City-Discovery.Com Celebrates 2010's Biggest Film Moments With Movie Tours

Online, February 16, 2011 (Newswire.com) - With the Academy Awards coming up, City-Discovery.com lets movie fans relive their favorite films by highlighting movie-inspired tours and locations where last year's bestselling films were shot. The tours span across the world from the tropical paradise of Bali (the setting of Eat, Pray, Love) to perennial favorite New York City and its distinctive skyline.

Cinema has long served as a source of travel inspiration even before Audrey Hepburn explored Rome from the back of a Vespa in Roman Holiday. City Discovery's Marketing Director Xavier Hallauer acknowledges that movie-inspired tours are becoming increasingly popular. "Going on these tours and seeing the places featured in the films brings a whole new level of connection for the viewer. The movie and characters become even more real to them."

Undoubtedly, the most talked-about movie of 2010 is Inception. Sparking endless "Was it real or not?" debates, the Christopher Nolan-directed film also gave us surreal views of Paris folding unto itself as well as the more familiar sidewalk cafes and beautiful buildings of the City of Light.

Paris also features heavily in The Tourist, where Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp gallivant around Europe mired in a complicated cloak and daggers plot that culminates in a thrilling chase scene through the romantic winding canals of Venice.

Speaking of complicated plot twists, Black Swan, a fantasy-drama about a ballerina played by Natalie Portman, is set in New York where many other famous movies are set including the sequel to Sex and the City. The movie spotlight is hardly new to the Big Apple. New York City's unique character and skyline also played host to many other classic movies in the past from Martin Scorcese's Taxi Driver and Gangs of New York, Woody Allen's Annie Hall to Breakfast at Tiffany's, When Harry Met Sally and many more.

London is another famous movie location especially since 2010 also sees the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The first movie installment to last Harry Potter novel was filmed in many London locations including Picadilly Circus and Hampstead Garden. Fans can also take a daytrip to visit the English countryside, Lacock Abbey, Oxford Castle and various Harry Potter-specific locations. Oscar-nominee for Best Picture The King's Speech was also filmed in London.

One of the more travel-related films of the past year was the movie-adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir Eat, Pray, Love, where she goes on a soul-searching journey that takes around the world. Her character (played by Julia Roberts) starts off in Italy where she sightseeing in Rome with her newfound friends and travels to Naples for pizza. The story ends in Bali where, of course, she falls in love amidst the beautiful scenery and colorful locals.

The video game-adapted Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time found the perfect filming location in Marrakech where nearby Ouazazate provided the breathtaking valleys and desert landscapes to stand-in for the mystical lands of Persia. The fortified city and UNESCO World Heritage site Ait Ben Haddaou Kasbah was also the backdrop for past films like Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia.

Of course, any 2010 movie list will surely be incomplete without The Social Network. The David Fincher-directed film detailing the origins of Facebook, easily overtook the Inception buzz during the later part of the year. The story starts off in Harvard University, Boston where Mark Zuckerberg created the website that would become the social media behemoth. An audio tour of the campus, recorded by students from Harvard's class of 2007, lets fans peek into the history, rivalries, architecture and student life of America's oldest university through the eyes of current students, professors and local personalities.

Visit City-Discovery.com for more travel ideas, sightseeing tours and activities. Tours can also be booked online with City Discovery Gift Travel Certificates available in four currencies (USD, GBD, EUR and AUD) and denominations between 25 and 500. Gift certificates can be purchased directly from the site.

For featured travel experiences and photos by customers, read the City Discovery Travel Blog and follow City-Discovery.com on Facebook and Twitter.