Take a weekend break to see the filming locations of The Holiday, Love Actually and Home Alone
Spot real-life festive film locations, like Selfridges in London as seen in Love Actually or the picturesque Surrey countryside from The Holiday
CHRISTMAS films can give some serious holiday inspiration - and the good news is that lots of them are places that are easy to visit.
From the glitzy Selfridges store in London as seen in Love Actually or the picturesque Surrey countryside from The Holiday, you can pretend you’re a film extra… just about.
You can even visit the location of Kevin McCallister's famous family home in Home Alone.
We can't promise snow, Hollywood actors or extravagant decorations, however.
Here are some of the best Christmas film locations you can find in the UK and USA…
The Holiday: Shere, Surrey, UK
It’s hard to lay eyes on Iris’s idyllic countryside cottage in this romantic comedy and not wish you too could house swap.
If you also fancy sharing the magic - you just need to head to the beautiful village of Shere.
It perfectly lives up to the quintessential English country village stereotype required for its American audience.
Geographically it also made sense as Shere is a mere hour from London where the cast and crew were based.
Situated in the Guildford district of Surrey, the pretty village has a population of fewer than 4,000.
In fact, it is so beautiful that is considered the most photographed of all Surrey towns.
Other films to have set scenes in Shere include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reasons and The Wedding Date.
Stay at for £90 per room per night for a twin room based on two sharing in December, with breakfast included.
Or stay at in nearby Holmby St Mary in Surrey with Sykes Cottages from £1,393 in December, for seven nights. It sleeps seven people, which works out at £199 for the week per person.
Love Actually: Selfridges, London, UK
Love Actually is one of the most popular Christmas films of recent years and most of it was set in London.
While a fair few of the filming locations are hard to track down, Selfridges had a starring role in the scene where Harry buys his mistress a gold necklace while his wife isn’t looking.
But the London department store, founded in 1908, has much more to offer than just jewellery.
From homeware and technology to haute cuisine and fashion, the shopping mecca on Oxford Street has it all.
It is the second largest shop in the UK after Harrods.
Other film locations in the film include Heathrow Airport – where the film begins - and Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair - where Peter and Juliet marry.
Stay at the for £110 per night for a deluxe double room based on two sharing in December, with breakfast included.
Bridget Jones's Diary: Borough Market, London, UK
Not quite a Christmas film, admittedly, but Bridget Jones's Diary is set in December.
Bridget’s London home is famously where she dons her festive pyjamas and downs vodka by herself to forget her sorrows.
The cosy flat is located amidst the hustle and bustle of Borough Market above The Globe pub.
We also see Bridget trudge glumly through the market itself after she discovers Daniel Cleaver’s infidelity.
Borough Market is one of London’s oldest and largest food and drink markets and was opened in 1851.
Stay at the , a few minutes' walk from Borough Market, for £124 per room per night for a double, based on two sharing in December.
Another real-life setting is the Cotswolds village of Snowshill where the home of Bridget’s parents was set.
To create the illusion of winter while filming in July, the crew cuts flowers off plants, put up a tree in the village and covered the house with decorations.
Unfortunately, the film location brought the village no fame as an outbreak of foot and mouth curtailed an influx of visitors.
Nativity! Coventry, West Midlands, UK
Nativity! starring Martin Freeman was set in the director’s hometown of Coventry.
In the film, a schoolteacher plots to find a way to get his ex-girlfriend back from Hollywood to produce his class's Nativity play.
Medieval Spon Street was transformed into a winter wonderland during filming, with shops adorned with decoration and wreaths placed on doors.
Over on Priory Street, snow dusted the ground and camels were seen grazing outside the cathedral.
Although the comedy was filmed in September, cold weather and rain helped add to the wintry atmosphere.
Coventry had to be largely rebuilt after 1940 wartime bombing and is the birthplace of the British motor industry.
Stay at for £58 per room per night for a double, based on two people sharing in December, with breakfast included.
A Christmas Carol (1984): Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK
Charles Dickens, the author behind this Christmas tale, first gave a reading of A Christmas Carol in a music hall in the town of Shrewsbury.
It is therefore highly fitting that the team behind the 1984 film adaptation chose the town to film in.
The square features in the opening scenes of the film and was covered in snow.
Interestingly, the grave of Ebenezer Scrooge used in the film can still be seen today in the churchyard of St Chad's.
Stay at the in a twin room with breakfast in December for £60 per night, based on two people sharing.
The Snowman: Sussex, UK
This well-loved classic may have been pencil-drawn and animated but the setting for James’s house is based on author Raymond Briggs’ Sussex home.
When the little boy and the snowman fly up into the sky, they soar over the South Downs and its pretty villages as well as the Palace Pier and Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
The location’s proximity to Brighton has led many to believe James’s house is in the village of Ditchling which lies at the foot of the Ditchling Beacon.
The beacon is the third highest point on the South Downs in south-east England and offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.
Stay at for £120 per night for a double room with breakfast based on two sharing in December.
Home Alone: Winnetka, Illinois, USA
Kevin’s red brick family home is the envy of many moviegoers - and people often question how his dad could afford such a grand pile.
But the property is also a house in real life.
The impressive Georgian style home sprawls over 4,250 square foot and three storeys in Winnetka, just north of Chicago.
The house’s owners, John and Cynthia Abendshien, had only lived in the property for 18 months when director Christopher Columbus asked to film there.
In 2012 the property sold for £1.18million.
Stay at the for £125 per night with breakfast included in December based on two sharing.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York: Plaza Hotel, New York City, USA
Dad’s credit card can get you far in life, as Kevin McCallister finds when he makes the most of his freedom in NYC in Home Alone 2.
The boy persuades staff at the Plaza Hotel that his dad is with him while ordering an ice cream sundae bar on room service and cannonballing into the hotel pool.
Now-President Donald Trump owned the Manhattan hotel at the time of filming and appeared in a cameo role giving directions to Kevin.
The landmark hotel has 20 storeys and has been used as the setting for numerous films and novels.
When it opened in 1907 it was described as “the greatest hotel in the world.”
Elf: The Empire State Building, New York City, USA
Loveable elf, Buddy, tracks down the Empire State Building using a snow globe model in this hilarious comedy.
Buddy memorably compares the “beautiful” buttons in the lift of the 102-storey building to a Christmas tree.
The 1,454ft-tall skyscraper has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The tower’s observatories offer 360° views of the city and are a prime tourist attraction.
It also appeared in An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle. Over 3.5million people visit the skyscraper every year.
Stay at in this of the city from £78 per night on Airbnb.
Sun Online Travel previously revealed the place that you're most likely to see stars at Heathrow airport.