For decades, films have relied on computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create fantastical foreign landscapes.
But there are still occasions when Hollywood goes for the real deal. When ancient temples or ruins appear in films, scholars describe the setting as real places, meaning they exist as seen on TV.
Real places have led to film-inspired tourism, in which travelers take off to see on-screen favorites in real life. Here are four historical locations tourists can see for themselves.
1. Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider Temple)
Featured in: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Part of an ancient relic was hidden somewhere in Ta Prohm. When paired with its missing half, the relic had the power to control time. Heroine Lara Croft was racing to find the relic and stop the evil Illuminati from getting their hands on it.
In the temple, Croft had to solve a puzzle in mere seconds, as well as fight commandos and animated statues. In real life, tourists can visit Ta Prohm, where the movie was filmed.
King Jayavarman VII built Ta Prohm in 1186 A.D. during the Angkor Empire, which lasted between the ninth and fifteenth centuries A.D. Other massive temples were built, and Ta Prohm is one of many surviving structures near Siem Reap.
After the empire's decline, Ta Prohm was neglected for centuries, but that partly added to its charm. One scholar styled it as a “lovely temple ruin frozen in the grasp of nature.” Trees have grown around and in the structures, which have been described as heightening the experience and making visitors feel as though they are witnesses to Lara Croft’s imaginary expeditions.
2. The Pantheon
Featured in: Angels and Demons (2009) Location: Rome, Italy
The 2000 novel and 2009 film introduced Dr. Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor and expert in decoding symbols. In the film, Langdon was brought to Rome to help the Vatican during a time of great crisis. The pope had passed away, and the top candidates to replace him were kidnapped. The Vatican then received a warning from a messenger claiming to be with the Illuminati — the candidates would each be killed starting at 8 p.m. that evening.
Langdon used his expertise in religious symbolism to determine where the candidates would be murdered. He then tore through the city, trying to get to each of the locations before the kidnapped cardinal was killed. Langdon teamed with a scientist from CERN who also had beef with the Illuminati.
At one point, Langdon and the scientist rushed to The Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple built around 27 B.C. that was then reconstructed in the second century. The Pantheon was consecrated as a Catholic church in 609 A.D. and now operates as a tourist attraction.
In real life, visitors can take a tour of the temple. However, tickets are now required for entry, and lines can be long. Langdon and the scientist striding into the temple without waiting in line was as fictional as the rest of the film.
Read More: The Reason Why 2,000-Year-Old Roman Concrete is Still so Strong
3. Al Khazneh (The Treasury)
Featured in: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Location: Petra, Jordan
Set in 1938, Professor Indiana Jones learned his father disappeared while searching for the Holy Grail. Jones set out on a mission to find his father and the ancient relic. The Nazis were holding his father captive, and after liberating his father, the two raced to find the magical grail before the Nazis got ahold of it.
In the end, the grail was at an ancient temple. The exterior of the temple was filmed at Al Khazneh, a hand-carved temple in Petra, Jordan, that dates back to the 1st century A.D. The temple was carved into sandstone cliffs and may have served as a mausoleum. It received the name The Treasury in the 1800s after Bedouins believed it contained hidden valuables.
Al Khazneh became a World Heritage site in 1984. In 2024, researchers found a hidden tomb with 12 skeletons and a trove of treasurers. The researchers noted that one of the skeletons was holding a cup that seemed reminiscent of the Holy Grail.
Read More: Ancient Tomb with 12 Buried Bodies Found in Petra
4. Castillo San Cristóbal
Featured in: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
In 1750, the king of England asked pirate Jack Sparrow to find the fountain of youth before their enemies, the Spanish, got ahold of it. But the Spanish king already knew of it after a marooned sailor was brought to his attention. The sailor claimed to have sailed with Ponce de León, which would have made the castaway several centuries old.
The outside of the Spanish castle was filmed in Puerto Rico at Castillo San Cristóbal, the largest fortress in the Americas. Castillo San Cristóbal was built after the previous fortress failed against the English during the Battle of San Juan in 1598 and then in 1625 against the Dutch.
Construction on the vast Castillo San Cristóbal began in 1634 and was completed 150 years later. It is now managed by the National Park Service, and visitors can walk the same ramp the carriage traveled in Pirates of the Caribbean on their way to tour the historic property.
Read More: How Archaeologists Know Where to Dig
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Channel View Publications. The Experiences of Film Location Tourists
Information. Films and Destinations—Towards a Film Destination: A Review
Lexington Books. The Heritage-scape: UNESCO, World Heritage, and Tourism
Archaeological Research in Asia. The Khmer did not live by rice alone: Archaeobotanical investigations at Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm
Harvard professor and expert in decoding symbols. Dr. Robert Langdon
Harvard University Press. The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progen
McFarland. The Holy Grail on Film: Essays on the Cinematic Quest
University of St Andrews news. St Andrews researchers discover hidden tomb at Petra, Jordan
National Park Service. Caribbean Pirates in Castillo San Cristobal
National Park Service. Castillo San Cristobal
Emilie Lucchesi has written for some of the country's largest newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MA from DePaul University. She also holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago with an emphasis on media framing, message construction and stigma communication. Emilie has authored three nonfiction books. Her third, A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy, releases October 3, 2023, from Chicago Review Press and is co-authored with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.
