Where was Eat Pray Love filmed? From pretentious pizza to real healing – explore the locations where Liz Gilbert’s messy, honest journey unfolded.
Ever booked a trip after watching the Eat, Pray, Love movie and hoped your pizza would be as life-changing? You’re not alone.
In 2010, Julia Roberts strapped on a backpack (okay, a very chic one) and took us on a global breakdown-breakthrough tour as Liz Gilbert, a divorcee who trades her misery for carbs in Italy, devotion in India, and (surprise) love in Bali.
Co-starring Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, and Richard Jenkins, the film turned “attraversiamo” (crossing over or going through) into the most pretentious-but-awesome word at dinner parties.
Here’s exactly where she went – no spiritual bypassing required.
Table of Contents
🧘🏽 Eat Pray Love Filming Locations
From pizza bliss to ashram stillness to beachside balance – here’s exactly where Liz found (and lost) herself.
🍝 Italy (Eat) – Sacred Pizza as a Religious Experience
Where was Eat, Pray, Love filmed in Italy? Rome’s Piazza Navona and Naples’ L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele.
Let’s be real: the “Eat” chapter is why 90% of you pressed play. Julia Roberts reportedly gained 7 to 10 pounds during this shoot – and wore every ounce like a medal of honor.
She joked, “I could’ve used a bigger pair of jeans when I went off to India!” That’s not vanity pounds; that’s research, people.
The production went full method, insisting on real locations right down to the 1906 pizzeria where Liz has her religious experience with melted mozzarella.
That place, L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples, is so sacred that Roberts herself wolfed down eight to ten slices of pizza in a single morning while filming there.
And the bench scene with the nuns? That scene was filmed at Sant’Agnese in Agone, a baroque church and square in Piazza Navona.
Liz’s apartment exterior was filmed at Palazzo Scapucci on Via dei Portoghesi, 18 – known as the “Tower of the Monkey.” From Villa Borghese to Trastevere, the film basically used all of Rome as its backdrop.
What was filmed here:
- L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Naples: Liz declares pizza a spiritual experience.
- Piazza Navona, Rome: Liz strolls and marvels like a proper tourist.
- Sant’Agnese in Agone, Rome: The famous bench scene with nuns judging silently.
- Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome: Liz gazes at the Vatican from the observation deck.
- Via dei Portoghesi, 18 (Palazzo Scapucci): Liz’s apartment – the “Tower of the Monkey.”
- Trastevere, Rome: Liz hangs with new friends in this charming working-class neighborhood.
📿 India (Pray) – Ashrams, Palaces, and Donkey Drama
Where was Eat, Pray, Love filmed in India? Pataudi Palace and Mirzapur village for those chai scenes.
That “ashram” where Liz Gilbert learns to sit with her own chaos? It’s actually the Ashram Hari Mandir Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya in Pataudi, Haryana, about 40 km from Delhi.
The production didn’t build a set; they wanted it “very real,” so they found a functioning school and temple and just… moved in. For 20 days. With Julia Roberts. Imagine being a student there and hearing, “class is canceled because Hollywood is chanting Sanskrit in the courtyard.”
Julia Roberts had to chant 182 Sanskrit shlokas for her ashram scenes. She learned them phonetically in English, rehearsed like crazy, and reportedly nailed them after reading each one four to five times.
The ashram’s swamiji even gave her and her three kids Indian nicknames – Parvati, Ganesh, Lakshmi, and Krishna – as a “fun activity,” not a conversion, despite what gossip rags screamed at the time.
Roberts was supposed to cook dal and roti in an offering scene at the ashram. She reportedly loves Indian food but has one hard boundary: onions. (me too, Julia, despite being Indian 🧅🤮)
During the shoot, the crew meal was full of them, and neither she nor her Indian co-star could tolerate it. That was “the most difficult part of the shoot.” Not the 182 shlokas. Not the donkeys. Onions.
The entire cast and crew stayed at the Pataudi Palace, the former royal residence of cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore. So yes, Richard from Texas slept in a maharaja’s bed. That’s not method acting; that’s an upgrade.
The famous scene where Liz and Richard from Texas sip chai and talk about life? Filmed in Mirzapur village, about 8 km from Pataudi. The crew built an entire village market set, employing around 500 locals.
And just as director Ryan Murphy yelled, “Rolling camera,” two donkeys started braying. Everyone cracked up. Crew members had to shoo the animals away mid-take. Authentic India, indeed.
Roberts also made a point to visit the Taj Mahal during her time off – because when in India, you don’t skip the greatest hits. And she threw a wrap party for the crew at the Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon before everyone flew to Bali.
What was filmed here:
- Ashram Hari Mandir, Pataudi: Liz chants Sanskrit and scrubs floors for enlightenment.
- Pataudi Palace, Haryana: Fancy royal accommodations for the crew.
- Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh: Chai and soul-talk with Richard (donkeys optional).
- Delhi streets: Liz looks lost and profound, as per the job description.
💘 Indonesia (Love) – Monkeys, Markets, and a Fake Beach Bar
Where was Eat, Pray, Love filmed in Bali? Ubud‘s market and monkey forest, plus Padang Padang Beach for that sunset smooch.
Let’s address the elephant (or monkey) in the room. The “Love” chapter is why Javier Bardem got hired. Liz Gilbert finally stops running and falls for a divorced Brazilian businessman in a sarong.
But here’s the kicker – the real Felipe (José Nunes) owned a gemstone business and met Gilbert at a pharmacy in Bali after she bought ointment for a rash. Romance! The movie swapped the pharmacy for a beach bar because… well, ointment isn’t cinematic.
That beach bar wasn’t real. The climactic kiss where Felipe says “sometimes to lose balance for love is part of living a balanced life” was filmed at Padang Padang Beach in Uluwatu – stunning turquoise water, dramatic limestone cliffs, the works.
But the rustic bamboo bar where they “met”? A temporary set built just for the film. It was torn down after filming. So you can’t order a Bintang there. Devastating, we know.
The real medicine man was very real, but the film used an actor. The actual Ketut Liyer lived in Ubud and became a tourist sensation after Gilbert’s book dropped. By the time filming started, Liyer was elderly and unwell, so the production cast Hadi Subiyanto to play him.
The house, however, was genuine – the same courtyard where the real Ketut read Liz’s palm and told her she’d return to Bali and lose all her money but find it back sevenfold. Prophetic? She lost a husband… and found a book advance. Close enough.
Ubud Monkey Forest is where spiritual focus goes to die. Those cheeky long-tailed macaques are real, and they have zero respect for dramatic character arcs.
The crew reportedly had to chase monkeys away from equipment, snacks, and Julia Roberts‘ hair. One production assistant allegedly lost a sandwich to a thief who then posed for photos like a furry film star.
The Ubud Traditional Art Market scenes required Roberts to navigate actual vendors selling actual goods. No green screens. No “fake fruit.” Just Julia Roberts haggling over batik while Balinese grandmas pretended not to recognize her.
Also, the film’s massive merchandising campaign – over 400 tie-in products, including a prayer bead line at World Market – meant you could buy the “Bali experience” without leaving Ohio. Authenticity, sold separately.
Book a tour:
What was filmed here:
- Padang Padang Beach, Uluwatu: Sunset love, fake bar, real chemistry.
- Ubud Traditional Art Market: Liz indulges in retail therapy (relatable).
- Ubud Monkey Forest: Mischievous macaques steal snacks and spiritual focus.
- Ubud rice paddies: Liz bicycles through Instagram-bait green perfection.
- Ketut Liyer’s house, Ubud: The genuine courtyard where real palm readings happened.
🎞️ USA & Studio Locations
New York bookends the journey. Tompkins Square Park and Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, show Liz before her breakdown and after her glow-up. Studio work was minimal – most was on location.
What was filmed here:
- Tompkins Square Park, NYC: Depressed Liz watches happy couples.
- Cobble Hill, Brooklyn: Post-trip, Liz looks annoyingly serene.
- Rome’s Cinecittà Studios: A few interior close-ups (and that trash pasta).
🧭 The Evolution of Liz Gilbert – Self-Indulgence to Authenticity
Critics called Eat, Pray, Love a “rich-lady fantasy” and its heroine narcissistic, superficial, and navel-gazing. And honestly? That was fair.
The 2010 Liz travels for a year on an advance check, treats cultures as backdrops, and wraps everything in a tidy “happily ever after” bow.
She’s searching for herself, but she’s doing it with a platinum card and a photographer’s lighting. The film presents pleasure as purchase, devotion as destination, and love as a souvenir.
But here’s what the critics missed: sometimes self-indulgence is the first draft of self-care. Because genuine self-care isn’t bubble baths and gelato.
Real self-care is the uncomfortable work of reconnecting with your wounded inner child – the part of you that learned early that love was conditional, that your worth depended on performance, that being “good” kept you safe.
Liz’s Italy phase looks like gluttony, but it’s actually her inner child’s first permission slip to want. To take up space. To enjoy without earning it first.
That wounded child doesn’t heal through more discipline. She heals through safety. And safety, for someone who grew up managing everyone else’s emotions, starts with the radical act of saying:
“My pleasure matters too. Even if it looks messy. Even if it looks rich. Even if it looks nothing like the suffering we’re taught to equate with virtue.”
But here’s where the real depth arrives. By 2025’s memoir All the Way to the River, Gilbert confesses she was a “world-class enabler” with a love addiction.
She admits her supposed “generosity” during partner Rayya Elias‘s cancer battle was actually codependency – a frantic attempt to control the uncontrollable by erasing herself.
She joined a 12-step program. She stopped mistaking chaos for passion and intensity for destiny. That “narcissism” label from 2010? She now sees it for what it was: avoidance dressed as self-discovery.
- Italy wasn’t just pleasure; it was running.
- India wasn’t just devotion; it was performance.
- Bali wasn’t just love; it was another attachment pattern in yoga pants.
The woman who once sought balance in Bali now seeks “steadiness” in rural New Jersey – without needing another person to complete her.
She’s learned that creating a safe place to heal doesn’t require a passport. It requires a mirror. And the courage to see not just your wounds, but your patterns.
That’s not a redemption arc. Redemption arcs are tidy. They sell movie tickets. What Gilbert actually did was grow up – messy, unscripted, and painfully slow.
She stopped asking “Where should I go next?” and started asking “What am I avoiding right now?” That’s the difference between a tourist of the self and someone actually at home in their own skin.
The wounded inner child doesn’t need Rome. She needs to hear: You’re allowed to stay. You’re allowed to be seen. You’re allowed to heal without an audience.
And sometimes, the bravest thing you can do isn’t crossing over – it’s standing still.
❓ Eat Pray Love FAQ
Your burning questions about Eat, Pray, Love, and transformative travel movies, answered.
Who’s in the Eat Pray Love cast?
- Julia Roberts (Liz Gilbert)
- Javier Bardem (Felipe)
- Billy Crudup (Steven)
- Richard Jenkins (Richard from Texas)
- Hadi Subiyanto (Ketut Liyer, Balinese medicine man)
Did Eat Pray Love win a Golden Globe?
Julia Roberts was nominated; the film won zero Golden Globes.
What’s the Eat Pray Love domestic box office return?
$80.6 million (a hit, despite the critics). And yes, the Eat Pray Love book is better.
Are there other movies like Eat, Pray, Love?
- Before Sunrise (1995)
- Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
- A Good Year (2006)
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
- Letters to Juliet (2010)
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
- Midnight in Paris (2011)
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
- Wild (2014)
Are there other books like Eat, Pray, Love?
- Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
- The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
- A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson
- Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
📺 Where to Watch Eat Pray Love
Ready to judge or re-embrace Liz? Stream here:
- Amazon Prime: Rent or buy.
- DVD/Blu-ray: Extended cut with deleted scenes and director commentary.
- Other platforms: Also on Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.
So go ahead – book the flight, eat the pasta, sit on the bench, and cry in a foreign country.
Because giving yourself permission to want more isn’t pretentious; it’s the first honest step of healing, and your inner child deserves that Eat Pray Love tour more than your inner critic deserves a vote.
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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