Filming locations of House of the Dragon in Spain
We already noticed it with Game of Thrones: the universe created by George R.R. Martin has a preference for Spain, at least in terms of film production. This must be the reason why House of the Dragon, the prequel of Game of Thrones produced by HBO, has once again chosen this Mediterranean country to shoot some of its most impressive scenes. The winner of the 2023 Golden Globe Award for best drama series chose Spain for its sceneries, and we are about to discover why. These are the filming locations that portrayed the Seven Kingdoms of House of the Dragon in Spain.
The gardens of Santa Clotilde in Lloret de Mar. | Shutterstock
Girona comes back as the stage for the Seven Kingdoms. In Game of Thrones, the production company moved to this city in Catalonia to capture sceneries such as Braavos, King’s Landing and Oldtown. However, we will not be discussing Girona this time, but the town of Lloret de Mar. The gardens of Santa Clotilde in Lloret de Mar welcomed the film crew of House of the Dragon during the months of October and November 2021. These gardens can be easily spotted on the show, since they did not feel the need to make any changes in order to welcome this magical space into the fantasy world of George R.R. Martin.
In fact, the gardens of Santa Clotilde could not be more fitting for a series about castles and dragons. The marquis of Roviralta asked the architect Nicolau Marla Rubió I Tudurí to design them in 1919, and the result was simply magnificent: a beautiful garden spreading around a central staircase, known as “the stairs of the mermaid”, over a cliff displaying a beautiful sight of the sea. It is just too easy to imagine the kings and queens of House Targaryen leisurely walking down these steps.
The castle of La Calahorra. | Shutterstock
If there is something a TV show based on the series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire could not possibly be lacking, that would be castles. And Spain has plenty of those. In Game of Thrones, they chose the castle of Santa Florentina in Barcelona and the castle of Zafra in Guadalajara to portray the fantasy land of the series. This time, HBO’s castle of has been Granada. More particularly, the castle of La Calahorra, in the municipality of the same name. In order to set the scene, they hung paintings and ornaments inside the castle, where they shot some interesting scenes, as well as others outside the castle.
Cáceres, a recurring shooting location in the universe of Game of Thrones. | Shutterstock
The city of Cáceres is also back in this new series. We saw it in Game of Thrones, as the streets of the city portrayed different locations of King’s Landing. This time, the old town of Cáceres has also been used as a filming location for the same fictional city. After all, even if House of the Dragon takes place 200 years before the storyline of Game of Thrones, they both take place in the same fantasy world.
The street of La Amargura, the dome of the palace of Toledo-Moctezuma, the square of Conde de Canilleros or the archway called Arcos de la Estrella have been some of the filming locations of House of the Dragon. They did add some props to adapt these places to the aesthetic of the Seven Kingdoms, though. For instance, the producers placed a fountain with lion statues, which is similar to the one in La Alhambra, in the square of San Jorge. What is more: the city council of Cáceres asked them to leave it there after finishing the shootings as a token.
The main square of Trujillo, Cáceres. | Shutterstock
On the seventh season of Game of Thrones, the members of House Lannister conquered the fortress of Highgarden just before Jaime forced Olenna Tyrell to drink poison. This fortress was no other than the castle of Trujillo, resting on top of a cliff. This time, Trujillo, in the province of Cáceres, will also make an appearance in the series. This filming location of House of the Dragon in Spain will portray King’s Landing as well. The very trailer shows the main square of Trujillo, although they made a few changes. For instance, the statue of Francisco Pizarro was replaced with a sculpture of a dragon.
