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What better way to ring in the New Year than by rewatching (or watching for the first time?!?!?) a Christmas rom-com classic: The Holiday?
In my humble opinion, The Holiday is one of the cutest rom-coms out there because it’s funny, a little raunchy, and oh so cosyyyy! You can’t watch this film without immediately wanting to curl up by a fire in a traditionally English cottage that’s really only available for home exchange. In fact, I think it’s the Christmas treat we all deserve, so why don’t we dive into The Holiday filming locations to find out where we can bundle up all warm with our host’s brother, or where to instead enjoy some winter sun!
Where was The Holiday filmed?
The film takes place in California, USA, and Surrey, England, and you’ll be pleased to know that most of The Holiday filming locations were on site!
Writer Nancy Meyers (“Nancy, we love you”, we all say in unison) wanted to showcase the polar opposites of a winter in LA and a winter in Surrey, as well as the polar opposite differences in Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris’ (Kate Winslet) personalities.
California Locations
San Marino
Amanda’s gorgeous Spanish-style house in LA is a real one located in the small town of San Marino! The exteriors were shot on location while the interiors were built on sets at Sony Studios. The house is located at 1883 Orlando Road, so you can visit it and snap a pic, but be wary that this is a residential area so respect is encouraged.
Image source:Paul Hanaoka / unsplash
Brentwood
Arthur Abott’s (Eli Wallach) house, the wonderfully charismatic Hollywood screenwriter, is located in Brentwood California and was actually the home of Phyllis Diller – a famous American actress – lending it real Golden Age charm.
Unlike the other homes that are part of The Holiday filming locations the interiors of Arthur’s house were shot on site!
Silver Lake Boulevard
Miles’s (Jack Black) mid-century modern home is also a real home located on Silver Lake Boulevard near Los Angeles. The boulevard is home to ten similar builds all by the same architect Richard Neutra.
Image source:Peter Thomas / unsplash
Greystone Mansion
Amanda and Graham (Jude Law) enjoy a cosy lunch date together after having sex once and sleeping together twice. The exterior scenes are filmed in the UK (see below), but the interior scenes of this intimate lunch were located in LA’s gorgeous Greystone Mansion.
The Mansion has been through a tumultuous history starting as a privately owned complex, becoming the site of a murder-suicide, and finally being bought by the city of Beverly Hills to become a park and part of the National Register of Historic Places. The Mansion is also where the annual Hollywood Ball is held, with many celebrity guests attending. Wow!
UK Locations
Shere
This idyllic town in Surrey is where Iris’ charming cottage is set. Filled with small tea shops, unique boutiques, art galleries, and your good ole’ English pub, Shere is just adorable and it’s easily one of the most photographed towns in Surrey because of The Holiday notoriety.
Fun fact: Iris’ cottage was actually built entirely from scratch by the production crew. It was built in an isolated field just outside of Shere, and this is where all the exterior shots were filmed. Just like Amanda’s house, all the interiors for Iris’ cottage were built and shot on sets at Sony Studios. Unfortunately, because it’s a prop, the cottage doesn’t actually exist anymore, but you can visit Shere and get that magic anyway!
Image source:Solveig Smordal Botn / unsplash
The White Horse Tavern
This real pub in Shere is Graham’s favourite local watering hole, and it’s also the location where he and Amanda have their first real date. The White Horse is a historic establishment in Shere and it has that wonderfully classic British feel. If you’re looking for a pint and a warm meal while trudging through a UK winter, look no further than this pub.
Godalming
One of my favourite scenes of The Holiday is the one where Amanda goes shopping and buys ridiculous amounts of food for one. These scenes, as well as the shots of her trying and failing to drive on the left, were shot in the medieval town of Godalming. This is a typical English town with cobblestone streets and wood-beamed storefronts. It’s especially charming come winter time when it snows!
Wonersh
Graham’s beautiful home is located in Wonersh at the real life Mill House. The interiors are shot on sets, but the exterior is real and so lovely to look at!
Cornwell Manor
Amanda and Graham spend a romantic day getting to know each other on the grounds of Cornwell Manor – an old stately mansion that was built in the 16th century. It’s located just 90 minutes out of London in the Cotswolds, so you can easily head out there from your London Explorer to have a cute romantic montage of your own.
Note: only the exteriors were shot at Cornwell Manor – the interiors where they have their inquisitive date were shot in LA (see above)!
