PORTUGAL & HOLLYWOOD TOURISM

Lights, camera, and action! Since the late century, Portugal has been in Hollywood’s spotlight for filming locations. The Westernmost territory packs beautiful landscapes, unforgettable vista points, and picturesque scenarios which are perfect for shooting an American or European movie.

Picture, for example, Roman Polanski’s The Ninth Gate (1999), where Johnny Depp is a book detective and is obliged to track down the authenticity of an ancient book. Alongside the movie, Sintra plays a key role when the protagonist is forced to travel to the outskirts of Lisbon to meet a book collector. With a mystic landscape, astonishing architecture, and mesmerizing rugged cliffs, the fairy tale town of Sintra is the perfect combination for a movie that is shrouded in mystery, deceit, and even the dark arts that Depp has to face.

Another popular Hollywood film is definitely the Night Train to Lisbon (2013), by Bille August, stars Jeremy Irons as a Swiss professor who encounters a Portuguese woman and quits his job to travel to the Portuguese capital, hoping to uncover the resistance against the relentless dictator António de Oliveira Salazar.

If you are an action-paced fan, the Fast & Furious Saga (2023) also showcases the underrated northern towns of Vila Real and Viseu as the ultimate filming locations for speed runs and car chases packed with non-stop explosive action. Vin Diesel and Michele Rodriguez drive along the Portuguese roads and highways, in order to pursuit and take down Jason Momoa, who constantly seeks revenge against Dom’s family. The iconic Douro region and the Vilarinho das Furnas dam (Vila Real) are portrayed as dramatic and scenic landscapes that offer a stunning backdrop, worthy to invite you to travel to the northern region.

Recently, Poor Things (2024) was just awarded with 4 Oscars and portrays, once more, an idyllic and utopian Lisbon. Emma Stone meanders through the alleys of Lisbon, in order to learn more about the world, the townsfolk, and the country’s culture. We can observe the historical Terreiro do Paço, the yellow trams, and even the Castle of São Jorge, while the custard tarts are somewhat advertised throughout the movie. Stone even confessed she had to eat at least 60 custard tarts for a few shots. Undoubtedly, film tourism is becoming quite trendy nowadays, and Hollywood is betting more in European capitals such as Paris, London, and Madrid. Portugal as an ever-growing tourism destination starts to show on Hollywood’s radar due to its bucolic and picturesque landscapes. 

Not only do American companies and directors wish to shoot in Portugal, but the country also exports a range of quality actors and actresses who are quite popular in the United States of America. Names such as Joaquim de Almeida who already starred in the Fast & Furious Saga; Daniela Ruah whose name appeared on the credits of the crime TV show NCIS: Los Angeles as well as Albano Jerónimo in Vikings: Valhalla, a Netflix show; or even the upcoming Portuguese star Daniela Melchior and her participation in Suicide Squad and lent her voice to the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

As a popular and welcoming tourist destination, known for its wine regions, excellent gastronomy, breathtaking landscapes, and quaint little towns, Portugal is running for stardom in the Hollywood industry, where cities such as Lisbon and Sintra are depicted for their scenarios where crime could happen, a mystery to be solved or simply visiting historical squares and landmarks without leaving your comfortable sofa.