Imagine trading your usual winter routine of remote controls and re-runs for a real-life walk through Stars Hollow, the cozy, coffee-obsessed town that has lived in Gilmore Girls fans’ hearts for over two decades. Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is making that possible with a brand-new holiday experience running from 12 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, with the doors closed only on Christmas Day. It is not just a seasonal event; it is an invitation to step through the screen and into the world of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. The studio, transforming its Burbank lot into what it calls “the most expansive and immersive Gilmore Girls holiday fan experience ever created,” is betting that nostalgia is best felt on your feet rather than from a couch. This is the kind of event that turns casual fans into devoted pilgrims, offering them the chance to wander the actual streets where some of the series’ most beloved moments came to life, now draped in twinkling lights and holiday charm.
Visitors will be able to walk straight into the wood-paneled warmth of Lorelai Gilmore’s house, with its quirky decor and always-brewing coffee pot, then amble over to Luke’s Diner, the grumpy-but-lovable hub where Luke Danes poured coffee and served up more than a few life lessons. The experience also includes The Dragonfly Inn, the charming bed-and-breakfast that became central to the show’s later seasons, and Miss Patty’s School of Ballet, where generations of town secrets were spilled. Iconic storefronts from the series will double as gift shops stocked with collector’s items, allowing fans to take home a tangible piece of the show. And because no visit to Stars Hollow would feel complete without tasting the local fare, the event will serve up Luke’s cold brew, Jojo’s burgers, Caesar’s chilaquiles nachos, and the famous Gazebo pretzel. The show, which first aired in 2000 and centered on the fiercely witty relationship between Lorelai and her daughter Rory, remains so culturally significant that The New York Times included it in its list of The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century. This event is less a theme park attraction and more a love letter to a story that made small-town life feel impossibly appealing.
Warner Bros. is no stranger to capitalizing on its intellectual property, but this particular expansion taps into a much broader travel phenomenon known as set-jetting. The term describes the growing urge to plan holidays around the filming locations of favorite films and TV series, transforming passive viewing into active exploration. It is one thing to watch a character turn a corner in a fictional Connecticut town; it is quite another to physically stand there, feel the chill in the air, and recognize the very street signs from an episode you have watched a hundred times. Across Europe, this trend has already inspired legions of travelers. Dubrovnik, the beautiful Croatian city with its ancient walls and shimmering Adriatic coastline, became a mandatory pilgrimage site for Game of Thrones fans after it doubled as King’s Landing. In the small English village of Lavenham, visitors can actually check into the 15th-century Vere House, which appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One and is listed on Airbnb. It comes with four en-suite bedrooms, a private guest sitting room with a log fire, and a courtyard garden, making it feel less like accommodation and more like stepping into a wizarding fairy tale. These locations prove that the magic of storytelling does not have to end when the credits roll.
For those more inclined toward mythological adventure than small-town charm, Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film The Odyssey is set to be one of the biggest releases of the year, and its filming locations read like a Mediterranean dream itinerary. The movie draws from Homer’s ancient epic, and the production spanned some of the most evocative landscapes in the region: the rugged coasts of Sardinia, the swirling waters of the Strait of Messina in Italy, the sun-bleached hills of Ithaca in Greece, the storied plains of Troy in Türkiye, and the dramatic cliffs of Gozo in Malta. For travelers who want to plan their own odyssey, these destinations offer more than just beautiful backdrops; they are places where myth and reality blur, where every cove and headland feels heavy with thousands of years of stories. Whether you are tracing the journey of Odysseus or simply looking for a holiday that feels cinematic, these locations invite you to write your own epic. It is a reminder that set-jetting is not always about blockbuster franchises; sometimes, it is about connecting with ancient narratives that have shaped the way we understand adventure, home, and longing.
Madrid, meanwhile, has quietly become one of Europe’s most reliable filming backdrops, with a portfolio that spans genres and generations. The Spanish capital has appeared in the global Netflix phenomenon La Casa de Papel, known in English as Money Heist, as well as in Hollywood productions like The Cold Light of Day and Terminator: Dark Fate. Its grand boulevards, narrow historic streets, and futuristic architecture make it incredibly versatile, able to stand in for everything from a high-stakes heist to a post-apocalyptic landscape. The city is also hosting a project close to cinematic royalty: Woody Allen’s next film, tentatively titled WASP 26, which stands for “Woody Allen Summer Project.” The movie is currently slated to be shot in and around Madrid and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. In 2025, the Madrid Regional Government pledged to invest three payments totaling €1.5 million into the production, a clear sign of how seriously local authorities take film tourism. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement: Allen gets access to iconic Spanish locations, and Madrid gets a global spotlight that no amount of traditional advertising could buy. For travelers, this means the opportunity to visit a city that is as comfortable on screen as it is in real life.
Beyond Europe, the set-jetting phenomenon has stretched all the way to New Zealand, a country that has become almost synonymous with cinematic landscapes since The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The latest addition is Netflix’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, which was filmed entirely in New Zealand despite being set in very different American locations such as California’s Salinas Valley, San Francisco, Connecticut, and Washington. This creative decision worked in large part because New Zealand’s scenery is so diverse and authentic that it can convincingly play almost anywhere on Earth. Harbour Street in Oamaru, a town on the South Island, served as an especially inspired choice for the period production, thanks to its beautifully preserved limestone buildings that evoke a bygone era. Dunedin also makes an appearance, with its Queen’s Garden and Railway Station providing the kind of architectural grandeur that anchors period dramas. For fans of the novel and the series alike, visiting these sites offers a way to experience the emotional weight of the story in the very places where it was filmed. Ultimately, set-jetting transforms travel itself: it turns landmarks into characters, strangers into fellow fans, and vacations into stories worth telling. So this winter, rather than settling for reruns, perhaps it is time to pack a bag, grab a warm coat, and see where your favorite show takes you.
