With the Oscars taking place this weekend, the real scene-stealers are not just the actors and directors. Stunning landmarks all around the world also bring their movie magic to life.

In the lead-up to the 97th Academy Awards, new research from film location experts Giggster has revealed the all-time most filmed landmarks in the US, the UK and beyond.

From the California coast and downtown London to Sydney’s soaring heights and Rome’s ancient Colosseum, these locations have lured filmmakers for more than a century, providing the backdrop for some of cinema’s most unforgettable moments.

Far from being just famous settings for the silver screen, they are also popular tourist destinations in their own right, drawing visitors eager to experience these iconic backdrops firsthand and walk in the footsteps of movie legends.

What destinations have featured in the most films?

Unsurprisingly, the world’s most filmed locations are in Hollywood’s home state.

California has appeared in more than 380,000 movies. Not all of them were set in Hollywood, either. From indie darling ‘Sideways’, which highlights the Santa Barbara wine country, to Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco-based thriller ‘Vertigo’, California has provided a backdrop to countless Oscar-winning or shortlisted films.

In both the US and the world, New York comes in at number two, with more than 294,000 films set in the Empire State. Most, including seminal films such as ‘Taxi Driver’ and the original ‘King Kong’, feature New York City itself – a full 273,569 of them, in fact.

Outside the US – excluding India’s Bollywood, which did not appear in the research – the UK ranks number two for filming locations. London tops the list with nearly 77,500 movies, more than triple the 22,710 filmed in Manchester, the second most popular filming destination in the UK.

Landmarks in Sydney, Paris and Italy take centre stage

The world’s most filmed landmark outside of the US and UK isn’t the Eiffel Tower or the Roman Colosseum. It’s Australia’s Sydney Opera House.

The Sydney landmark has appeared in over 160 movies. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has served as a backdrop in films ranging from romantic comedies to action-packed thrillers, including ‘Anyone But You’ and ‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’.

A close number two? That would be the Eiffel Tower, which has featured in 158 movies. Synonymous with love and adventure, this global icon can be seen in countless romantic classics, including ‘Midnight in Paris’ and ‘Amélie’.

Filmmakers are not only captivated by the Eiffel Tower, though. The Louvre Museum (ranked third with 110 films) and the Arc de Triomphe (tenth place with 73 films) further cement the French capital’s reputation as a filmmaker favourite – a sentiment shared by the 50 million annual visitors to the French capital.

But Italy boasts the highest number of most-filmed landmarks. The country counts six locations on the list, including the Colosseum – immortalised in ‘Gladiator’ – the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the ruins of Pompeii. That makes it a perfect destination for anyone looking to maximise their set-jetting potential in a single trip.

The world’s most filmed destinations

Giggster’s research features several film location surprises. For example, Madrid has appeared in the most movie scenes, excluding American and British destinations.

Perhaps thanks to its mix of historical architecture and 300-plus sunny days a year, the Spanish capital has appeared in nearly 55,000 films, including ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ and ‘Spartacus’.

On a national scale, Argentina takes the top spot as the most filmed country, featuring in more than 112,000 movie titles. From the rugged landscapes of Patagonia to the bustling streets of Buenos Aires, its diversity has attracted the producers of films such as ‘Evita’, the Eva Perón biopic, and ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, a movie about the Dalai Lama starring Brad Pitt.

Where were 2025’s Best Picture nominees filmed?

The frontrunner, romantic-comedy ‘Anora’, largely showcases Brooklyn, including unmistakable locations such as Coney Island, but Las Vegas also features in several scenes.

‘The Brutalist’, starring Adrien Brody, was shot in Budapest and Tuscany.

Although Bob Dylan is most often associated with New York, his biopic – ‘A Complete Unknown’, starring Timothée Chalamet – was shot in neighbouring New Jersey.

‘Conclave’, a political thriller about the papal selection – and a popular dark horse for Best Picture – was shot in Rome and features a replica of the Sistine Chapel.

Planning your next trip around your favourite movie? Consider a train journey taking in Europe’s most cinematic sights.

Inspections on the popular island of Santorini have discovered dozens of illegal buildings that could be at risk in the event of future earthquakes.

The Greek Ministry of the Environment and Energy released details of its findings this week, following inspections conducted in October and November last year.

Authorities discovered that many of the hotels and tourist accommodations on the island had falsely registered as pre-1955 structures to bypass stringent regulations.

The crescent-shaped ‘caldera,’ the edge of an ancient volcano, has been particularly closely regulated to preserve its iconic white cliffside buildings. Even here, where rules are tightest, illegal construction has been found.

Among the buildings identified in the report was a tourist accommodation located in the caldera’s protected zone that exceeded its approved size. For this, authorities issued a fine of €191,000.

Other buildings were found to have installed hot tubs and swimming pools that violated protection laws. Altogether, fines totalling more than €900,000 were issued in relation to illegal developments in areas near the caldera.

New rules mean illegal structures can be removed if they violate Santorini’s protection laws, with owners given 30 days from the date of the decision to take them down.

To further bolster protection of the islands, the ministry is investing €130 million in satellite imagery and AI to better identify constructions of concern. It hopes to have the system operational by summer 2026.

Greek seismologist Akis Tselentis took to social media to highlight the ‘urban building crimes’ on Santorini with the topography of the island making it easy for developers to ‘hide’ their building activity.

“Illegal structures are being built under the nose of the Authorities that maintain the island,” Tselentis says. “When man’s greed for profit blinds him and he does not see that he lives or invests in an environment within which there are two active volcanoes and a seismic fault beyond.”

Why are these buildings illegal?

Santorini first sought to limit development on the island following a devastating earthquake in 1956. With much of the island’s infrastructure destroyed, the rebuilding effort was guided by strict regulations that aimed to preserve its unique architectural heritage.

But when tourism boomed in the 1980s, development picked up the pace in an attempt to accommodate the influx of visitors. Local authorities tightened up building regulations to control the scale and style of new constructions and to limit where they were built.

Fast forward a few more decades, and Santorini is bursting at the seams. In 2023, 3.4 million tourists arrived on the island, which is home to only 25,000 people. On some days, as many as 17,000 cruise ship passengers would descend on the locals, prompting the government to implement caps and fees for this year’s arrivals.

Along with this surge in visitors has been a surge in development. In 2023, authorities issued 470 building permits and a further 300 permits for renovations on the island, causing concern among locals and conservationists alike.

“We live in a place of barely 25,000 souls and we don’t need any more hotels or any more rented rooms,” mayor of Santorini Nikos Zorzos told the Guardian. “If you destroy the landscape, one as rich as ours, you destroy the very reason people come here in the first place.”

In an attempt to curb development, the Environment Ministry announced a suspension of all building licenses in the caldera zone of Santorini and the nearby island of Therasia in August 2024. The suspension covers new buildings, extensions and the addition of swimming pools and hot tubs.

As part of the crackdown, local planning authorities were tasked with reviewing all building permits issued in the previous five years and inspecting the islands for unauthorised developments.

Why illegal building is a concern for earthquake-prone Santorini

Santorini is part of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, a highly active tectonic region. The island itself is the remnant of a massive volcanic eruption that occurred around 1600 BCE, one of the largest in recorded history.

While development doesn’t directly cause earthquakes, unchecked and illegal buildings could have catastrophic consequences in the event of tectonic activity.

Many of the buildings in the caldera cling to the side of the cliff. Troglodyte homes, built in caves dug into the cliffside, undermine the buildings above them, and the weight of pools and hot tubs risks destabilising the ground.

Seismologists warn that overdevelopment could increase the risk of devastating landslides and structural collapse during an earthquake. New, unregulated buildings may not be adequately designed to withstand seismic events.

“They wanted to develop the island and didn’t pay attention to environmental and safety issues,” says Dimitris Papanikolaou, professor of geology at the University of Athens.

“Nothing should have been built in this zone,” he added, referring to the soft, volcanic soils that make up the cliffs of the caldera.

Even before the recent earthquakes, concerns for Santorini’s structures were emerging. In 2021, a report by the Hellenic Society for Environment and Cultural Heritage said the safety of the buildings on the caldera urgently needed to be assessed. It added that many buildings had no permits, and that a quarter of those were tourism businesses.

Some individuals have flagged concerns even with permitted developments, which they say are being built in unsuitable areas.

“Building permits were granted and were built in Fira, in Oia and Alachua, heavy constructions (including hotels with swimming pools) on the slopes to the sea, under the traditional settlement, with false foundations,” Tselentis says. “With a relatively small earthquake, these won’t collapse, but they’ll slide right into the sea.”

“I would ask politicians to prioritise science and do seismological assessments,” Tselentis continues. “If they want to contribute, let them trample urban illegalities by turning deaf ears to hotel interests and letting scientists do their jobs.”

According to the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, seismic activity in the region between Santorini and Amorgos has been declining since 15 February. Tremors are now less frequent and less intense, although some are still noted to be taking place.

Since the onset of the Santorini earthquakes, more than 23,500 events have been recorded by the university’s Seismological Laboratory, with some exceeding a magnitude of 5.0. Since 20 February, no tremors over a magnitude of 4.0 have been identified.

Is it safe to visit Santorini?

Santorini remains in a state of emergency until March 1, keeping its emergency services on high alert for a rapid response to any incidents. Anafi and Amorgos will stay in a state of emergency until mid-March. Across all the islands, the schools remain closed.

Despite this, there has been no official instruction not to travel to the Cyclades from either the Greek government or other European governments. The EU advises exercising caution if a visit is planned and urges travellers to keep up to date with the latest news from Greece.

Specifically, visitors are advised to stay away from old and abandoned buildings and avoid large indoor gatherings. In the event of a strong tremor, stay away from the ports of Amoudi, Armeni, Korfos, and the Old Port of Fira, as they could be at risk of a tsunami.

The population of Santorini is returning to the island after thousands evacuated when the earthquakes started. Early reports suggest the tourists have begun arriving too, and the island is hopeful of getting back to normal in time for the peak season.

Nevertheless, when visiting any area of seismic activity, it pays to be alert.

“Nature can take revenge if we do not respect it,” concludes Tselentis. “The growth of tourism is nice, but the earthquake comes to remind us that it’s not only humans who are in charge on the planet.”

Beach holidays in Bali might get more expensive if a proposed tourism tax goes into effect.

Grappling with the pitfalls of overtourism, Balinese officials have floated a daily tourist tax similar to the $100 (€95) Sustainable Development Fee that Bhutan charges most international visitors.

Wayan Puspa Negara, head of the Bali Marginal Tourism Actors Alliance and a lawmaker in Bali’s Badung regency, told the South China Morning Post this week that he envisions the island “selecting” tourists just like Bhutan. The Himalayan hermit kingdom restricts tourist numbers to 400,000 people a year and in the past has charged as much as $250 (€240) per day to visit.

“They select tourists from a spending perspective,” he said. “It’s the same as when [Indonesians] go to the US, Europe or Britain.”

Bali confronts the impact of mass tourism

The “island of the gods” is one of the world’s most popular travel destinations. But it has also been plagued by a rash of ill-behaved tourists lured by blissful beaches, delicious food, rich culture, cheap accommodation and visions of self-indulgence.

Although tourism has transformed Bali, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the island’s economy in 2019, residents today have a love-hate relationship with it. Many have grown upset with the choked traffic, unchecked development and unruly visitors.

In 2023, one Russian influencer was deported from Indonesia after posing naked on a sacred tree. Dozens of others have been sent packing for working illegally on tourist visas. Meanwhile, reports of reckless driving, altercations with authorities and disrespect for local customs have fuelled calls for stricter regulations across the board.

Can a tourism tax curb bad behaviour?

As frustration grows, authorities are looking for ways to balance Bali’s booming tourism industry with the well-being of locals and the land itself.

In 2023, Bali consideredbanning motorbike rentals to tourists to reduce traffic accidents. Last year, local officials pressed pause on theconstruction of new hotels, villas and nightclubs on parts of the island inundated with development. The Bali Tourism Board also ran an ad campaign urging travellers to behave respectfully.

Raising the tourism tax is now another option on the table.

Bali’s governor, Wayan Koster, first floated the idea of a Bhutan-style approach in 2023. Last February, the island introduced a one-time entry fee of 150,000 Indonesian rupiah (€9) to fund conservation efforts. Now officials are reconsidering Koster’s initial suggestion of a steeper charge to regulate tourism and attract higher-spending visitors.

Tourism taxes: A global trend?

Tourism taxes can take various forms, from entry fees to per-night accommodation charges or daily levies on foreign visitors. They also serve different purposes.

Edinburgh recently announced plans for a fee to be spent on infrastructure, housing, destination management and cultural initiatives. Meanwhile, Italy has considered raising some of its daily fees to combat overtourism, with the country’s tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè, arguing that such fees encourage more responsible travel.

But tourism taxes have not been a salve for busy destinations. Barcelona has a famously contentious relationship with tourism, something taxes have done little to alleviate. Last summer, Barcelona residents protested mass tourism and short-term rentals such as Airbnb, spraying some travellers with water while shouting “go home.”

In Southeast Asia, Bali is not the only travel hub experimenting with tourism taxes, either. Thailand, which welcomes around 40 million travellers each year, plans to revive a shelved 300-baht (€8.50) fee for all arrivals before the end of 2025. How that fee will be collected is still unknown, although Sorawong Thienthong, Thailand’s tourism and sports minister, said it will likely be part of the country’s proposed digital arrival card.

“If collection is complicated, it will be inconvenient. Our aim is to make the process as smooth as possible,” he said at a press conference this week.

With European destinations from Wales to Venice also debating the merits of tourism levies, Bali’s proposal fits into a broader global conversation about how to make travel more sustainable. Whether higher costs will deter visitors – or simply shift travel patterns – remains to be seen.