HBO’s acclaimed fantasy series, ‘House of the Dragon,’ has returned to its familiar production hubs for Season 3, utilizing Leavesden Studios in Watford, England, for its intricate interior sets while venturing into new European locales for exterior shots. The series continues to bring the fantastical world of Westeros to life through a combination of extensive studio work and on-location filming.
Leavesden Studios, a legendary site known for its history with the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise and recent blockbusters like ‘Barbie’ and ‘Star Wars’ installments, houses the show’s elaborate sets. This includes the multi-story Red Keep set, a central element of the series’ visual landscape. These studio facilities provide the stable and controlled environment necessary for creating the detailed interiors.
For the dramatic exterior scenes, Season 3 has prominently featured new locations in Wales. Showrunner Ryan Condal highlighted Wales’s capacity for providing expansive scope and varied scenery that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Specific sites in Wales, such as “Blackhorse Valley” in Capel Curig, have been used to film scenes depicting characters like Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) alongside creatures such as Sheepstealer. The Welsh countryside, with locations like the banks of the God’s Eye and the sandbanks of the Gullet, appears to be a significant stand-in for various regions of Westeros in the current season.
While Wales offers a wealth of natural landscapes, the production also continues to film in mainland Europe for additional exterior shots. The series has shifted its portrayal of King’s Landing from Dubrovnik, Croatia—a primary location for its predecessor, ‘Game of Thrones’—to Spain. The historic towns of Cáceres and Trujillo, with their striking town squares and old city districts, now serve as the backdrop for King’s Landing exteriors. Previously, locations like Monsanto, Portugal, and the stone bridge at Gaztelugatxe in Spain’s Basque Country were used for Dragonstone scenes, though interior shots have been more common for the island this season.
Further exterior filming has taken place in Surrey, England, with Barossa Nature Preserve and Swinley Forest reportedly doubling for the Riverlands, a critical setting for the ongoing conflict known as the “Dance of the Dragons.”
Despite the accessibility of the Harry Potter Studio Tour at Leavesden and the Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Northern Ireland, fans cannot currently visit the specific sets used for ‘House of the Dragon.’ However, the real-world exterior filming locations across Europe offer opportunities for fans to explore the landscapes that inspired Westeros.