Love happens to normal people and it’s not always at first sight, forever, or simple.
Hulu’s Normal People takes a dive into how romance can thrive; but also struggle to survive. It follows two teens as they grow together and then apart as they transition into adulthood, dealing with their own personal traumas and insecurities along the way.
The limited series was filmed in Ireland and features a handful of filming locations in Italy that you can visit easily by train.
Image Credit: BBC
Where was Normal People filmed in Ireland?
The Emerald Isle, where most of the Normal People filming locations were shot, has a National Rail service — Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail — though it’s not as extensive as some other European rail lines. We’ll drop the closest station to each location, but don’t feel bad about defaulting to a bus.
Tobercurry
Closest station: Ballymote
Tobercurry in County Sligo took on the role of the fictional town, Carricklea. The T. Brennan Bar and Lounge, Killoran’s Bar, and St. John the Evangelist Church were all featured in the show.
Trinity College
Closest station: Tara Street
Trinity College featured in Normal People. The author of the book the show is based on, also called Normal People, was once a student there. Marsh’s Library, Berkeley Library, and other campus buildings were also featured.
Streedagh Beach
Closest station: Sligo
The cute coastal walks that Connell and Marianne took were on the shores of Streedagh Beach. The beach is also in County Sligo — roughly a 45-minute drive from Tobercurry.
Hugh Lane Gallery & National College of Art and Design
Closest stations: Drumcondra | Smithfield
Hugh Lane Gallery and the National College of Art and Design are not right next door to one another, but they are both in Dublin — which is closer than their fictional settings are. Hugh Lane Gallery had a set built inside to resemble Venice’s Guggenheim while one of the studios in the National College of Art and Design was reworked to be Marianne’s loft in Sweden.
Knockmore House
Closest station: Bray
Just south of Dublin in County Wicklow, Enniskerry’s Knockmore House was the stand-in for Marianne’s Sligo mansion.
Image Credit: BBC
Other Normal People filming locations you can visit by train
Normal People filming locations weren’t limited to Ireland. Production also shot scenes for the Normal People show in Italy and Sweden.
Luleå, Sweden
Closest station: Luleå Centralstation
If you want to waltz across the frozen Baltic Sea like Marianne did, head to Luleå in northern Sweden.
Sant’Oreste, Italy
Closest station: Sant’Oreste
Marianne’s Italian villa is located just north of Rome in Sant’Oreste at the Tenuta di Verzano Il Casale.
Stimigliano, Italy
Closest station: Stimigliano
Connell and Marianne’s time spent shopping in an Italian town was filmed in Stimigliano — another village north of Rome.
Image Credit: Element Pictures
What to know about Hulu’s Normal People
Everything you need to know about the 12-episode mini series starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, streaming on Hulu.
Who is in Normal People?
Hulu’s Normal People stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, as well as a host of other Irish and Northern Irish actors and actresses like Frank Blake (Game of Thrones, Bridgerton), Eliot Salt (Slow Horses), and Clinton Liberty (House of the Dragon).
Is Normal People based on a book?
Yes, Normal People is based on the novel of the same name, written by Sally Rooney. This is Rooney’s second novel; her first also got the small-screen treatment in 2022 with Conversations with Friends.
Will there be a Season 2 of Normal People?
It seems unlikely that Normal People will get a Season 2. Like the novel, the series does end on a note of thematic finality. Could there be a Normal People Season 2? There is room to expand the plot; but since the novel is a standalone story, it’s safe to assume that the Normal People show is, as well.
Image Credit: RTE
Where was Normal People filmed?
Normal People was primarily filmed in Ireland, specifically around Dublin and County Sligo. Production hit another ‘I’ country as well: Italy. Filming then rounded out with a stop in Sweden.
What town do Marianne and Connell live in?
In Normal People, Marianne and Connell live in Carricklea, Ireland. You won’t find it on a map of the Emerald Isle, though. Carricklea is a fictional place, filmed in the real Tobercurry (or Tubbercurry, as it’s sometimes written) in County Sligo. County Sligo is in northwestern Ireland, around 124 miles away from Dublin.
Where is the Italian village in Normal People?
The Italian village in the Normal People novel is Trieste, a coastal city on the Croatian border. In the Normal People show, the village on film is Stimigliano while the villa is located in Sant’Oreste — both of which are easy day trips from Rome by train.
Image Credit: BBC
Normal People use the train — you should, too
Download the Trainline app and head to Italy to visit the villa from the Normal People show. While you’re using the free on-board Wifi for a quick Normal People rewatch, check out other great shows filmed in Europe, including:
- One Day
- Welcome to Wrexham
- The White Lotus
- Transatlantic
- Ted Lasso
- Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
- Emily in Paris
Header Image Credit: RTE
