Where was House of the Dragon filmed? From Wales to Spain, walk the real-world battlefields and throne rooms where dragons danced and Targaryens bled.
Before the Dance tore Westeros apart, House of the Dragon brought the Targaryen civil war to life across the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal.
Paddy Considine’s King Viserys, Matt Smith‘s rogue Prince Daemon, and Emma D’Arcy‘s rightful heir Rhaenyra clashed over the Iron Throne in stunning real locations – from cursed castle quarries to Driftmark‘s rugged shores.
Pack your hiking boots and grab a map: here’s where you can walk in their footsteps (minus the dragon fire).
Table of Contents
🐉 Where Was House of the Dragon Filmed?
Grab your dragon‑glass and a sense of adventure – here’s exactly where the Targaryen civil war came to life.
🏰 Cáceres & Trujillo – King’s Landing’s Spanish Home
Forget Dubrovnik – House of the Dragon permanently moved the capital of Westeros to Spain’s Extremadura region. Why? Because Cáceres looks like it was built for a Targaryen civil war.
Trujillo’s Plaza Mayor – a grand, sloping square ringed by stone arcades and topped with a statue of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro – became King’s Landing‘s public market hub.
The production simply swapped Pizarro for a CGI King Jaehaerys I, the Old King whose death kicked off the Dance of the Dragons. Locals still remember the surreal sight of Emma D’Arcy buying jamón ibérico between takes.
Cáceres Old Town is the real star. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a time capsule: Roman walls, Islamic alcazars, Gothic towers (like the Torre de Bujaco), and Renaissance palaces (the Palacio de los Golfines de Abajo) all crammed into a maze of cobbled alleys.
In fact, Cáceres was almost used for Game of Thrones‘ King’s Landing, but Dubrovnik won out. When House of the Dragon needed a fresh, un-GoT look, they finally called Extremadura.
The production team’s job was shockingly easy – they only had to cover up a handful of modern streetlights and road signs. That’s it. No CGI facades, no fake stone.
Rhaenyra and Daemon‘s secret night out in Season 1? Filmed on Calle Ancha, a real street where you can still get tapas today. The solemn royal funeral procession in Season 2? Wound through the Plaza de San Jorge, right past a 12th-century church.
And during the 2022 shoot, a local baker accidentally photobombed a scene involving a severed head prop – she thought it was a jamón.
What was filmed here:
- Plaza de San Jorge: Royal funeral procession for a fallen Targaryen
- Trujillo’s Plaza Mayor: Public markets with King Jaehaerys’s statue (CGI)
- Calle de la Amargura: Gold Cloaks patrolling a tense King’s Landing alley
- Calle Ancha: Rhaenyra and Daemon’s brothel-hopping secret date
Travel tips:
- Book a Trujillo de Tronos Tour: Join a group of “Thronies” on a guided tour of Trujillo.
- The annual “Cáceres de Juego” festival (every April/May) includes a fully costumed parade, archery workshops, and guided tours pointing out exactly where each scene was filmed.
- Calle de la Amargura translates to “Street of Bitterness” – fitting for a location used for Gold Cloak brutality. It’s a 5-minute walk from the main square.
- Find a good restaurant for cheap, authentic migas extremeñas. The cast reportedly loved the local torta del casar cheese.
🏴 Wales – Where Harrenhal’s Cursed Walls Rise
North Wales did the heavy lifting for House of the Dragon Season 2 and the upcoming Season 3 (premiering June 2026). And when we say heavy, we mean 250 local crew members working five weeks just for Season 2.
But why Wales? Because the country is basically one giant, moody painting of jagged peaks, slate scars, and coastline that looks like it’s been through a war – which, for the Dance of the Dragons, is perfect.
Dinorwig Quarry in Gwynedd isn’t just any quarry. It’s a former slate mine so vast and otherworldly that it’s been used as a film set before (including for Clash of the Titans).
For House of the Dragon, the production transformed its terraced cliffs into the exterior encampments of Harrenhal – the cursed, melted castle built by Harren the Black. In Season 2, you saw the tents, siege lines, and looming dread. But for Season 3 (Summer 2025 shoots), things got dark.
The crew returned for massive battle-damage sequences: think prop “burnt corpses” (some reportedly hyper-realistic with silicone skin), massive water tanks rigged to create artificial rain that could drench an acre, and heavy cavalry work with actual horses thundering across slate debris.
Locals reported hearing “screaming and clanking metal” for three straight nights. (Probably acting. Probably.)
The bleak, stunning valleys of Eryri/Snowdonia – specifically Cwm Idwal and Ffynon Llugwy – were used for those sweeping, miserable outdoor journey sequences that make you grateful for your Gore-Tex.
Marching Winterfell/Stark soldiers (Season 2) trudged through these glacial cirques, and Arryn territory (the Vale) got its chilly, cloud-swathed aesthetic from the same spots. Those Welsh peaks have seen actual Romans, medieval princes, and now Targaryen extras complaining about their costume boots.
The five-week Season 2 shoot employed over 250 local Welsh crew – from slate experts who advised on rockfall safety to sheep wranglers (yes, the sheep are union).
And during filming at Cwm Idwal, a real-life hiker wandered into frame wearing neon yellow. The director allegedly screamed “For the love of the Seven, dress for the period!” The hiker now owns a custom wool cloak.
The “Green Man” mystery: For Season 3, security around Dinorwig Quarry was so tight that legal orders shut down entire public footpaths. Why? To hide secret props. And the juiciest rumor?
Multiple local hikers and a drone operator caught glimpses of a mythical “Green Man” costume – a moss-covered, antlered, leaf-bearded figure that looks ripped from Old Valyrian wood carvings.
Is it a weirwood spirit? A Children of the Forest cameo? A very lost extra from The Green Knight? HBO won’t comment.
But the costume was reportedly life-sized and moved on its own (read: animatronic or a very patient actor). Fans are already theorizing it’s linked to Harrenhal‘s curse or a vision for Daemon.
In Anglesey, Llanddwyn Beach and Newborough Forest stood in for Driftmark‘s war-torn coastlines. The forest itself, a Corsican pine plantation, doubled as a burned-out wood near High Tide.
Season 3 setups here included extensive shipwrecks – full-sized wooden hulls broken apart and half-buried in sand – prop catapults aimed at the Irish Sea, and naval battle debris (oars, shattered masts, oil barrels) scattered like a pirate’s worst nightmare.
What was filmed here:
- Dinorwig Quarry, Gwynedd: Harrenhal’s siege encampments + Season 3 battle carnage with burnt corpses, rain tanks, and cavalry
- Anglesey’s Llanddwyn Beach: Driftmark’s coastline after naval battles (shipwrecks, catapults, debris fields)
- Newborough Forest, Anglesey: Burned woodlands near High Tide
- Snowdonia’s Cwm Idwal: Stark soldiers marching through Arryn territory in miserable weather
- Snowdonia’s Ffynon Llugwy: Bleak overland journeys across the Seven Kingdoms
Book a tour:
- Eryri Snowdonia National Park Tours, Wales
- Private Snowdonia’s Mountains, Lakes & Mines Tour
- Llandudno: Best Of Anglesey & Snowdonia Private Tour
- Best of Snowdonia Day Trip: Tour from Llandudno & Conwy
Travel tips:
- Hike Dinorwig by starting at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis (free entry, excellent cafe). The trail up the quarry is unmarked but follows the old tramway.
- For Llanddwyn Beach, check tide times religiously. Ynys Llanddwyn (the island) is accessible via a sandy causeway at low tide. At high tide, you’ll be swimming with shipwreck props. Use the Tide Times UK app or ask at the Newborough visitor centre.
- Where to eat: Pete’s Eats in Llanberis is a climber’s cafe with massive plates of nachos and a photo wall of past productions. The Black Boy Inn in Caernarfon (near Dinorwig) is a 16th-century pub where crew reportedly drank ale and traded set stories. Ask about the “Green Man” – the bartender may whisper.
🏖️ Cornwall & Devon – Driftmark’s Velaryon Shores
The jagged southwest coastlines of Cornwall and Devon gave House Velaryon its oceanic identity. St Michael’s Mount doubled as High Tide Castle – Lord Corlys Velaryon‘s ancestral seat.
Holywell Bay Beach hosted the Stepstones war camp and the iconic moment young Aemond claimed Vhagar. Hartland Quay‘s fierce cliffs framed a dramatic Targaryen funeral.
A random holidaymaker at Kynance Cove accidentally took the first leaked paparazzi photos of Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy in full silver-wigged Targaryen costume.
What was filmed here:
- St Michael’s Mount: High Tide Castle seat of House Velaryon
- Holywell Bay Beach: Aemond claims dragon Vhagar on sand
- Hartland Quay, Devon: Dramatic Targaryen funeral cliff scenes
Travel tip:
- Book a 5-day tour of Devon and Cornwall from London. Home to the legends of King Arthur, Celtic Kingdoms, and Roman towns.
- Access St Michael’s Mount via cobbled causeway at low tide – or take a boat when the sea’s in.
🪨 Monsanto, Portugal – Dragonstone’s Boulder Village
Imagine a village that didn’t just build on a mountain – it squatted inside giant granite boulders the size of houses. That’s Monsanto – frequently voted “the most Portuguese village in Portugal” – a title it earned by looking like it hasn’t changed since the Reconquista.
The locals don’t have walls; they have rocks. Doors are carved into stone. Chimneys poke out from under thousand-tonne boulders. And somewhere up the insane, ankle-snapping cobblestone paths, the ruins of Castle of Monsanto cling to a ridge like a dragon’s claw.
For House of the Dragon Season 1, this was Dragonstone‘s lower courtyards and exterior walkways – the part where Daemon brooded, where Rhaenyra‘s children played, and where the volcanic, jagged aesthetic of the Targaryen ancestral seat felt almost too real.
That’s because most of it was real. The production team scouted Monsanto and immediately realized: this place looks like a dragon vomited boulders and medieval monks said “good enough.” They added CGI smoke, some distant dragon shadows, and voilà – Dragonstone.
The logistical nightmare (and it’s glorious): Monsanto is so steep, narrow, and aggressively medieval that modern filming equipment could not physically fit through the streets. Not even the smallest camera dolly. Not a single lighting crane.
The village’s “main road” is a foot-wide staircase wedged between two granite monoliths. So what did the production do? They hired a fleet of helicopters and specialized cranes to lift everything – heavy props, lighting rigs, costume racks, camera bodies, even sandwiches – up to the castle ruins.
Local residents still tell stories of watching a 400-year-old-looking wooden catapult dangle from a helicopter while Matt Smith stood below, holding a coffee, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
During filming, a local shepherd refused to move his flock of sheep for three hours because, and we quote, “the dragons can wait.” The crew built him a custom shade tent.
Emma D’Arcy reportedly loved the village so much they asked for a second day of filming just to explore. Matt Smith, ever the professional, hiked up the 30-minute death-climb in full Daemon armor twice before complaining.
The crew’s favorite memory? A crane operator accidentally lifted a prop dragon egg into a boulder, cracking the egg but not the boulder. They left the dent as a “set relic.”
Also, the famous “boulder house” (Casa do Barro) – where a giant rock serves as the roof – was almost used as Rhaenyra‘s bedchamber exterior, but the owners requested “no fake fire, please.”
What was filmed here:
- Castle of Monsanto ruins: Dragonstone’s lower courtyards (where Rhaenyra received petitioners)
- Castelo de Monsanto’s medieval keep: Background matte for the Stone Drum tower
- Boulder-crushed village streets: Exterior approach sequences to Dragonstone’s gates
Travel tips:
- Wear sturdy hiking shoes. The climb from the village entrance to the castle is brutally steep, uneven, and sometimes requires using your hands. Locals do it in sandals. Do not be locals.
- Start early – Monsanto gets scorching by noon (Centro Region sun is no joke). Bring at least a liter of water per person.
- Eat at Adega Tipica O Cruzeiro – this is where the cast and crew ate constantly. Order the bacalhau à lagareiro (cod with olive oil and potatoes) and the queijo da serra (runny sheep cheese).
- Ask the owner about the “Targaryen table” – they might point to a corner booth where Paddy Considine allegedly fell asleep after three glasses of wine.
- Don’t miss the “boulder houses” – several are still lived in. One family has a front door that’s literally a hole carved through a rock. Yes, they have WiFi.
- Pro tip for photographers: The best shot is from the castle ruins looking down over the village – you’ll see boulders the size of double-decker buses wedged between buildings. That’s the exact angle used in the Season 1 wide shot of Dragonstone‘s approach.
🎥 Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden – The Heart of Westeros
Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire houses the structural core of the entire series: the Red Keep‘s massive throne room, dragonpit interiors, council chambers, and Harrenhal’s indoor sets.
Instead of green screens, the virtual VANTAGE Volume projects Dragonstone‘s cliffs and King’s Landing‘s horizons live around actors for realistic lighting.
What was filmed here:
- Red Keep Throne Room: Iron Throne arguments and royal decrees
- Dragonpit interiors: Dragons in chains before the Storming
- Stage VANTAGE Volume: Digital backgrounds projected live on LED screens
Travel tip:
- The soundstages are closed to the public, but they sit right next to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter sets. Occasionally, select Westeros props and costumes appear in the main lobby.
❓ House of the Dragon FAQs
Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen the Dance unfold.
How many seasons of House of the Dragon will there be?
Four seasons total are planned. Season 3 premieres on 21st June 2026.
How many episodes are in House of the Dragon?
Season 1 had 10 episodes. Season 2 had 8 episodes. Seasons 3, & 4 are expected to have 8 episodes each.
Was House of the Dragon filmed in Croatia?
No, Game of Thrones used Dubrovnik for King’s Landing, but House of the Dragon moved production to Spain’s Cáceres and Trujillo instead.
Where was House of the Dragon Season 3 filmed?
Returning to Dinorwig Quarry in Wales for massive battle-damage sequences (Summer 2025), plus Cáceres in Spain and Warner Bros. Leavesden. Premieres June 2026.
Was any House of the Dragon filmed in Scotland?
No, the rugged Welsh mountains doubled for northern Westeros instead.
Where was House of the Dragon Episode 5 filmed?
Episode 5 (“We Light the Way”) mostly unfolds on the island of Driftmark, home to House Velaryon. It used real-world locations in southwest England and Spain to bring the powerful family’s seat, the Stepstones, and the streets of King’s Landing to life.
Where was House of the Dragon Episode 3 filmed?
Episode 3 (“Second of His Name”) featured Holywell Bay Beach in Cornwall for the Stepstones war camp and Vhagar-claiming sequence.
Is House of the Dragon better than Game of Thrones?
Subjective! But House of the Dragon focuses on a tighter civil war narrative (the Dance of the Dragons) rather than sprawling continent-hopping. Fewer sex scenes, more political scheming and dragon-on-dragon action.
Does House of the Dragon have sex scenes?
Yes, but significantly fewer than early Game of Thrones. The infamous “sex scene” searches usually refer to Rhaenyra and Daemon’s brothel encounter in Season 1.
What is the House of the Dragon family tree?
The central conflict is between Rhaenyra Targaryen (the Blacks) and her half-brother Aegon II (the Greens), descendants of King Viserys I. Key players: Daemon, Otto Hightower, Alicent, Aemond, Helaena, Jace, Luke, and Joffrey Velaryon.
What is the House of the Dragon timeline?
HotD happens ~180 years before GoT. Dunk & Egg sits smack in the middle, roughly 80 years after HotD and 90 years before GoT.
- House of the Dragon (HotD): ~101-131 AC (the Dance of the Dragons civil war)
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Dunk & Egg): ~209 AC (dragons are dead, Targaryens still rule)
- Game of Thrones (GoT): 298-305 AC (Robert’s Rebellion already happened, Dany’s era)
Egg (Dunk’s squire) grows up to be King Aegon V – Daenerys’s great-great-great-grandfather. For the lore-obsessed, the map-flagging, the “well, actually in the book…” crowd: Fire and Blood is your sacred text.
How to start watching the ASOIAF series?
- Chronologically: HotD → Dunk & Egg → GoT.
- For beginners: GoT first, then the prequels hit different.
📺 Where to Watch House of the Dragon?
Stream the fiery civil war before Season 3 drops.
- Amazon Prime Video: Purchase individual episodes or full seasons.
- DVD/Blu-ray: Complete Season 1 & 2 with behind-the-scenes special features.
- Max (formerly HBO Max): All episodes streaming with subscription
Valar morghulis – but your travel plans don’t have to die. Pack light, wear layers (Wales is colder than you think), and may the winds be at your back. 🔥
Disclaimer: This fan-created article is provided for entertainment purposes only. We don’t guarantee the accuracy of any of these facts and don’t recommend making important life decisions based on them. All referenced titles, names, and related intellectual property are the property of their respective owners, and no copyright infringement is intended.
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