While I haven’t traveled anywhere or written about vacation tips in the past several months, I’ve found entertainment in other forms – through at-home gardening, learning to bake sourdough bread, and, most of all, family movie nights. As I’ve revisited classic feel-good movies that transport the viewer to another world for a couple hours, I have fallen in love with new destinations all over again. Follow along if you would like to see more of this beautiful world from the safety of your own home.

Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris is responsible for my booking yet another visit to Paris, France (one that I recently had to cancel and hope to rebook in the future). The film tells the story of Gil Pender, a man wishing to leave his Hollywood screenwriting behind to pursue a quieter life writing novels. While Gil is visiting modern-day Paris with his fiancée, he unintentionally stumbles across a way to travel back in time to the Paris of the Jazz Age, where he meets several famous artists, including Salvador Dali and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Along the way, you can relax and enjoy beauty of both past and present Paris, Versailles, Giverny, and picturesque streets right along the banks of the Seine.

Notting Hill

London provides a scenic backdrop for this movie, which is named for the neighborhood where the story takes place. William Thacker has his life turned upside down when he meets famous movie star Anna Scott as she is shopping in his small travel bookshop. He falls for her, but can an average British bloke wind up with an American celebrity? Virtually travel through London, visiting places such as the historic Portobello Road and the famous Ritz Hotel, all while munching on some popcorn and enjoying this romantic comedy.

Crazy Rich Asians

Follow along as New Yorker Rachel joins her boyfriend Nick in a trip home to his native Singapore for his best friend’s wedding. Set in some of Singapore’s most famous locations, including the garden-filled Changi Airport, the incredible Gardens by the Bay, and the tropical Sentosa Island nearby, you can enjoy the beautiful destinations as Rachel navigates through the tricky social world of Nick’s ultra-rich family and friends. I have long wanted to visit Singapore and rewatching this movie recently has tempted me to plan a future visit there.

Eat Pray Love

It’s hard not to include a movie that showcases three international locations. In Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert faces a turning point in her life and travels across the world on a journey of self-discovery, taking the viewers along for the ride. Savor the delicious food of Italy, meditate and search for inner peace in an ashram in India, and visit the stunningly tropical Bali, Indonesia. Eat Pray Love is a thought-provoking search for meaning that ties together three destinations and definitely makes me dream about planning another adventure.

Mamma Mia!

Set to a fun, upbeat ABBA soundrack, this movie tells the story of hotel owner Donna and her daughter Sophie, a young bride-to-be. Sophie secretly invites three men from her mother’s past to her wedding, hoping to learn which one is her father. Filmed on the beautiful Greek island of Skopelos in the Agean Sea, this movie made me put Greece on my travel bucket list. If being transported to a place with clear blue seas, island vistas, and fun music sounds enticing, this might be the movie for you.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Journey to the Italian countryside with Frances, a writer who is going through a divorce and desperately needs a change of scenery. On a whim, during her week-long trip, Frances purchases a beautiful old Tuscan villa and sets out to restore it, hiring local workmen and making new friends along the way. Sit back and watch as Frances finds a second chance at happiness while you take a virtual journey from Rome to seaside Positano, and then to the countryside of Cortona, Italy.

While enjoying the beauty of a movie’s setting can’t compare to walking the streets of a new city, taking in the sights, and sampling the cuisine of another country, I’ve learned to appreciate a virtual stroll around the globe. And who knows, maybe you’ll find a new dream destination for your next travel adventure while you relax and enjoy a fun movie!

Has a movie ever made you want to visit a new (or familiar) destination? If so, please share it in the comments below.