Traditionally, Spain has been one of the most popular destinations for tourists, thanks to its mild climate and safe cities. In recent years, travellers have also opted for some of the more cultural and museum-based attractions the country has to offer.
But tourism isn’t the only industry that loves Spain. Various towns and areas have attracted the attention of some of the coolest movie directors around for use as film locations. Areas have been converted into faraway planets, the Siberian steppe, and even the Wild West, and cinema lovers should pay close attention.
The classic Doctor Zhivago recreated its particular world in the province of Soria, which was also the location for Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight (he was a huge fan of Spain).
The story of the famous medieval Spanish knight, El Cid, was brought to the big screen by stars Charlton Heston and Sofía Loren and was filmed in a variety of locations, including the Peñíscola beaches and Belmonte Castle in Cuenca.
The very same enchanted city, Cuenca, was the location for the filming of Conan the Barbarian, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was the ideal place for a fantasy film, thanks to psychedelic rock formations in the area.
The whole genre of the spaghetti western, in which a young Clint Eastwood took his first steps in film, deserves special mention. Almeria, where movies such as For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and A Fistful of Dollars were filmed, now offers western-themed villages and attractions to tourists, bringing them a step closer Hollywood.
Jumping forward in time, classics such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were partially filmed in Cabo de Gata, while Star Wars used Seville’s Plaza de España as the palace of Queen Amidala.
James Bond also succumbed to Spain’s charm – the area surrounding the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was used in the filming of The World Is Not Enough, while the super-spy himself wanders around the city in sequel Die Another Day.
Nicole Kidman had a hair-raising time in Cantabria’s Palace of Las Fraguas where The Others was filmed.
Movies number in the hundreds if we look at big cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Locations like Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, Gran Via, and Paseo del Prado have starred in films like The Bourne Ultimatum and Deception, starring Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Matt Damon.
The Catalan capital has seen the recording of blockbusters like Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona, by Woody Allen, and the award-winning All About My Mother, by Pedro Almodóvar.
Barcelona was also the location of The Machinist, starring an impossibly skinny Christian Bale.
The very same actor appeared on the island of Fuerteventura, starring as Moses in the movie Exodus. The dry landscape does a great job at pretending to be the Sinai Desert, where the story is set.
Finally, on another island, this time Tenerife, actor Vin Diesel took to the roads in Fast & Furious 6.
