Wanderlust · 5 min read · October 13, 2026

Christmas film locations you can actually visit

Visit some of the most iconic Christmas film destinations in the world, London to New York and everywhere in between, not just from the comfort of your sofa.

Short on time? Let us summarise this guide for you.

This guide rounds up real places you can visit from your favourite Christmas films. See Fox Plaza in Los Angeles, the Nakatomi Plaza of Die Hard, and the Macy's, Plaza Hotel and Rockefeller Center tree of New York. Explore the Surrey villages of The Holiday, London's Love Actually locations and the Edinburgh settings of The Princess Switch. Then step into Hogwarts in the Snow near Watford, tour the house from A Christmas Story in Cleveland, and spot the Home Alone house in Winnetka, Illinois.

Fox Plaza, Los Angeles

We're not here to discuss whether Die Hard is a Christmas film or not. Though it did make it onto our list so that's something to think about.

Anyway it turns out the Nakatomi Plaza is a real place. Fox Plaza in Century City, Los Angeles played the role of this building where, during the course of the film, a group of employees are held hostage on Christmas Eve during their Christmas party.

It's a working office building so there are no public tours, but there's nothing to stop you driving past or taking a cheeky selfie outside.

New York

Now according to our reasonable calculations, about 99.9% of all Christmas films are set in New York.

A classic first, and whether you prefer the black and white original or the 1994 remake, Miracle on 34th Street is quintessential Christmas viewing. And you can see many of the locations in real life, including the actual Macy's department store where Kris Kringle worked.

Then there's Home Alone 2, where Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McCallister spends the festive period living it up in the Plaza Hotel on Central Park South. And you can stay in it as well if you want. As well as the hotel, you've also got the iconic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center where Kevin reunites with his mum in heartwarming Christmas fashion.

Want more? Check out Gapstow Bridge in Central Park where Kevin first meets the Pigeon Lady. Speaking of Central Park, this idyllic setting also features in Elf, where Santa's sleigh crash-lands.

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Shere and Godalming, Surrey

If you've seen The Holiday you'll know the charming little village where Iris lives, and where Amanda falls for the scenery and for Jude Law. A lot of the outdoor scenes were actually shot in the Surrey villages of Shere and Godalming, which are just an hour or so out of London.

Sadly Rosehill Cottage itself never existed, as its exterior was built in a field near Shere and taken down after filming. But The White Horse pub in Shere appears as itself, and the picturesque cottages and wonky streets are a delight to explore, even more so when blanketed in a heavy layer of snow. Shere also turned up in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

London

The one with Tiffany off EastEnders, a heartbreaking turn from Emma Thompson, an absolutely banging soundtrack and Keira Knightley looking quite pretty. It's Love Actually, and it was mostly set in London.

You can of course visit the Selfridges store on Oxford Street where Rowan Atkinson meticulously wraps the gift for Alan Rickman's secretary. And St Luke's Mews in Notting Hill is where Andrew Lincoln inappropriately tells Keira Knightley he loves her via a series of oversized cards.

But our favourite has to be Heathrow airport, where the film starts and ends, and through which Liam Neeson's character and his stepson rush on Christmas Eve. If only they'd booked their airport parking in advance and saved up to 70%.

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Princess Switch is Netflix's go-to Christmas trilogy, with Vanessa Hudgens in the starring role(s) playing a growing cast of lookalikes who get involved in all sorts of festive hijinks. Think The Princess Diaries meets The Parent Trap. At Christmas.

Anyway the second film, Switched Again, featured plenty of scenes shot in and around Edinburgh, as well as Glasgow Cathedral. Edinburgh's Parliament Square served as the setting for the 59th Annual Cake Competition and Hopetoun House in South Queensferry doubled as Montenaro Castle.

The city is at its most festive when you visit, with Edinburgh's Christmas running from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.

Hogwarts in the Snow, Hertfordshire

Strictly speaking this one is where the films were made rather than where they were set, but it might be the most festive day out on the list. Every winter the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London near Watford dresses its real Harry Potter sets for Christmas, in a feature called Hogwarts in the Snow.

Expect Christmas trees lining the Great Hall, a replica festive feast with flaming puddings, roaring fires in the Gryffindor Common Room and the Hogwarts castle model blanketed in snow. This year it runs from 14 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, and most visits last three to four hours, so book your tickets a few weeks ahead.

You can book a studio tour short break with us here.

A Christmas Story House, Cleveland

A Christmas Story is set in Indiana, but the Parker family home is a real house at 3159 West 11th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. It has been restored to look just like the film, with the famous leg lamp glowing in the front window, and you can take a tour, visit the museum across the street and even stay the night.

The house is open every day, from 10am to 5pm with longer hours at Christmas, and tours run every half hour from 10:15am. Just don't shoot your eye out.

The Home Alone house, Winnetka

We couldn't write about Home Alone 2 without mentioning the original. The McCallister family home is a real house at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, a suburb of Chicago, and it's one of the most Googled houses in the world.

It's a private home that changed hands for $5.5 million after going on the market in 2024, so you can't go inside, but you can see it from the street. It has been renovated and expanded since the film, though the front door and the central staircase Kevin sledges down are still there. Please be respectful, because someone lives there.