Dubrovnik Game of Thrones route: a themed day that doesn’t feel cheap
Jesuit Stairs in Dubrovnik Old Town, filming location for Game of Thrones
Twelve real filming locations in the city and on Lokrum, walked in the right order over one day, with the honest answer to which scenes were shot where and which spots aren’t worth the entry fee.
Why theme a day around a TV show at all
Because in Dubrovnik it's inescapable and it's also, unusually, accurate. The show filmed here across six seasons from 2011 to 2016 and used the city as King's Landing almost exclusively. Unlike other filming towns that milk one scene, Dubrovnik gave the production the walls, the harbour, the fort, Lokrum island and half the alleys. If you liked the show, seeing the actual geography clicks into place in a way that reading about it doesn’t. If you didn’t watch the show, this itinerary still works as a slightly weirder walking tour of corners most guidebooks skip.
The rules: no organised tour. Guided GoT walks cost 30-40 euros and mostly repeat what a printed map tells you. Buy a self-guided map from the tourist office for 5 euros, or use the free one from the Iron Throne Museum website. Do it in early morning or late afternoon to avoid crowds. Wear real shoes; three of the locations involve stairs. Total walking distance is about 4 km plus the Lokrum ferry.
08:30 — Pile Bay and Fort Lovrijenac
Start outside Pile Gate, but instead of going in, walk down the ramp to the left toward the small harbour called Kolorina. This crescent of water was Blackwater Bay in season two — the wildfire scene where Tyrion defends the city was staged with a green screen against these actual cliffs. The fort looming above is Fort Lovrijenac, and it stood in for the Red Keep in several scenes, most notably Joffrey's name-day tournament. It's a real 11th-century fortress, not a set. Entry is included in your city walls ticket and costs nothing extra if you plan to do the walls today anyway.
Climb the 175 stone steps to the fort. The interior is a triangular courtyard with a Latin inscription over the door reading 'Freedom is not sold for all the gold in the world' — the Republic's motto, and pointedly still there. Twenty minutes on top gives you the view back at the Old Town walls that the show used for wide shots of King's Landing. The fort is nearly always emptier than the city walls, which makes it the best value stop of the day whether you care about the show or not.
10:00 — Pile Gate and the Stradun
Back at Pile Gate, enter the Old Town. The bridge and gate itself appeared as the entrance to the Red Keep in multiple episodes. Look for the small niche with St Blaise's statue on the outer face — cameras framed shots to hide it or use it deliberately. Inside, Stradun is Stradun; the show used it for riot scenes in season two, when Joffrey's procession is pelted with dung. It looks nothing like a riot today but the geometry of the street, wider at one end than the other by design, is what made it filmable.
The specific spot where the dung hits Joffrey is roughly opposite the church of St Saviour, about 30 metres in from Pile. There's no plaque; you have to trust the map. This is a fine moment to point out that the show didn’t build sets here — they filmed the actual working streets, which is why the geography holds up. It's also why a rainy Tuesday in February gives you a better sense of the show's atmosphere than a sunny July afternoon.
11:00 — The Jesuit Stairs and the Ethnographic Museum
Cut south from Stradun through the small square in front of the Rector's Palace and up Uz Jezuite lane. You’ll emerge at the base of the Jesuit Stairs — the wide baroque staircase Cersei walks down naked in the season five finale. It's a genuinely impressive piece of 1730s architecture that would be famous anyway, and the show has given it a second life. Crowds gather here from 11:00; if you want the shot without people, come back at 08:00 the next morning. The stairs are free to walk on.
At the top of the stairs is the Jesuit Church of St Ignatius, which is worth entering (free) for its trompe-l'œil frescos. Directly behind it, the Ethnographic Museum in the old grain warehouse (Rupe) served as Littlefinger's brothel — the building is a working museum about traditional Croatian life, entry 8 euros with the museum pass. The interior stone bins where grain was stored are the actual space that appeared on screen. Twenty minutes inside is enough.
12:30 — Lunch break with a location
Walk east across the Old Town to the small alley Ulica Svetog Dominika and up to the Dominican Monastery. The exterior stairs here appeared in the season two scene where Cersei and Sansa discuss the Battle of the Blackwater. The monastery itself is a real 14th-century Dominican house with a working church and museum (4 euros). Lunch nearby at Barba on Ulica Bo?kovi?eva for octopus burger and fried squid at 15-20 euros, or if you want a proper sit-down, Above 5 offers a rooftop lunch on the walls with a set menu for 55 euros.
A note on filming location fatigue: by this point in the day you’ll have seen six locations and started to notice how much your enjoyment depends on remembering specific scenes. If you’re not a fan of the show, this is a good moment to abandon the theme and just enjoy Dubrovnik for what it is. The remaining stops mostly reward genuine fans. There's no shame in swapping the afternoon for a swim at Banje beach.
14:00 — The Old Port and the Ploče Gate
From lunch, walk to the Old Port. This small harbour, protected by the Kaše breakwater from the 15th century, appeared as the port of King's Landing in multiple scenes, notably Myrcella's departure to Dorne. The Revelin Fortress on the left as you face the sea also appeared in several arrival scenes. You can walk the breakwater for free and get the same low-angle sea view the cameras used. If it's a hot day, this is where local kids jump into the harbour; join them if you brought swim gear.
Above the port, the Ploče Gate is the eastern entrance to the Old Town and also appeared in exterior Red Keep shots. The stone bridge outside has the same wooden drawbridge structure as Pile. Between the port and Ploče is the small Church of St Luke, unremarkable in itself but the stone lane beside it appeared in a season five scene with the Faith Militant. This is genuinely a corner most tourists never walk down and it's worth 10 minutes for the emptiness alone.
15:30 — Lokrum island and the Iron Throne
Take the ferry from the Old Port to Lokrum island. It runs every 30 minutes April-October, 27 euros return including island entry. Crossing takes 15 minutes. Lokrum served as Qarth in season two, and the Benedictine monastery on the island houses a small Iron Throne replica in a stone room — a gift from HBO. Ten minutes queueing to sit on it for a photo. The rest of the island is a nature reserve with peacocks, a saltwater lake called the Dead Sea, and Napoleon-era fort ruins.
Give Lokrum two hours minimum. Swim at the small rock coves on the south side, walk to Fort Royal at the top for the view back at Dubrovnik, and be on the last ferry back at 18:00 or 19:00 depending on season. If you skip Lokrum you miss the best swim of the day and the only stop that mixes location tourism with something that stands on its own. Last ferry timings are strict; miss it and there's no water taxi.
Where to sleep and what to skip
Where to sleep: if you want to stay in the Red Keep atmosphere, Prijeko Palace inside the walls runs 250-400 euros and puts you two minutes from most stops. For fan pilgrimage on a budget, Hotel Lero in Boninovo is 15 minutes' walk from Pile, has parking, and costs 130-180 euros. If money is no object, Villa Dubrovnik in Ploče gives you the sea-facing view of the walls the show used in exterior shots and runs 500-800 euros a night in season.
Skip the paid GoT tours unless you want the actor-lookalike photo op. Skip the Iron Throne Museum on Boškovićeva Street — it's a private setup with props of dubious authenticity for 15 euros. Skip trying to visit Trsteno Arboretum (the Highgarden gardens) on the same day; it's 30 minutes north and needs its own morning. Skip the Meereen locations promised by some tours — those were shot in Split, Šibenik and Malta, not here.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Pile.
Half of it, yes. The Jesuit Stairs, the Old Port and Lokrum are worth visiting regardless. But the specific scene-matching game only pays off if you remember the scenes. If you haven’t watched, do the walking route in another post instead.
Very few — most interior sets were built in Belfast. The exception is the Ethnographic Museum (Rupe), whose stone grain bins featured in season three, and the Trsteno Arboretum gardens. The Red Keep interiors, Small Council chamber and throne room are all Northern Ireland sets, not Dubrovnik.
Around 90-110 euros per person: city walls and Fort Lovrijenac combined 40 euros, Lokrum ferry 27 euros, one museum entry 8 euros, lunch 20-30 euros. Add 5 euros for the map. You can shave 20 euros by skipping the Rupe museum, but Lokrum is non-negotiable if you want the Iron Throne photo.
May or October. The show mostly filmed in these shoulder months and the light and crowds match what you saw on screen. July and August work but every location is jammed by 10:00. February gives you empty streets and dramatic weather but Lokrum ferries are reduced and some sites close by 15:00.
