerial view of this gorgeous medieval Spanish town.  

Contributor oben360 was one of the last drone pilots to fly through the now-mythical Azure Window, a rock formation off the coast of the island of Gozo, the second island of Malta.  The window collapsed in 2017, disappearing forever.  Prior to its collapse, it was burned into the world's cultural consciousness by appearing first in the 2010 blockbuster Clash of the Titans and then in HBO's Game of Thrones series; in the latter, the arch was where Daenerys married Khal Drogo in the series' pilot episode.

The fascinating Cushendun Caves of County Antrim in Nothern Ireland were formed over the course of 400 million years.  The caves offer unique photo opportunities and beautiful hiking, but have also claimed a bit of attention due to their serving as the 'Stormlands' in Season 2 of HBO's Game of Thrones.  The priestess Melisandre is escorted here by Davos Seaworth (at the behest of Stannis Baratheon), only to give birth shortly thereafter to a ominous shadow figure.  See the famous caves from above in this drone video by photasma.  

Drone pilot Swisslapse returned to the historic, fortified city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, armed with a DJI Phantom Pro and a plan to catch the city in its best light.  In doing so, she captured sights Game of Thrones fans will recognize from Seasons 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8.  Watch closely for Minceta Tower, where Daenerys looked for her dragons, Fort Lovrijenac, which stood as the Red Keep, and Pile Harbour, which was the setting for both Blackwater Bay and the shores of Kings Landing.

AirVuz contributor and pilot Martin McKenna created this drone video of beautiful Ballintoy Harbor, a small natural port in County Anterim of Northern Ireland.  Located roughly halfway between Giant's Coast and Bushmills, the harbor is dotted with giant rocks and numerous tidal "blowholes".  The harbor may be recognizable to fans of HBO's Game of Thrones fantasy-historical television series: it appeared as the Greyjoy Kingdom of Pyke in the Iron Islands of Westeros in the show's second season.  

Croatia's Krka National Park lies just inland from the central part of its Adriatic Sea coastline, near the town of Sibenik in the country's Dalmatian Coast region.  It was designated as a national park while still part of Yugoslavia, in part as a means to protect the Krka River.  One of eight national parks in Croatia, Krka was used to capture background landscape scenes of Westeros in Season 4 of HBO's Game of Thrones TV series, much of which was shot in Dubrovnik and other spots in Croatia.

AirVuz contributor Portrushgetaway brings us this excellent drone video of Dunluce Castle, an important landmark in Northern Ireland.  The castle is situated on an outcrop in County Antrim, the northernmost of the six counties of Northern Ireland.  It dates to the 13th century, undergoing substantial modification in the 16th century.  Dunluce Castle has earned numerous cultural references; perhaps most famously, it appeared on HBO's hit series Game of Thrones as Harrenhall, the largest castle in the mythical land of Westeros.

The Mourne Mountains sit in County Down in the Northern Ireland region of the United Kingdom. They include Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in Ulster.  Contributor Imagine Light used a DJI Mavic Air and a DJI Inspire 2 drone to create this amazing bird's eye view of these magnificent peaks.  The Mournes feature as a filming location for HBO's Game of Thrones series, including two episodes of season one and another in season three. This video is a nominee in the second annual Drone Video Awards for the GoT category.

Featured in Season 6 of the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones," the lunar landscape of Bardenas Reales Natural Park's in Spain's Navarre region was a perfect filming location for the Dothraki's home.  James Bond fans will also recognize the area: it was the site of the "nuclear bunker" in The World is Not Enough (1999), the 21st movie in the series.  Check it out for yourself in this aerial film by Heilongbaixin, which also features footage of the Anisco Canyon in Huesca, which is part of the Aragon region.  

Check out this drone video of the walled city of Mdina, Malta, compliments of Rich Watson.  Located near the center of the island, Mdina was founded by Muslim setters in the 10th or 11th century.  It was Malta's most important city until the Knights of St. John took control of the island in the 16th century and moved the capital to Birgu, on the Grand Harbor to the southeast.  One of Malta's cultural treasures, Mdina was the filming location for King's Landing in the first season of HBO's Game of Thrones. 

The island nation of Malta lies close to the center of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian island of Sicily and the coast of North Africa.  Top content creator Oliverastrologo created this stunning aerial tour of this beautiful spot, which includes epic shots of the harbor at Valletta, the ancient walled city of Mdina, and at the :40 mark the Azure Window rock formation (which subsequently collapsed); all were used extensively as filming locations in Season 1 of HBO's Game of Thrones. 

Andalusia is a historical and official semi-autonomous region of Spain, its  southernmost.  Andalusia was the center of Muslim (Berber) rule in Spain, which began in the 8th century and didn't fully end until the end of the 15th.  Top AirVuz contributor and pilot hamzamuj created this epic aerial tour of the region with a drone, which includes aerial footage of Malaga, Almogia, Granada and Cordoba.  Andalusia has been used extensively as a filming location for HBO's Game of Thrones, notably in Seville and Cordoba.

AirVuz has assembled this video showing footage of drone videos from some of the top locations used in HBO's Game of Thrones series.  Locations featured include: Kings Landing (Dubrovnik, Croatia); the Kingsroad (Armoy, N. Ireland), Beyond the Wall (Vatnajökull, Iceland), Vaes Dothrak (Mourne Mountains, N. Ireland); Yunkai (Aït Benhaddou, Morocco); Dragonstone (Zumaia, Spain); Daenery’s Dothraki Wedding (Azure Window, Malta); Dragonstone Beach (Downhill Strand Beach, NI); and more..