There are some places we travel to where we are surrounded by locales from famous movie scenes that are instantly recognizable. The Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo from Lost in Translation, the streets of downtown Chicago from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; the castles of Salzburg, Austria from The Sound of Music, or the rolling green hills of New Zealand from The Lord of the Rings.

If you are as much of a cinema buff as you are a travel junkie, you might be interested in seeing sites from beloved celluloid moments that are slightly less obvious or easy to find. Add some movie magic to your next trip by visiting any one of these destinations.

Washington

Although dozens of movies have been set in the Emerald City, the most famous is Sleepless in Seattle. With screen time split between Meg Ryan in Baltimore and Tom Hanks in Seattle, many visitors want to find the famous floating house. Yes, it really exists, but it’s not that easy to find. Although it was painted white for the movie, today it’s tan with dark green trim. It’s located in the marina around the 2400 block of Westlake, but it is a private, gated community and getting in isn’t always easy. The best way to see the house is from the water, with one of the tours or renting a kayak. But remember it’s a private home, and people live there!

Other movies filmed in Seattle include An Officer and a Gentleman, Say Anything and Singles. North of the city, on the Olympic Peninsula, you can tour locations from the movie Twilight. Visit Bella and Edward’s high school in Forks, stake out the scenic beach at La Push where Bella learns the truth about Edward, or grab a bite at Bella Italia Restaurant in Port Angeles where they have their first date.

New Orleans

The historic and mysterious nature of the Big Easy makes it a natural movie setting. The recent loss of Dennis Hopper has created renewed interest in his films, including the 1969 counterculture classic Easy Rider. The film crew didn’t get official permission to shoot anywhere, including the St. Louis Cemetery #1 where Peter Fonda converses with a statue, at the Italian Benevolent Society Tomb. The classic A Streetcar Named Desire, with Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, used streetcar Perley Thomas #922, which is still in service. The Columns Hotel was in much of Pretty Baby, Brooke Shields’ first major film. See the estate of Louis (Brad Pitt) from Interview with the Vampire just outside the city; it’s the Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie.

South America

An iconic journey for many is to retrace the steps of Che Guevara, as chronicled in The Motorcycle Diaries. Whether you do this by bike or by car, there are a few key locations you don’t want to miss. Che and his pal Alberto begin their journey from Plaza Once in Buenos Aires, and then stay at Villa la Angostura on the northeastern shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi. Crossing into Chile, visit the town of Lautaro, where the pair con their way into a free motorcycle repair and dinner. In historic Valparaiso, ride the funicular railway featured in the movie; and then on to Peru, where the still-operating Anaconda Copper Company mine visited by both the actors and the real Guevara is open to visitors daily. Of course, the most famous scene in the movie is the pair’s arrival at awe-inspiring Machu Picchu, northwest of Cuzco.

Marrakesh, Morocco

This summer sees the opening of Sex and the City 2, which was filmed in Marrakesh as well as New York. S&TC locations include the sumptuous Amanjena and Mandarin Oriental hotels, where you can have lunch or a drink even if you don’t want to spend “Big” bucks to stay there a la Carrie and the girls.

Many other movies have been filmed with this exotic, lushly colored city as a backdrop; the most famous might be the 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Jimmy Stewart. Stewart’s Ben McKenna and wife stay at the famous Hotel La Mamounia, but many of the important scenes take place in the main square, Djemaa el Fna, including the pivotal incident where a murdered man reveals an assassination plot to McKenna.

Rome

Roman Holiday remains the quintessential movie set in the Eternal City, with Gregory Peck and the always-charming Audrey Hepburn. While there are many highly-visible locations as the pair ride a Vespa around the city—such as the Spanish Steps and the Colosseum—others require a little more insider info. Perhaps the most famous scene is at the Bocca della Verita, into which Gregory Peck sticks his hand and causes Hepburn to scream. You can risk your own hand in the “Mouth of Truth” found at the Santa Maria Church, in the Piazza Bocca della Verita. The apartment of Peck’s reporter, Joe Bradley, is at via Margutta 51 in a quiet artists’ enclave—interestingly enough, right down the street from famed Italian director Federico Fellini, who lived at number 110.

Fellini films set in Rome include the classic La Dolce Vita. While mostly shot on recreated sets, real locations included one of cinema’s most famous shots—that of Anita Ekberg in the Trevi Fountain. Just north of Rome, other on-location scenes were filmed at the Bassano di Sutri palace and the beautiful coastal town of Passo Oscuro.

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Sleepless in Seattle House