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The Best Movie Locations to Visit in the USA

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Movie references are all over the USA. In fact, visiting certain places like New York or Los Angeles can often feel as if you’re stepping onto a real life movie set. And sometimes, you may just be! Not all of the USA’s movie sets are limited to the studios in Hollywood. Here are just a few of our favourite movie locations to visit in the USA:

The Fountain in Clueless – Beverly Gardens Park, Los Angeles

As the home of Hollywood, there are plenty of movie locations to be found in Los Angeles. But in our opinion there’s no movie that’s more iconic to LA than 1990s cult flick, Clueless. Filmed and set in Los Angeles, Cher’s school, mansion and the shopping malls she frequents can all be easily visited in LA. Our favourite location to pap a photo is at the Electric Fountain where Cher has her epiphany that she loves Josh. And yes, it does light up at night.

The Firehouse in Ghostbusters – TriBeCa, New York

The inside of the Ghostbusters firehouse was filmed in a studio in Hollywood, but the exterior shots  were taken of a red building on the corner of North Morre and Varick Street in TriBeCa in New York. The building, named Hook and Ladder 8, is in fact a working firehouse which has been in operation since 1866. The building itself dates back even further!

The House from Father of the Bride – Pasadena, California

Yes, you could live in the dream white picket-fence home from the 1990s rom-com Father of the Bride. Well, it’s a possibility if you have £1.3 million handy and act fast – the house went on sale in June of 2016. The house where the famous Banks wedding took place features a sprawling front garden, four bedrooms, en-suite guest room, three-car garage and a basketball court, where that tear-jerking basketball-over-the-years scene was filmed. The picturesque property also featured in the 2005 Ashton Kutcher movie Guess Who.

The OCP Headquarters in Robocop – Dallas City Hall, Texas

You would think that a futuristic cyberpunk movie made in 1987 would require a custom-built set, but that was surprisingly not the case for Robocop’s OCP Headquarters. While the film was set in futuristic Detroit, many of the futuristic buildings were filmed in Dallas, most notably the Dallas City Hall which formed the exterior of the Omni Consumer Products Headquarters. The inside of the headquarters, complete with glass elevators, were filmed inside the city's Plaza of the Americas.

The Bench from Forrest Gump – Savannah, Georgia

The location where Tom Hanks' character Forrest Gump drawled those iconic words “life is like a box of chocolates...” can be found at Chippewa Square in the centre of Savannah, Georgia. The official bench used in the movie is now located in the Savannah History Museum, but the leafy square still offers a number of benches where you can enjoy the perfect photo opp.

The City Streets in The Avengers – Cleveland, Ohio

Though the popular superhero film The Avengers was mainly set on the iconic streets of New York, it was actually filmed in Cleveland, Ohio. Interestingly, the city was also the location for the other scenes set in Stuttgart Germany as well, including the epic fight scene between Loki, Captain America and Iron Man, which was actually filmed at Cleveland's Public Square.

The Steps in Rocky Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

You can hear that iconic theme tune already can’t you? The famed steps of Rocky lead up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a museum that in itself is well worth visiting thanks to its impressive collection of paintings and sculptures. The museum however is better known for its iconic 72 stone steps, which have starred in Rocky and five of its sequels, and have been popular with running tourists ever since.

Written by Lauren Burvill

Australian born but London based, I'm a sucker for big cities and small tropical islands. When travelling, I like eating like a local, dressing like a local, but staying in 5 star style. Have a travel story to share? Tweet me @laurenburvill.

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