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15 classic movie locations to help plan your next road trip

Great movies have the ability to transport us from the comfort of our couch right into the scene. Watching some of the most classic films, you might find yourself wishing that you were fighting off robbers like Kevin McCallister, or training for a boxing match like Rocky Balboa.

The good news is that many famous movie locations are real, meaning you can use your binge-watching for vacation inspiration. DK's Overseas Ambassador Aaron Hope compiles a list of 15 classic movies that you can use to plan your next US road trip...

Boston Public Garden

Robin Williams and Matt Damon discuss the difference between intelligence and wisdom while sitting on a park bench in the 1997 Oscar-Winning film Good Will Hunting. Shot on location at the Boston Public Garden, this bench became a memorial after the death of Robin Williams.

Martha's Vineyard

Stephen Spielberg’s 1974 film about a great white shark attacking beachgoers is set in the New England resort town of Martha’s Vineyard. The town and its beaches are featured heavily throughout Jaws, and it is still a popular vacation destination today.

The Empire State Building

New York’s most famous skyscraper stars alongside Will Smith in Independence Day, an epic 1996 movie about a July 4 counterattack against a race of aliens. The film was shot in many locations, but uses the Manhattan skyline as its primary backdrop.

Hook and Ladder Fire Station #8

The Tribeca fire station featured in Bill Murray’s Ghostbusters, as well as its sequels, has been in operation since its construction in 1903. Hook and Ladder Fire Station #8 recently received a $6 million renovation and remains a popular tourist attraction in New York City.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Sylvester Stallone plays amateur boxer Rocky Balboa in Rocky, one of the most iconic sports movies of all time. Arguably the most memorable scene shows Rocky training on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. While visitors must pay admission to the museum, many tourists choose to jog the steps for free.

Independence Hall

In this 2004 adventure film, Nicolas Cage must steal and decode a map hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence in order to find the "National Treasure." Clues lead Cage to the historic Independence Hall in Philadelphia, which features prominently in National Treasure. Independence Hall remains one of the city's most famous attractions.

Ohio State Reformatory

The now-defunct Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio portrays the Shawshank Prison in the 1994 drama, Shawshank Redemption. The prison had closed its doors 4 years earlier, making it the perfect setting for the timeless movie. Visitors to the Ohio prison can now take guided "Shawshank tours," seeing parts of the prison that were shown in the film.

Chicago Board of Trade Building

Often considered one of the best superhero movies of all time, Christian Bale stars as Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight, the first film of the Batman Trilogy. The City of Chicago was transformed into the City of Gotham for the movie, with the Chicago Board of Trade Building serving as Wayne Towers. The iconic building is a popular filming location, and has been featured in other movies such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Man of Steel.

Kevin McCallister’s House

A young Macaulay Culkin plays Kevin McCallister, a boy stranded at home over Christmas, who must cleverly defend his house from robbers who know he is there alone. The real location of Kevin’s house in Home Alone is in the northern Chicago suburb of Winnetka, and most recently sold for $1.58 million in 2012.

10.

Field of Dreams

This classic sports film stars Kevin Costner as he builds a baseball diamond out of his cornfield in order to bring back players of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox. “If you build it, they will come,” he hears a voice famously say in Field of Dreams. Fun fact: an actual baseball field was constructed in Dubuque County, Iowa, for the movie. The field is now part of a youth sports complex and movie museum. The Field of Dreams is set to host the first MLB game ever to be played in Iowa in August 2020.

11.

Arches National Park

Harrison Ford reprises the titular role in this 1989 third installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In an iconic opening scene, a young Indiana Jones is seen horse-packing through the beautiful rock formations and caves of Arches National park, near Moab, Utah. Today, Arches is one of the most visited national parks in the country, receiving over 1.6 million visitors annually.

12.

Monument Valley

Now synonymous with the American West, Monument Valley near the Arizona/Utah border was first depicted in film by John Ford in the 1939 Western Stagecoach. The film stars John Wayne as the Ringo Kid, and is considered instrumental in popularizing the Western genre. Many movies since Stagecoach have featured Monument Valley when depicting the American West, including The Lone Ranger, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and even The Lego Movie as a computer-generated scene. Monument Valley and its sandstone buttes is located within the Navajo Nation Reservation and can be visited year-round.

13.

Caesars Palace

Tom Cruise stars as the brother to an autistic savant, portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the four-time Oscar winning film Rain Main. Exploiting his brother’s abilities, Cruise devises a plan to recover his debts in Las Vegas by counting cards in blackjack. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie was shot at the Caesars Palace casino on the Las Vegas strip, where the brothers win over $86,000 in one night. The casino remains open, but counting cards is definitely against the rules.

14.

Fox Plaza

In one of the most successful action movies of all time, Bruce Willis portrays NYPD detective John McClane, who gets caught inside a skyscraper, Nakatomi Plaza, during a criminal heist in Die Hard. The headquarters of 20th Century Fox, Fox Plaza, serves as the film’s setting for both internal and external scenes. Today, the building still functions as an office space, and fans are able to take guided tours.

15.

Beverly Wilshire Hotel

The famous Beverly Wilshire Hotel played host to Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman. The hotel is the setting for much of the movie, and the manager of the hotel helps transform Roberts from a call girl into an upscale classy woman. The Beverly Wilshire Hotel has housed many celebrities, presidents, and diplomats since its opening in 1928, with rooms starting at $795 a night.