Photo Courtesy: Salzburger Land
All the World is a Stage
Set-jet to celebrate “The Sound of Music” at 60 years, and see locations of favorite shows and movies
Cities, villages, beaches, mountaintops and countless dramatic vistas have been the backdrops for thousands of movies, helping filmmakers tell their stories. Sometimes, these places also inspire us to abandon our comfy movie lounge chairs to visit film sites for ourselves.
The opulent resorts of “The White Lotus” have seen an uptick in visitors since the series aired, and “Ted Lasso” fans now wander through Richmond, London—the suburb where the show was set. Fans of “The Last of Us” are discovering Calgary, Canada; Nobo, the guest-star giraffe from season one, receives visitors at the Calgary Zoo.
“The Sound of Music” At 60 Years
“Set-jetting” isn’t a new concept.
One of the first original movie locations to draw legions of fans, Salzburg, Austria, was the home of the real von Trapp family, and served as the location of the classic film “The Sound of Music.” This year is ideal for visiting as Salzburg celebrates the film’s 60th anniversary with special events including performances by the Salzburg Marionette Theater (where Maria and the children yodeled “The Lonely Goatherd”), a free walking tour on The Sound of Music Trail in Werfen where the picnic scene was filmed and private tours with Maria’s granddaughter Elisabeth von Trapp.
To tour on your own, start in the city center at Mirabell Gardens. The Baroque extravaganza of sculptures, flowers and fountains is where the children learned “Do Re Mi.” Look for the Pegasus Fountain, gnome garden and hedge tunnel before climbing the “Do Re Mi” steps where the cast became human notes in a musical scale.
More sites sit across the river in the Altstadt, the UNESCO World Heritage historic center of Salzburg, which can be reached via the Mozartsteg footbridge, seen during the scene “My Favorite Things.” Follow in Julie Andrews’ footsteps as she left Nonnberg Abbey to meet Captain von Trapp, passing gorgeous Salzburg Cathedral and Residenzplatz, along with Residenz Fountain, with its marble horses (and “Maria” playing) as she twirled by. Peer into nearby St. Peter’s Cemetery & Catacombs; you’ll recognize it from the movie as the place the family briefly hid while escaping (but that was a replica of the cemetery recreated in Hollywood). The 17th century Felsenreitschule, a former riding school now home to the Salzburg Festival, is where the family performed “So Long, Farewell” before cleverly slipping away. There, the Captain also sang the emotional “Edelweiss.” Fun fact: It’s not really an Austrian anthem, so locals playing the audience had to be taught the words to sing along.
To explore beyond the city center and learn behind-the-scenes tidbits, book a guided tour. Panorama Tours’ Original Sound of Music Tour is a treat—in part because the soundtrack periodically plays on the bus so you can relearn the words you forgot and sing along.
Stops include some of the most iconic scenes in the film. Schloss Leopoldskron is the lakeside palace turned upscale hotel portrayed as the back of the von Trapp villa where the boating “mishap” occurred, much to the Captain’s dismay. To go inside the palace, you have to book a stay. However, you can admire its opulent Venetian Salon in the movie, meticulously replicated as the von Trapp ballroom. The gazebo where Liesl and Rolf sang “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” is on the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace, famous for its trick fountains. The movie’s youngest actors reportedly found them entertaining, as have visitors for four centuries. Stunning Basilica St. Michael in Mondsee is where, in the movie, Maria and Captain got married just before fleeing the country. The real couple married at Nonnberg Abbey 11 years before they escaped—not by climbing mountains but by train. Note: If they had crossed the mountains as the movie depicts, they would have walked straight into Germany.
Photo Courtesy: The Hollywood Archive
Movie Locations of the Pacific Northwest
You don’t have to go far to experience classic movie sets, though.
Many films have been set right here in the Western United States. The 1985 cult classic “Goonies” was shot in Astoria, Oregon, where the fictional Walsh family house still stands at 368 38th Street. If you visit, make sure to stay on the sidewalk. Cannon Beach’s dramatic Haystack Rock stood in for Goonies Rock, and Goat Rock Beach in Jenner, California, became Cauldron Point.
Much of “Twilight” was also shot in Oregon. The dramatic bridge Bella and her dad cross at the start of the saga is Bridge of the Gods, spanning the mighty Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. The backdrop for vampire baseball is the 620-foot Multnomah Falls, and the Forks diner is real-life Carver Café in Damascus, Oregon, where owners quip you can still “get a bite.”
Montana is having a star turn thanks to “Yellowstone.” The Dutton family’s spread is actually Chief Joseph Ranch, a working cattle ranch in Darby, Montana, where you can book a stay in the ranch’s cabins when filming breaks.
Let your favorite movies and series inspire you to explore the world as a set-jetter, but look beyond filming sites to discover the heart and soul of these places that inspire travel. 
Christine Loomis is a longtime Colorado-based travel, food and lifestyle writer and editor. She has written articles on a variety of travel subjects from destinations to the business of meetings, hotels, health and wellness. Loomis serves on the board of the Society of American Travel Writers.
Photo Courtesy: Oregon Film Trail
Oregon Film Trail
The Oregon Film Trail is a statewide network of markers at filming locations—the first of its kind in the United States.
It connects communities, landmarks and films, celebrating more than a century of filmmaking. Since the early 1900s, Oregon has been the backdrop for hundreds of movies and shows, highlighting its scenic and cultural diversity. Find a list and maps of film locations at historicoregonfilmtrail.com
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