The Odyssey

A real filming location. The Greeks' giant wooden horse, which the film presents as an offering to Poseidon, god of the sea, lies stuck in the sand of this Atlantic beach until the Trojans drag it back to their city. Greek reports add that the beaches of Essaouira were also used for the start of Odysseus' voyage home.

Access · Public beach, free. It is often very windy. Check before you go.

A real filming location, and the first place the film was shot (February 2025). This fortified earthen village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, plays Troy: the production added about 60 temporary structures, including a temple of Athena and the city gates, and about 2,000 extras took part in the burning and sack of the city.

Access · You walk up through the village on foot, and the climb to the top is steep in places. Check before you go.

A real filming location (March 2025). This horseshoe-shaped cove below Nestor's Cave is the island of the Cyclopes, the one-eyed giants: Odysseus' crew lands here for supplies and recklessly sets a village on fire, before meeting the giant Polyphemus. One Greek report also mentions a shipwreck shot on this beach.

Access · Free public beach in a protected Natura 2000 area, with little shade and few services: bring water. Check before you go.

A real filming location: the crew shot inside the real cave, not on a stage. It is the cave of Polyphemus, the one-eyed giant who traps Odysseus and his men; Greek reports say a mechanical figure about 6 metres tall was built inside. Local tradition links the cave to Nestor, the old king of Pylos in Homer's poem.

Access · Seen only from the coast: according to movie-locations.com the cave is not open to visitors. Look for its entrance from Voidokilia Beach; there is no road to it. Stay on the paths and check before you go.

A real filming location. The crew shot here by day and by night, including scenes on the water around the sea fortress, which plays a fortified harbour. Movie-locations.com places at the Bourtzi, the eight-sided tower on the islet at the tip, the palace of Menelaus, king of Sparta, where Telemachus, Odysseus' son, comes to ask for news of his father.

Access · Archaeological site with an entrance fee; movie-locations.com says it is closed on Tuesdays. Paths are uneven and exposed to the sun. Check opening hours before you go.

A real filming location (March 2025). The fortress on the great rock above ancient Corinth stands in for Mycenae, city of King Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks at Troy: it appears in flashbacks of his return home to his wife Clytemnestra. Extras in ancient Greek costume were seen here during the shoot.

Access · Archaeological site with a ticket: €5, reduced €3; some visitors go in free, and everyone does on certain days, such as the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March. Open every day from 08:30 to 15:30, last entry 20 minutes before closing (Hellenic Heritage, checked October 2026), so go in the morning. The paths are steep and uneven: wear good shoes and bring water.

A real filming location (July 2025). This pine forest and its pale beach on the Moray Firth are the land of the Laestrygonians, giants who attack Odysseus' crew: the men land on the shore and walk into the trees. Movie-locations.com also links the forest to Aeaea, the island of the witch Circe.

Access · Open to walkers. From the car parks, the beach is about 5 km along forest tracks; routes are moderate to challenging. Check before you go.

A real filming location (late June 2025). Odysseus and his crew come ashore on this small bay under the cliffs, close to Findlater Castle. The sources do not say which island it plays. From the sand you can see the rusting wreck of the Artemis, a 20th-century ship whose crew all survived.

Access · No road to the beach: you reach it on foot by the coastal path between Findlater Castle and Cullen. Uneven ground, take care. Check before you go.

A real filming location (June and July 2025). The ruined castle on its sea cliff is on Aeaea, the island of the witch Circe, who turns men into animals: her home was built as a set beside the surviving walls, without touching them. Two sets stood on the clifftop during the shoot.

Access · Free parking about 500 m away along a rough track. The ruins are fragile and unsafe to enter, with cliff edges and narrow paths: stay on the path. Check before you go.

A real filming location (late June 2025). The black sand plain around this lonely headland stands in for the Underworld, the land of the dead, where Odysseus goes to face the shades of his past and to hear the prophet Tiresias.

Access · Gravel track from Route 1 to a paid car park (EasyPark app or QR code on the signs). A short level walk to the cave; the path to the top is steep. Strong winds can raise sandstorms: check the weather forecast before you go.

A real filming location (April 2025): a lone rock in the sea off Lipari. Here the ship passes the Sirens, whose song lures sailors to their death: the crew stop their ears and Odysseus is tied to the mast so he can listen without steering toward them.

Access · Only reachable by sea. Check before you go which boat tours pass close by.

A real filming location (April 2025). The two sea stacks, Pietralunga and Pietra Menalda, are the Wandering Rocks of Homer's Book 12, cliffs that close in on passing ships. They are real rocks, not computer images.

Access · Close up only from a boat. The Belvedere di Quattrocchi viewpoint, on the road about 3 km west of Lipari town, looks down over this coast toward Vulcano. Check before you go.

A real filming location (spring 2025). Near the uninhabited islet of Basiluzzo, this tall jagged rock marks the channel where Scylla, a six-headed sea monster, snatches Odysseus' men one by one. The whirlpool of Charybdis on the other side was added with visual effects.

Access · Basiluzzo has no ferry and no dock: the rock can only be seen from the water.

A real filming location (from March 2025), for the exterior only. The old castle on the hilltop is the outside of the palace of Odysseus and Penelope on Ithaca, the home he is trying to reach and where the suitors wait; the interiors were built in a studio in Los Angeles. A pig farm for Eumaeus, Odysseus' loyal swineherd, was built beside the palace.

Access · The castle is abandoned and reached only on foot by a steep, rocky path (30 to 45 minutes). Bring water and good shoes, and check before you go.

A real filming location (March 2025). The crew built a set on this quiet beach near Gialova, closed off the area for days and used a helicopter to bring in equipment, and the Greek press says important shots were filmed here. No source says which part of Odysseus' journey home was shot on this beach.

Access · Public beach with few or no services: bring water. Check before you go.

A real filming location (spring 2025). The crew filmed around this small uninhabited islet between Panarea and Stromboli. One guide says it plays Aeolia, the island of Aeolus, keeper of the winds, who in Homer gives Odysseus a bag holding the winds. The tall rock of Scoglio Spinazzola, where the Scylla scenes were shot, stands just off its shore.

Access · Basiluzzo has no ferry and no dock: you see it from the water on a boat trip.

During the Scottish shoot, the lead actors Matt Damon (Odysseus) and Tom Holland (his son Telemachus) were seen boarding boats in the old harbour of this fishing village. The scene filmed here has not been announced.

Access · Public harbour in a working village. Check before you go.

A production location. This market town at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, south of Marrakech, was used for extra city scenes, according to travel guides citing Movie Locations. The exact streets, and which city of the story they play, have not been announced.

Access · An ordinary town, free to walk around; nothing marks the filming spots.