Six TV series to inspire your next getaway from European wine villages to exotic islands
OFF THE BOX Six TV series to inspire your next getaway from European wine villages to exotic islands
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
ARE you struggling to think of where to go on your next holiday?
How about getting inspired from your favourite TV show?
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
14
Emily in Paris has given every fan a number of TV hot spots to find in the French capital
Credit: GIULIA PARMIGIANI/NETFLIX
14
White Lotus season three was filmed on Koh Samui
Credit: HBO
Whether you're a fan of the sun or want more of an active holiday, there are TV shows that have seen it all.
Here are the top six TV shows that have us wanting to book a getaway ASAP, from tiny villages in Portugal to beautiful vineyards.
White Lotus
Aside from the murder, weird goings on and strange guests at the White Lotus resort, it's an incredibly enviable holiday destination.
The very first season starring Jennifer Coolidge and Sydney Sweeney was filmed in the stunning Four Seasons resort in Hawaii.
For season two, they moved production to the Four Seasons San Domenico Hotel in Taormina, Sicily.
As for season three, it returns with eight episodes on February 16, 2025, where they filmed at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui.
Koh Samui is a small island off the east coast of mainland Thailand making it the best place for diving and snorkelling.
The stunning desert paradise offers hillside villas, pools overlooking the ocean and personal residential assistants to help guests with whatever they need.
The fastest way to get to Koh Samui is by flying to Samui International Airport (USM). You can fly from Bangkok, the UK, or other cities in Thailand.
There are lots of attractions on the island, from a sunset cruise to visiting the Big Buddha Temple.
You can stay in these six holiday homes from TV & Film
14
The fastest way to get to Koh Samui is by flying to Samui International Airport
Credit: HBO
14
The series is set in the luxurious Four Seasons Resort
The Good Ship Murder
Much of the filming for this Channel 5 drama took place on the MSC Virtuosa, a cruise ship operating out of Southampton.
The ship is used for all the location shots while still carrying fee-paying passengers.
While there are a few murders, much of the show has a stunning backdrop because the majority is filmed in Malta.
The island country in the Med is the perfect place for a getaway and there are plenty of filming hot spots to hit if you're a fan of the series too.
Filming has previously taken place in the church in the village of Mellieha, Imġiebaħ Bay, St Christopher's Street, the Upper Barrakka Gardens, Victoria Gate which are all in Valletta, the country's capital.
14
The Good Ship Murder films on an actually cruise ship that goes out of Southampton
Credit: Channel 5
14
The majority of filming in series one took place in Malta's capital city, Valletta
Credit: Alamy
Love Island: All Stars
Reality fans are glued to the current Love Island series, but we're obsessed with the villa from Love Island: All Stars on ITV2.
In the backdrop of the Franschhoek winelands is the beautiful villa, Ludus Magnus.
If you don't need a resort, there are lots of apartments for rent around Franschhoek, which is an hour drive outside of South Africa's capital of Cape Town.
Franschhoek is known for being one of the most beautiful wine villages in the world and stands out as the premier wine and food region of South Africa.
There are lots of opportunities to explore the winelands and the neighbouring mountains by horse or tram.
14
The Ludus Magnus villa is in the Franschhoek winelands of South Africa
Credit: ITV
14
Franschhoek is an hour drive outside of South Africa's capital, Cape Town
Credit: Getty
Emily in Paris
Luckily for us, a trip to Paris is pretty easy thanks to the Eurostar. Emily and her French pals have given us plenty of places to check out.
From the Bistro Terra Nera which doubles as Gabriel's Restaurant. Emily's go-to bakery is La Boulangerie Moderne, and her famous apartment is just around the corner on Place de l'Estrapade.
As fans know, in season four, the characters ventured out of Paris and went to the French Alps.
They stayed in the Haute-Savoie town of Megève which is the perfect place for a skiing break.
14
You can visit Emily's favourite haunts in Paris like the Bistro Terra Nera which doubles as Gabriel's Restaurant
Credit: © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
14
The French town of Megève, Haute-Savoie is perfect for a skiing holiday
The Split: Barcelona
The Split spin-off in Barcelona aired its finale in December 2024. If you couldn't stop checking out the beautiful scenery, then make sure to book a trip to the Spanish capital.
The characters are reunited at a wedding that takes place in a vineyard - one you can go to.
The Torre del Veguer vineyard is in Sant Pere de Ribes. The vineyard is located about an hour and a half's drive from Barcelona.
The vineyard offers lots of activities from yoga and wine sessions, wine pairing experiences and a tours of the vineyard which come before a wine tasting.
14
The Torre del Veguer vineyard is in Sant Pere de Ribes
Credit: BBC
14
The vineyard offers lots of activities like yoga and wine sessions
Credit: PA
House of the Dragon
The Game of Thrones spin-off used so many locations to create the other world of Westeros.
A lot of the backdrop you see is actually filmed in Wales and Cornwall, but there are a few of locations outside of the UK too.
Monsanto in Portugal doubles for Dragonstone, the ancestral home for House Targaryen, one of the forty dragonlord families, in the first season.
The village is perched on top of a hill is famous for its ancient castle, boulders and is considered one of the most picturesque villages in Portugal.
If you fancy a stay in the village, there are some charming Airbnb's available to rent for as little as £80 per night.
14
Monsanto in Portugal doubles for Dragonstone, the ancestral home for House Targaryen
Credit: Home Box Office
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Fantastic low and no-alcohol fizz
In April I took my 16-year-old stepdaughter south to see the cherry trees bloom. Not so far south — just to Mei Ume, the Japanese restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in London. Handcrafted paper cherry blossoms sprouted from the light fixtures in the elegant, high-ceilinged room, with its Chinese and Japanese art on the walls to match the blend of those two countries' cuisines on the menu. For Cherry Blossom Season, the head chef Peter Ho had concocted a series of delicious small plates, matched to cocktails based on Saicho Sparkling Tea. Mine contained Saicho Hojicha (a green tea made smoky by roasting over charcoal), as well as Hennessy XO and Grand Marnier. Nora, being slightly younger, had a mocktail with Saicho Jasmine, green apple puree and vanilla. Mine was good but hers, with the bite of that apple and the perfumed NoLo fizz, was better — and I don't even much like vanilla. • This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue This was a revelation. I already knew I liked the Saicho drinks (£17.99, — adding bubbles to the delicate aromas and structured tannins of good tea is a brilliant idea. A recent dinner with the teens involved us all sharing a magnum of Fortnum & Mason's Sparkling Tea (£45, Its lemon-peel and thyme flavours were a great complement to one-pot Basque chicken and, especially, an orange, fennel and radish salad. And pouring a magnum for four is a lot more fun than sharing a bottle between two while the young people dissolve their teeth in sugar-loaded soda pop. I am not giving up alcohol any time soon. But there is, as Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger points out, a pleasure balance. She is the co-creator of French Bloom, one of the best non-alcoholic sparkling wines on the market. She has made canny use of fine chardonnay grapes from Limoux in the Languedoc and of the Champagne expertise available via her husband, Rodolphe Frerejean-Taittinger, who heads Champagne Frerejean Frères. There is even, now, a vintage French Bloom, La Cuvée 2022 (£95, Frerejean-Taittinger has made it her mission to create a sparkling no-alcohol drink from grape juice that is as pleasurable as a champagne. She doesn't think they are quite there yet. 'We hope, in five to seven years, to be able to share a bottle with as much complexity as a wine,' she said at Women in the World of Wine, a conference on the future of wine (alcoholic and otherwise), held last autumn at the sumptuous Royal Champagne & Spa hotel. I'm sure she will get there. But my assumption has always been that for real complexity, alcohol helps. That Saicho experience made me think again. I experimented with a mocktail of my own: a version of one of my favourite cocktails, the kir royale, champagne and crème de cassis. A slug of Jukes 6 — The Dark Red (£43 for 9x30ml bottles, a savoury black-fruit cordial that is part of the Jukes Cordialities range, topped up with French Bloom's Le Rosé. It was lovely, softly floral with just a touch of blackberry acidity. After all, the only necessary beverage is water. Everything else is a luxury, intended to elicit the same sensations of delight as gazing at the ephemeral loveliness of cherry blossom. Pleasure is meant to be temporary. It's the memory that lasts — or at least, it does when the drink is alcohol-free.
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Donald Trump 'caught cheating' at his Scottish resort as caddie moves ball for him
A video has emerged from Donald Trump's golf course in Scotland appearing to show a caddie dropping a ball for the US President on the fairway as he played a shot Donald Trump has found himself embroiled in another golfing scandal after footage emerged seemingly showing a caddie dropping a ball for him during a round in Scotland. While on a European trip and visiting his golf resorts, the US President was caught on camera playing at Turnberry when it appeared one of his caddies may have overstepped the mark to help him. The video, shot from within a nearby building, captures Trump arriving by golf cart on the left side of the fairway. With a bunker and some light fescue between him and the green, as he stopped, two caddies walked past – with one seemingly pausing to place a ball in front of Trump. The 79 year old exited the cart, golf club in hand, and approached the newly positioned ball, seemingly ready to take his next stroke. The clip concludes before he takes the swing. the Express. "Who needs a foot wedge when you have a personal ball dropper? ? ?" joked one user on X, previously known as Twitter. Another user humorously suggested, "Him and Kim Jong Un would be INSANE scramble partners." A self-proclaimed PGA professional chimed in with, "Such a perfect metaphor for our Commander-in-Cheat." Some social media users playfully admired the incident. "Wild... Looks like I need these fellas as Caddies with the way I hit it anymore," one comment read. This is not the first instance of Trump being accused of bending the rules on the golf links. Is Donald Trump a cheat on the golf course? Earlier this year, Samuel L. Jackson, the esteemed actor, alleged that Trump had cheated during a game they played together. When queried about who was the better golfer, Jackson confidently stated: "Oh, I am, for sure. I don't cheat." Trump has since refuted the claims of having played with the 'Pulp Fiction' star, asserting on social media that such a game never took place. Actor Anthony Anderson has echoed similar sentiments. During an appearance on 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' in 2016, Anderson remarked, "Trump is a great golfer. I'm not going to say Trump cheats. His caddy cheats for him." When pressed for details on whether he witnessed Trump cheating, Anderson affirmed: "Oh yes, several times. Several times." He recounted an occasion where both he and Trump had poor tee shots. "Trump hit the exact same shot but went 20 yards further left than mine," he explained. "I couldn't find my ball in this trash. Trump's ball had the fluffiest lie in the middle of the fairway." Anderson concluded: "Like I say, I didn't see Trump cheat because he was on the tee-box with me, but his ball was right there in the middle of the fairway." Sportswriter Rick Reilly has delved into these allegations, asserting in 2019 that Trump frequently manipulated his ball's position and even took credit for others' shots. In an article for The Sunday Times, Reilly revealed that Trump's caddies had even dubbed him "Pele" due to his frequent ball-kicking antics. "To say Donald Trump cheats is like saying Michael Phelps swims," he penned. "Trump doesn't just cheat at golf. He cheats like a three-card monte dealer. "He throws it, boots it and moves it. Whether you're his pharmacist or Tiger Woods, if you're playing golf with him, he's going to cheat."
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Your car isn't ready for Europe's deadly heatwaves, warns expert
An motoring expert has warned that Brits need to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of both their vehicle and passengers in heatwave conditions As millions of holidaymakers head to Europe for the summer, many fail to consider the risks extreme heat poses on both vehicles and passengers. While heatwaves across the UK and EU are causing vehicles to overheat and a surge of heat-related incidents that are leaving drivers scrambling. Mattijs Wijnmalen, CEO of Tollwayr and European road travel expert, warns that traditional road trip preparation is insufficient during heatwave conditions. According to Mattijs: "We're seeing temperatures that would have been considered exceptional just a decade ago becoming the new summer norm across Europe." "Drivers who've completed the same routes in previous years are finding themselves in genuinely dangerous situations because the rules have fundamentally changed," he explains. When temperatures exceed 35C, even well-maintained cars face increased risk of overheating, as well tire blowouts and electrical system failures. Air conditioning systems can also fail at these times when they are most needed. Extreme heat also affects road surfaces, making asphalt soft and unstable, which increases stopping distances and reduces tyre grip. Some motorways have even experienced dangerous surface cracking and rutting. Car passengers and drivers are also not immune to the dangers of extreme heat. Heat exhaustion and dehydration impair driver judgment and reaction times, with studies showing cognitive performance declining at temperatures above 27C inside vehicles, well before drivers recognise the symptoms. To ensure you and your vehicle are heatwave ready, ensure to test your cooling system and tire pressure before long journeys. You should reduce your tire pressure by 2-3 PSI below manufacturer recommendations to prevent dangerous blowouts caused by dramatically increased tire temperatures on hot road surfaces. That said, tire pressures should remain within safe operating limits. In addition to a standard emergency kit, you should also pack electrolyte replacement drinks, cooling towels, a battery-powered fan, emergency shade materials, and additional water reserves (minimum 4 litres per person). To avoid getting stuck in traffic under the sun, avoid driving during peak heat hours (11am to 4pm) and try to stick to coastal and higher-altitude routes which provide 5-10°C temperature relief compared to inland valley routes. "Heatwaves are no longer exceptional weather events—they're becoming the standard European summer experience. Drivers who approach summer road trips with the same preparation they used five years ago are genuinely putting themselves and their families at risk," says Mattijs. 'Successful heatwave road trips require the same level of preparation as winter mountain driving—different hazards, but equally serious consequences for the unprepared. "The difference is that heat-related vehicle failures often occur in remote areas with limited mobile coverage, making self-sufficiency absolutely critical," he concludes.
