Experiencing Stunning Travel Destinations Through Popular Entertainment In 2022
Perhaps more so than ever before, in 2022, so many people want to appeal to their wanderlust by traveling to idyllic places around the world, as covered here on The Fox Magazine.
However, with platforms like Instagram forever feeding us with picture-perfect locations to go to, it can be difficult to narrow down exactly where you want to go and the places that you want to see.
Luckily, popular entertainment products have utilized the world’s most scenic locations for decades, so you can easily turn to Expat Explore’s Top 10 TV shows to inspire wanderlust. You don’t just have to view other locations through cinematography, though. Modern video game development is tremendously advanced, and many map real places to use in their games. The Gamer lists the video game cities that are the most realistic.
Still, to refine the process, we’ve narrowed the hunt down to three superb countries to visit with a clutch of popular entertainment products to experience that’ll get your wanderlust revved up.
Rural Great Britain
When people think about traveling to Great Britain, a great many are drawn to the famous cities, particularly London. However, for such a small nation with a rather large population, it has a great many open, relaxing, rural areas like the Lake District, that really should be higher on the lists of tourists, which was in The Fox Magazine’s top five destinations to visit in Europe. Easily the best entertainment product to explore the quaint English countryside and even some of Scotland is the video game Forza Horizon 4. The Forza game series was once your run-of-the-mill car racing game, but the Horizon spinoffs place you in an open world to explore, with each installment taking you to a new part of the world.
As The Guardian’s piece details, FH4 captures all of the little moments, like the windows of Cotswold cottages, sheep in the Scottish Highlands, and frozen meadows. You can also see several locations in the game in real life. The Eurogamer Brit’s guide details the peaceful village of Ambleside, which has a boat dock in the game as it’s next to Lake Windermere. On the flip side, you could visit the area that inspired one of the most popular settings in a movie, with that movie being The Holiday. As detailed by House & Garden, the English cottage in Nancy Meyer’s flick is based on the Honeysuckle Cottage in Holmbury St Mary, Surrey.
Modern and historic Mexico City
One of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the world, Mexico City was featured in The Fox Magazine’s Around the World series as it delved into all of the hotspots for the best places to eat and districts to explore. However, history buffs will know that the nation’s modern capital is atop the ancient capital of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlán. While Apocalypto reportedly blends Mayan and Aztec, per this National Geographic Article, it’s well-made enough to have you wanting to explore deeper into Mexico’s history. For a more entertainment-focused way to delve into the Aztec theme, though, there’s the Online Casino Betway game Aztec Falls. With a drumbeat soundtrack, carved idols, a golden jackpot feature, and warrior calls, it certainly panders to your traditional depictions of the Aztecs.
Visiting historic sites, particularly those of great ancient empires, is enriching and a major driver for many tourists, at some point, you’ll also want to spend time in modern Mexico City. For inspiration here, check out Spectre as the opening scene has James Bond walking across rooftops amidst Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – which takes place in the first days of November. For a more artistic film, flick on The Culture Trip pick Frida. Starring Salma Hayek, the biopic recounts the life of Frida Kahlo, with much of it being shot in Mexico City’s Casa Azul, The Blue House, and goes to the ruins of Teotihuacán.
Brisk but stunning landscapes of wild Norway
The Crazy Tourist lists a great many things that you can do in Norway to enjoy your trip thoroughly. Places like the Geirangerfjord region, Arctic Circle, and the Tromso Fjords are all stunning and indicative of the serenity that you’ll experience in the wild, open landscapes of Norway. Strangely, one of the best movies to watch for a snapshot of this beauty is Dune. The main setting is the desert planet of Arrakis – which was shot in Jordan and Abu Dhabi – but as Condé Nast Traveler explains, the story beings on Caladan. These shots against the cliffs and ocean were taken in the area of Kråkenes. This was in the northern part of Norway, but another Norwegian movie found the west to be ideal. Troll Hunter utilizes the dense, dark forests to add the fear factor to the fantasy mockumentary.
Watching films, TV shows, and playing video games that are set in ideal destinations has long been a great way to inspire you to book some flights and go exploring. In Great Britain, the best locations in films and games will take you into the countryside. While Mexico City is vibrant and exciting to explore, some of its more intriguing elements are found in its ancient past. For Norway, you’ll find a picture-perfect scene to the north and west, as well as several places in between.
