The Grand Budapest Hotel. The French Dispatch. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Wes Anderson’s films inspire travel in a different way. Instead of showcasing Europe’s iconic landmarks, he patches together a series of overlooked landscapes, buildings, and characters like patchwork, sewing together an awesome aesthetic that defines his cinematographic style.
Wes Anderson is a one-of-a-kind filmmaker and these Wes Anderson-inspired places in Europe are just as unique.
Image Credit: Accidentally Wes Anderson. Image Location: Angoulême Town Hall, Angoulême, France.
Accidentally Wes Anderson in Europe
Who is Wes Anderson?
Wes Anderson is an American filmmaker known for his filming style, which is heavily focused on striking colors, clean symmetry, and very deliberate scene composition. His whimsical storytelling, dry-humor dialog, and signature aesthetic combine to almost craft its own genre.
What is Wes Anderson’s aesthetic?
Wes Anderson’s aesthetic is so recognizable, even if you’ve only seen clips of his filmography, you’d recognize his hallmark eccentric elements immediately. The locations he chooses, both indoor and outdoor, are distinctively “Wes Anderson”: vibrant color schemes, perfectly framed shots that are often impeccably symmetrical, and gorgeous buildings that are opulent, quirky, and bring a fairytale-like quality to the otherwise mundane.
What does Accidentally Wes Anderson mean?
Something is “accidentally Wes Anderson” when a person, building, or object’s aesthetic is like Wes Anderson’s. The #AccidentallyWesAnderson trend involved Instagrammers photographing real-life landscapes and buildings that looked like they could be featured in a Wes Anderson movie. The trend evolved into the book Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wally Koval, which was authorized by Wes Anderson himself.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Fati Dzarajeva. Image Location: Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
What places inspired The Grand Budapest Hotel?
The Grand Budapest Hotel had several influences, including the Hotel Bristol Palace and the Grandhotel Pupp, both located in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The largest inspiration was the German town of Görlitz, specifically, the Görlitzer Warenhaus department store where The Grand Budapest Hotel’s interior was set.
Are there any hotels like The Grand Budapest?
Yes, even though The Grand Budapest isn’t real, there are loads of grand hotels throughout Europe, including Grandhotel Brno in the Czech Republic. Of course, you can visit the inspirations for The Grand Budapest Hotel, too, like the Grandhotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary and The Savoy Hotel in London.
Image Credit: Accidental Wes Anderson. Image Location: Angoulême, France.
6 Accidentally (and actual) Wes Anderson places in Europe
Trying to fill your feed with as many Accidentally Wes Anderson photos as possible? Here are ten aesthetically Anderson places to start, some of which were shooting locations for his films.
Grand Hotel Evropa | Prague, Czech Republic
Nearest station: Prague Main
A grand hotel in an equally grand city, Grand Hotel Evropa was built in the late 19th century and could easily pass as a Wes Anderson scouting location. Though Anderson hasn’t filmed here, it was a European filming location for other movies like Titanic and Mission: Impossible.
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême | Angoulême, France
Nearest station: Angoulême
The fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé in The French Dispatch had the real-life backdrop of Angoulême. The winding streets may look familiar, but good luck finding The French Dispatch office. The exterior is actually Angoulême Cathedral while the interiors were constructed in an abandoned factory.
Image Credit: Getty Images, Franz Marc Frei. Image Location: Port-au-Patois Harbor, Porto di Ponza, Italy.
Port-au-Patois Harbor | Porto di Ponza, Italy
Nearest station: Napoli, then rail and sail over to Ponza island
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou showcases a number of Italian cities, including Rome and Naples. This port town on Ponza island also gets a special feature in the film, acting as the port that Alistair Hennessey tows Zissou’s Belafonte to.
Pfunds Dairy | Dresden, Germany
Nearest station: Dresden-Neustadt
Some elements of Wes Anderson’s films are too good to be true, so thank heavens that the Mendl’s cake shop from The Grand Budapest Hotel is so real you can taste it. Though there’s no Saoirse Ronan behind the counter, Pfunds Dairy serves up pastries fresh daily.
Image Credit: Getty Images, . Image Location: Plaza Mayor, Chinchón, Spain.
Plaza Mayor | Chinchón, Spain
Nearest station: Estación de tren Aranjuez, plus a bus
More recently, Wes Anderson paid a visit to Chinchón, a town not far from Madrid for Asteroid City. Chinchón’s central plaza used in the film is obviously Instagram gold.
Kenwood House | London, England
Nearest station: Hampstead Heath
Another Accidentally Wes Anderson gem, we could totally see Kenwood House in an upcoming film. Anderson might not have covered it yet, but other directors, like Notting Hill’s Roger Michell, have. Take a gander at the remodeled library with its symmetrical columns framing an oval bookcase and you’ll see what we mean.
The best thing about taking the trains around Europe’s aesthetically Wes Anderson sites? Free Wi-Fi so you can stream The French Dispatch en route to Paris, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou when heading to Italy, and The Grand Budapest Hotel before checking into one of Budapest’s real-life grand hotels.
Download the Trainline app today to buy your tickets.
Header Image Credit: Accidental Wes Anderson. Image Location: Lycée de l’Image et du Son d’Angoulême, Angoulême, France.