Where Was Game of Thrones Filmed in Croatia? A Luxury Traveler’s Guide

Game of Thrones was filmed in Croatia from its second season, and above all in Dubrovnik, which played King’s Landing: Fort Lovrijenac became the Red Keep, the Jesuit Stairs began Cersei’s walk of atonement, and the island of Lokrum and the gardens at Trsteno stood in for Qarth and the palace gardens. Around Split, the cellars of Diocletian’s Palace and the fortress of Klis became Meereen, while Šibenik and the little sea fort at Kaštel Gomilica played Braavos. All of it fits into a week on the coast, with one villa near Dubrovnik and one near Split. Start with our Croatia villa rentals.

Game of Thrones filming locations in Croatia at a glance

Season 1 was not filmed in Croatia. From season 2, the production came back to the Croatian coast for King’s Landing, Qarth, Meereen and Braavos.

Dubrovnik: King’s Landing

Most of what you remember of King’s Landing is Dubrovnik’s Old Town, a walled city of limestone streets that UNESCO has listed since 1979. The places worth finding, from the sea upward:

• Fort Lovrijenac. The fortress on a 37-meter rock just west of the walls was the Red Keep, and its courtyards staged the tournament for King Joffrey’s name day in season 2. The Dubrovnik Summer Festival still uses it as a stage, most famously for Hamlet.
• The city walls and Minčeta Tower. The ramparts appear again and again as the walls of King’s Landing; the base of Minčeta, the round tower at the top of the town, was the House of the Undying in Qarth in season 2.
• The Jesuit Stairs and St Dominic Street. The baroque staircase below the Jesuit church and the street of St Dominic were the route of Cersei’s walk of atonement in season 5.
• The Rector’s Palace. Its inner courtyard was the palace of the Spice King of Qarth in season 2.
• Gradac Park. The guests walked through this park outside the walls on their way to the Purple Wedding, early in season 4.

Concierge note: Dubrovnik limits cruise visitors to two ships at a time and 4,500 people a day, and the Old Town is still fullest from late morning. We check the cruise calendar for your dates, book the wall tickets and a licensed guide, and start at opening time, so the ramparts are almost empty for the first hour.

Lokrum: the island that played Qarth

Lokrum lies about ten minutes by boat from the Old Town harbor, a wooded island with a Benedictine monastery, a botanical garden and peacocks. The monastery cloisters hosted Xaro Xhoan Daxos’s garden party in Qarth in season 2. The island is a nature reserve: every visitor pays the entrance fee, including those who arrive on a private boat, which is the way we suggest, with a swim off the rocks before lunch.

Trsteno Arboretum: the gardens of the Red Keep

On the coast northwest of Dubrovnik, Trsteno grew from the summer estate of the Gučetić family, laid out between 1494 and 1502, and has been looked after by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts since 1951. Its Renaissance garden above the sea was the palace garden of King’s Landing in season 3, where Olenna Tyrell held her private conversations. Go in the morning, before the heat; if you stay at Villa La Villa Dubrovnik, the arboretum is a short walk from the house.

Split: Meereen in Diocletian’s Palace

In Split, the production used the palace of a Roman emperor, part of the Historical Complex of Split that UNESCO has listed since 1979. The cellars beneath it, the vaulted substructures of the palace, became Daenerys’s throne room in Meereen and the place where she chains her dragons, in the later episodes of season 4. The Golden Gate served as the main entrance to Meereen, and the Unsullied fought the Sons of the Harpy in the domed vestibule. Papalićeva Street, in the palace district, was used for the “kill the masters” scenes in season 4.

The palace is a living quarter of the city, with shops, homes and cafes inside the Roman walls, so a guide who knows the scenes saves a great deal of searching. We book one for the early morning, before the cellars fill.

Klis Fortress and Žrnovnica: around Meereen

Klis Fortress, a long line of walls on the ridge above Split, stood in for Meereen during the siege in season 4: its cityscape and walls are where Daenerys arrives with her army at the gates. The view from the top reaches over Split to the islands.

Žrnovnica, a village on the eastern edge of Split, gave two season 4 scenes: an old watermill on the Žrnovnica River, where Missandei bathes, and the Žrnovnica quarry, the backdrop to the fight in which Daario Naharis kills Meereen’s champion. Both are an easy half-day with Klis, by car.

Kaštel Gomilica and Šibenik: Braavos

Kaštel Gomilica, one of the seven Kaštela villages on the bay between Split and Trogir, has a small sea fort known as Kaštilac. It played the harbor of Braavos, where Arya arrives by boat in season 5 to begin her training.

Šibenik, further north, appears in three episodes of season 5. St James’s Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was a backdrop for Braavos in the ninth episode; the outline of the old town is seen as Arya arrives; and St John’s Fortress, above the town, staged the Meereen fighting pit where Jorah fights while Daenerys watches from the stands. It is a day trip from a villa near Split, and a fine one even without the series: the cathedral alone is worth the drive.

A private Game of Thrones week, by car and by boat

Dubrovnik and Split are three and a half to four hours apart by road, so the locations fall naturally into two bases. A week we would plan:

• Days 1 to 4, Dubrovnik. The walls at opening time and Fort Lovrijenac; Lokrum by private boat; Trsteno in the morning, with lunch on the way back; an evening walk down the Jesuit Stairs when the day visitors have left.
• Day 4, the coast. By car along the coast road, or by private boat along the islands with a stop for lunch, a long day on the water that we plan around the wind.
• Days 5 to 7, Split and Kaštela. Diocletian’s Palace and its cellars early in the morning; Klis and Žrnovnica together; the sea fort at Kaštel Gomilica; a day in Šibenik.

Fly into Dubrovnik and out of Split, or the reverse, to avoid driving back; see how to travel to Croatia from the USA. For the season, see the best time to visit Croatia.

Where to stay near the filming locations

Four villas from our collection, two at each end of the route. For the whole coast, see our luxury villas in Croatia.

Villa Annalisa

Ploče, Dubrovnik · 5 bedrooms · sleeps 10

A 17th-century house in Ploče, just east of the Old Town, with three terraces that look over the Old Town, the island of Lokrum and Banje beach. On the terrace, a heated pool, a gloriette with a dining table and a summer kitchen with a barbecue; inside, five suites with their own bathrooms. King’s Landing is the view from the pool.

Staff and service: a private chef, butler service, tours, excursions, water activities and wine tours are arranged on request.

Villa La Villa Dubrovnik

Trsteno, Dubrovnik Riviera · 6 bedrooms · sleeps 12

In the village of Trsteno, among laurel and cypress trees, a short walk from the arboretum that played the gardens of the Red Keep, and facing the Elaphite Islands. Six bedrooms, one of them in a separate annex; a 5 by 11 meter pool, a garden with a pavilion, and a dining room that seats twelve.

Staff and service: housekeeping and our concierge are included, with a welcome basket on arrival.

Villa Exclusive Split

Split, at the foot of Marjan hill · 5 bedrooms · sleeps 10

A house about a hundred years old, protected as a cultural monument and renovated in 2004, on the coast at the foot of Marjan hill and about ten minutes on foot from Diocletian’s Palace, so the cellars of Meereen are a walk away. The pool and its jacuzzi sit in a shaded garden with a great palm tree and Mediterranean plants, on a 1,000 square meter plot.

Staff and service: a private chef, grocery delivery, tours and activities are arranged on request.

Villa Nikita

Split Riviera, above Kaštel Stari · 5 bedrooms · sleeps 10

A new house on the hillside above Kaštel Stari, looking over Kaštela Bay, the bay of the Braavos harbor scenes, toward Split and the islands. A 70 square meter heated infinity pool, a gym and five en-suite bedrooms; Split Airport is about 6 kilometers away, which makes it the easiest base for the Split half of the route.

Staff and service: our concierge is included; a private chef, transfers, massages, car rental, boat rental and tailor-made tours are arranged on request.

Before you go

• Start early. In July and August the Old Town and the palace in Split are busiest from late morning; the first hour after opening is the best of the day.
• Good shoes. Dubrovnik’s limestone is polished smooth by centuries of feet, and the walls are a long walk with many steps.
• Book the guide ahead. Licensed guides who know the filming locations are in demand in summer; we reserve one for each city when we plan your stay.
• Lokrum by private boat. It saves the queue at the harbor, though the reserve’s entrance fee still applies.
• Book the villa first. Nine to twelve months ahead for June to September, six to nine months for spring and autumn.

More Croatia guides

• Croatia villa rentals
  Our collection, with a shortlist in 24 hours.
• Best places to visit in Croatia
  Coastlines, old towns and island life.
• The best time to visit Croatia
  Season by season, and how far ahead to book.
• Travel to Croatia from the USA
  Nonstop flights, the border and the transfer.
• Is Croatia safe?
  What to know before you book.

Game of Thrones in Croatia: your questions answered

Updated October 2026. Sources: Time Out Croatia; the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board; Visit Šibenik; the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Trsteno); the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities (Lovrijenac); the Dubrovnik Tourist Board (Lokrum); the Lokrum Reserve; European Capital of Smart Tourism (cruise limits). We confirm opening times and tickets for your dates when we plan your stay.