{"id":919,"date":"2022-11-22T21:56:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T21:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/?p=919"},"modified":"2022-11-22T21:56:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T21:56:38","slug":"road-trip-to-your-favorite-christmas-movie-locations-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/22\/road-trip-to-your-favorite-christmas-movie-locations-in-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Road Trip To Your Favorite Christmas Movie Locations in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tis the season for watching and re-watching our favorite Christmas movies in cozy pajamas with lots of delicious food. I may spend most of my winter trying to run away from the snowy weather but I am a sucker for a snowy holiday season lit with twinkling lights and our little electric fire insert. This year instead of bunkering down all winter I wanted to try and visit iconic locations from our favorite movies. Here is a cross-country road trip that will take you across the USA to the famous locations of iconic Christmas movies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #1. Warren, Vermont: White Christmas.<\/strong> While there is no Columbia Inn in Vermont filled with extravagant musical performances, there is the West Hill House which will give you a snowy Vermont Bed and Breakfast experience and encourages you to cozy up and watch the classic movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #2. Seneca Falls, NY: It\u2019s A Wonderful Life.<\/strong> Although the movie was filmed on a set in LA, the small town of Seneca Falls claims to be the real Bedford Falls. There certainly are plenty of similarities between the two towns, perhaps Seneca inspired Bedford Falls and that makes it a must visit for any Christmas Movie Road Trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #3. Rockefeller Center, New York, NY: Elf.<\/strong> No trip would be complete without visiting what is, without a doubt, the most famous Christmas symbol in the US: The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. Elf is one of the funniest Christmas movies and became an instant classic, so this stop visits where Buddy takes Jovie on their first date. Don\u2019t forget to grab ice skates and enjoy the rink and warm up with hot chocolate afterwards!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #4. Central Park, New York NY: Elf & Home Alone 2.<\/strong> New York is a very popular spot for Christmas movies. Two movies have iconic scenes in Central Park. Recreate the epic snowball fight in Elf at the Pinebank Arch. The Gapstow Bridge\u2019s claim to fame is thanks to Kecvin & the Pigeon Lady from Home Alone 2. You can even spot the Plaza Hotel that Kevin stays in from central park as well. The lobby is for guests only, so you\u2019ll have to make a booking to truly have the Home Alone 2 experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #5. Macy\u2019s in Herald Square, New York, NY: Miracle on 34th Street.<\/strong> The 1947 classic Miracle on 34th<\/sup> Street is set largely at this Macy\u2019s. In fact, you can still ride the original wooden escalator up to visit Santa Clause. Maybe this is where the real Santa listens to nice children\u2019s Christmas wishes before the big day? You never know\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #6. Madison, New Jersey: The Family Stone.<\/strong> As the oldest of 6 we have a wild, weird, fun family and watching the Family Stone is like having our unique bond captured on camera. Walk down Waverly Place and Main Street to visit Rose City Jewelers from the movie. The gorgeous house is located in Connecticut, so unfortunately you won\u2019t see that on this stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #7. Philadelphia, PA: Trading Places.<\/strong> I bet you the usual that you\u2019ll love this stop from the classic movie, Trading Places. The Fidelity bank on South Broad St is the scene for Duke & Duke bank and you have to take a stroll through Rittenhouse Square, where Billy Ray Valentine is caught begging, although I wouldn\u2019t recommend recreating that scene. Even the Winthorpe home can be found here on Delancey St, although it is privately owned so please be respectful if you decided to check it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #8. Cleveland, OH: A Christmas Story.<\/strong> This movie has a unique story and so does the house where it was filmed. In 2004 a fan purchased the house and renovated it to replicate the movie. They offer tours, overnight stays, and they expanded to include the Bumpus\u2019 house next door. Plus, you can visit the Christmas Story museum right across the street. The home is currently up for sale which may change operating hours of visits until a sale is finalized, but you can still drive by and marvel at the leg lamp in the window (It\u2019s a major award you know!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #9. Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, Bryson City, NC: The Polar Express.<\/strong> Who wouldn\u2019t want to put on their coziest PJ\u2019s, drink hot chocolate, and listen to the story of The Polar Express while riding on an actual train? This is an officially licensed Polar Express event and there are several of them throughout the USA. It even comes complete with a visit from Santa who will give each child a very special gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #10. Winnetka, IL: Home Alone. <\/strong>This is another iconic house, but unlike The Christmas Story House, it is not open for visitors. You can still drive by and marvel at this huge mansion located at 671 Lincoln Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #11. Bloomington, MN, Mall of America: Jingle All The Way.<\/strong> I had not watched this film until recently, but the film that stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad has become a classic for many. A lot of this movie was filmed in The Mall of America. While you\u2019re there you can get some holiday shopping done too, you\u2019ll have no shortage of options, it is the largest mall in the USA after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #12. Breckenridge Ski Resort, Breckenridge, CO: National Lampoon\u2019s Christmas Vacation.<\/strong> This movie is the definition of a family favorite Christmas movie, so of course it made the itinerary! Most of this film was set in Chicago according to the script, but the hill that Clark Griswold goes sledding uncontrollably down was filmed on peak 8 at this ski resort in Colorado (on Peak 8, to be exact). Sleds are not actually allowed here, perhaps too many people wanted the Clark Griswold experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #13. Pasadena, CA: The Holiday.<\/strong> I was partial to the English cottage from this movie, but you can\u2019t exactly road trip there. So instead we pay homage to The Holiday by stopping by Amanda\u2019s house. This home was used for exterior shots in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop #14. Fox Plaza Tower, Los Angeles, CA: Die Hard.<\/strong> Last but not least what is potentially the most debated Christmas movie: Die Hard. I have been convinced that it is a Christmas Movie and it needed to be included on this list. It may not make you feel warm and fuzzy staring at a high rise building in snowless southern California, but it\u2019s a must see for any die hard Die Hard fan (see what I did there?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That wraps up (get it? wraps<\/em> \ud83e\udd2d) the classic Christmas movie road trip. It’s a lot of miles to travel for one trip, but if you live near a few of the stops you can make a weekend out of it! Let me know what places you’ve been to from this list or what classic movie stops you want to see added in the comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, I can plan a fully customized road trip for you here<\/a>.<\/em> The options are truly endless and I take every type of budget and timeline into account when designing the ultimate road trip. You can also email me at Taysia@RoadTripPlans.com with your questions or road trip ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Taysia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tis the season for watching and re-watching our favorite Christmas movies in cozy pajamas with lots of delicious food. I may spend most of my winter trying to run away from the snowy weather but I am a sucker for a snowy holiday season lit with twinkling lights and our little electric fire insert. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/roadtripplans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Classic-Christmas-Movie-Road-Trip-Tour.png?fit=940%2C788&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":936,"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919\/revisions\/936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roadtripplans.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}