# Real Places that Should be in Fantasy & Sci-Fi Films, TV & Games



## AlexH (Oct 10, 2018)

I doubt this will be anywhere as popular as the thread that inspired it, currently at 131 replies. There's a reason I haven't posted in it (at least to my knowledge). I think the real world is amazing enough! I wonder why some real places haven't been used in mainstream fiction. One friend often asks if I've been to Skyrim for real (it's probably why I'm happy not to play Skyrim/Zelda-esque games these days - I used to a lot before I started travelling).

It's good for some places to remain relatively undiscovered, given how crowded places can get.

I'll start with a couple from Bulgaria.

*Buzludzha Monument.* Built by the Bulgarian communist regime in the 1970s, and opened in 1981. It looks incredible enough from the outside, a UFO landed on top of a mountain, with a 70m tower. Then you go inside! I haven't been in winter, but it looks even more incredible:


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		https://flic.kr/p/qYUwUx


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		https://flic.kr/p/Y6gNNg

Sadly, many Bulgarian's (far from all) feelings about communism and a law banning public display of communist symbols has seen it rot.

*Belogradchik Fortress.* Originally built during the Roman Empire. What a great idea to use what nature provided as a fortress. There are massive vertical, natural drops from three sides.


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		https://flic.kr/p/UTowHw

I'm using Pinterest/Flickr embeds so I don't use anyone's bandwidth, but I'll click all links too.


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## Graymalkin (Oct 14, 2018)

Massive 5,000-year-old underground city uncovered in Cappadocia, Turkey
once home to as many as 20,000 residents living together underground. It is eleven levels deep and has 600 entrances and many miles of tunnels connecting it to other underground cities.  It incorporates areas for sleeping, stables for livestock, wells, water tanks, pits for cooking, ventilation shafts, communal rooms, bathrooms, and tombs.


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## L D Warne (Oct 15, 2018)

Island of the Dolls - great setting for a horror / psychological movie..

Isla de las Muñecas  (Island of the Dolls) in Mexico - Island of the Dolls


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## Biskit (Oct 15, 2018)

AlexH said:


> *Belogradchik Fortress.* Originally built during the Roman Empire. What a great idea to use what nature provided as a fortress. There are massive vertical, natural drops from three sides.



Oh, wow. That is fantastic. I have a portal fantasy on a burner behind the back-burner, and this is the place I wrote about without knowing it existed.  That photo is what the cover should look like.


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## BAYLOR (Oct 15, 2018)

AlexH said:


> View attachment 47479
> 
> I doubt this will be anywhere as popular as the thread that inspired it, currently at 131 replies. There's a reason I haven't posted in it (at least to my knowledge). I think the real world is amazing enough! I wonder why some real places haven't been used in mainstream fiction. One friend often asks if I've been to Skyrim for real (it's probably why I'm happy not to play Skyrim/Zelda-esque games these days - I used to a lot before I started travelling).
> 
> ...



Those places definitely belong in the movies !


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## M. Robert Gibson (Oct 20, 2018)

I just caught a bit of a documentary on the Inquisition.  In it was a shot of a castle atop a craggy mountain.
I took to the internet, searching for pictures of castles on mountains and I actually found it.



It is the Château de Puilaurens
More pictures here Château de Puilaurens - Ruined Medieval Cathar Castle in France

It kind of reminds me of my vision of The Eyrie from A Song Of Ice And Fire (bear in mind I've only read the books, so my vision is untainted)


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## Graymalkin (Oct 20, 2018)

M. Robert Gibson said:


> I just caught a bit of a documentary on the Inquisition.  In it was a shot of a castle atop a craggy mountain.
> I took to the internet, searching for pictures of castles on mountains and I actually found it.
> View attachment 47589
> It is the Château de Puilaurens
> ...


Someone that hasn't given in to the GOT epidemic? I'll have to lend you my box sets.
Great photo. I think the Cathars were pretty much destroyed. That castle looks in great condition.


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## BAYLOR (Oct 21, 2018)

M. Robert Gibson said:


> I just caught a bit of a documentary on the Inquisition.  In it was a shot of a castle atop a craggy mountain.
> I took to the internet, searching for pictures of castles on mountains and I actually found it.
> View attachment 47589
> It is the Château de Puilaurens
> ...



Now that is a Castle !  And yes belongs in  a great epic fantasy novel !


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## M. Robert Gibson (Oct 21, 2018)

Drone footage of my now favourite stronghold


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## M. Robert Gibson (Oct 21, 2018)

Belogradchik Fortress -


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## Juliana (Oct 21, 2018)

Moving away from castles and fortresses, in my twenties, I went on a month-long expedition from São Paulo, Brazil (where I lived) to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. We broke down in the middle of Route 3, which looks like something out of Mad Max and is mostly unpaved (just gravel/dirt). It was definitely an experience!






(Image from this site: Ruta 3 Tierra del Fuego)


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## M. Robert Gibson (May 19, 2021)

I've just watched a PBS series on ancient Asian empires, and this place, Mount Popa, made an appearance and I immediately thought of this thread


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## Ray Zdybrow (Jul 6, 2021)

Homerton (in North/East London) gets my vote, it just has a weird (Lovecraftian?) vibe. I lived in a haunted house there a long time ago


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## Guttersnipe (Jul 8, 2021)

The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Angkor Wat in Cambodia.


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