Churches and monasteries to film in
71 of them in 20 European countries, 49 with a photo and 13 with practical details the location publishes itself. Search and put three side by side in the locations search.
Cathedrals, churches, chapels, monasteries and cloisters, plus the crypts and refectories behind them.
Where they are
- United Kingdom 13
- France 10
- Portugal 6
- Belgium 5
- Ireland 5
- Germany 4
- Hungary 4
- Netherlands 4
- Greece 3
- Norway 3
- Bulgaria 2
- Croatia 2
- Lithuania 2
- Poland 2
- Denmark 1
- Finland 1
- Iceland 1
- Malta 1
- Serbia 1
- Spain 1
Churches and monasteries in the United Kingdom 13
All 13 churches and monasteries in the United Kingdom, or see every kind of location in the United Kingdom.
Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn
Church & monastery
14th-century stone tithe barn built for Shaftesbury Abbey, its vast timber roof space used as a medieval interior for filming.
Seen in: Wolf Hall
Castle Acre Priory
Church & monastery
Ruined Cluniac priory in a Norfolk village with an ornate carved west front and extensive monastic remains, used as a fantasy filming location.
Seen in: The Sandman
Durham Cathedral
Church & monastery
Norman cathedral of 1093 on a wooded peninsula, with massive incised piers, the earliest rib vault of its scale, a cloister, chapter house and monastic ranges.
Seen in: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Avengers: Endgame, Elizabeth
Ely Cathedral
Church & monastery
Norman cathedral above the fens with a long nave, the octagon lantern tower, Lady Chapel and monastic buildings, used to double for larger abbeys.
Seen in: The Crown, The King's Speech, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl
Rievaulx Abbey
Church & monastery
Extensive ruined Cistercian abbey in a wooded North Yorkshire valley, its arches and undercroft used for fantasy, period drama and documentary filming.
Seen in: Transformers: The Last Knight, Gentleman Jack
St Davids Bishop's Palace
Church & monastery
Ruined 14th-century bishop's palace beside St Davids Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, with a great hall, arcaded parapets and undercrofts, available for filming and exhibitions.
St Paul's Cathedral
Church & monastery
Working Anglican cathedral in the City of London with Wren's dome, geometric staircase and west steps, hired for feature and TV filming through its press office.
Seen in: Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Mary Poppins Returns, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Paddington 2, Wonka, The Diplomat
The Charterhouse
Church & monastery
Former Carthusian monastery and Tudor mansion turned almshouse near Smithfield, its Great Hall, cloister, chapel and square hired for period filming around resident life.
Churches and monasteries in France 10
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Abbaye de Beauport
Church & monastery
Ruined 13th century abbey on the shore near Paimpol with a roofless church, vaulted cellar, chapter house, refectory over the sea and salt marsh grounds.
Abbaye de Daoulas
Church & monastery
Romanesque abbey at Daoulas with a 12th century cloister, church, fountain and a walled medicinal plant garden on a sloping site.
Abbaye de Saint-Michel-en-Thierache
Church & monastery
A Benedictine abbey founded in 945 in Saint-Michel-en-Thierache, rebuilt several times, with a 17th century baroque facade, a central cloister, an abbey church, a chapter house and a refectory.
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Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel
Church & monastery
Abbey stacked on a tidal rock, with a Romanesque nave, Gothic cloister and refectory, crypts, undercrofts and a treadwheel, above the bay sands.
Abbaye du Relec
Church & monastery
Cistercian abbey in the Monts d'Arree with a plain 12th century church, ponds, mill and open moorland around the monastic buildings.
Chartreuse de Neuville
Church & monastery
A former Carthusian monastery near Montreuil-sur-Mer, restored around cloistered gardens, run by an association that rents out its halls for events alongside its heritage and cultural programme.
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Abbaye de Fontenay
Church & monastery
Cistercian abbey founded in 1118 in a wooded valley, with a plain unlit church, cloister, dormitory, forge, bakehouse and gardens, and no modern building in view.
Seen in: Angelique marquise des anges, Cyrano de Bergerac, L'Enfant des loups, La Marquise des ombres
Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud
Church & monastery
Former royal abbey near Chinon founded in 1101, with a Romanesque church, medieval kitchens and cloisters plus an on-site hotel, its own site publishing information for film and TV shoots.
Churches and monasteries in Portugal 6
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Convento de Cristo
Church & monastery
Templar castle and convent complex crowned by the round Charola oratory, with Manueline cloisters and hilltop ramparts above Tomar.
Seen in: The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
Monastery of Serra do Pilar
Church & monastery
Augustinian monastery complex above Vila Nova de Gaia begun in 1538, notable for its circular church and cloister, occupied by Wellington's troops in 1809 during the Peninsular War for its command of the Douro.
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Convent of Jesus, Setubal
Church & monastery
Late 15th century Manueline convent church in Setubal, one of the earliest examples of the style, with twisted stone columns and a vaulted interior, its former convent buildings now housing a municipal museum.
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Monastery of Coz
Church & monastery
Cistercian nunnery near Alcobaca founded in the 13th century, one of the wealthiest female monasteries of the order in Portugal by the 16th century, protected as a National Monument since 2021.
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Monastery of Grijo
Church & monastery
Former Augustinian canonry near Vila Nova de Gaia, mother house of the community that later moved to build the Monastery of Serra do Pilar, left partly in ruins after that move.
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Mosteiro de São Martinho de Tibães
Church & monastery
A Benedictine monastery complex near Braga with a baroque church, cloisters and gardens spanning eight centuries of building history, catalogued as a Portugal Film Commission location.
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Churches and monasteries in Belgium 5
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Abdij van Herkenrode
Church & monastery
A former Cistercian abbey site on the edge of Hasselt with a walled herb garden, monastic outbuildings and a restored gatehouse.
Saint Peter's Abbey, Ghent
Church & monastery
Former Benedictine abbey by Sint-Pietersplein in Ghent with a baroque church, historic cellars and a south-facing vineyard garden, whose rooms are hired for receptions and conferences.
Historic cellar and loft rooms, courtyard and south-facing garden with vineyard, underground parking nearby.
Abbaye d'Orval
Church & monastery
Cistercian abbey near Florenville in Luxembourg province, with medieval ruins beside a working monastery known for its Trappist beer and cheese.
Abbaye de Maredsous
Church & monastery
Neo-Gothic Benedictine abbey near Denée in Namur province, founded in 1872, with a working monastery, cheese and beer production and a visitor centre.
Villers Abbey ruins
Church & monastery
The roofless ruins of a Cistercian abbey near Villers-la-Ville, with vaulted cellars, a ruined church nave and monastic gardens open for shoots by arrangement.
Churches and monasteries in Ireland 5
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Ardfert Cathedral
Church & monastery
A group of three medieval churches near Tralee dedicated to St Brendan, including a 12th-century cathedral with a 13th-century window and a Romanesque chapel, open for venue hire including filming.
Galway Cathedral
Church & monastery
The Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, on Gaol Road on Galway's Nun's Island, built on the site of the former city gaol.
Glendalough
Church & monastery
Early medieval monastic site in a glaciated Wicklow valley, with a round tower, ruined stone churches and two lakes, managed by the Office of Public Works.
Sligo Abbey
Church & monastery
Ruined 13th-century Dominican friary in Sligo town, with a carved altar, cloister arcade and medieval tomb sculptures, open seasonally under the OPW.
St Audoen's Church and Visitor Centre
Church & monastery
Dublin's only remaining medieval parish church, on Corn Market near High Street, with an active Church of Ireland section and a 15th-century tomb monument, open to visitors and venue hire.
Churches and monasteries in Germany 4
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Frauenkirche Dresden
Church & monastery
A baroque domed church rebuilt after wartime destruction, on Dresden's Neumarkt square, with a large sandstone dome and an ornate galleried interior.
Kloster Eberbach
Church & monastery
Former Cistercian monastery in the Rheingau with a Romanesque basilica, a vaulted dormitory, wine cellars and surrounding vineyards, now run as an events and wine estate.
Seen in: The Name of the Rose (1986)
St Michaelis Hamburg
Church & monastery
Hamburg's principal baroque church, known locally as the Michel, with a copper-clad tower, a light-filled nave and a crypt, available for hire outside services.
The church, the crypt (described by the venue as the largest in Northern Europe) and rooms in the 1950s community house can be booked for corporate...
Musikforum Katharinenkirche
Church & monastery
A former monastery church in Stendal, dating back to a 1468 dedication, converted into an acoustically modern concert hall hosting about 50 concerts and events a year.
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Churches and monasteries in Hungary 4
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Pannonhalma Archabbey
Church & monastery
A working Benedictine monastery on a hilltop above the town of Pannonhalma, with a basilica, cloister, library and vineyard, part of it open to visitors and hired out for weddings and corporate events.
Capacity: 268 · Six rentable rooms: the Ceremonial Hall (250 m2, theatre-style up to 268, with microphone, projector, screen and wifi), the Viator centre (120 m2, up...
Szeged New Synagogue
Church & monastery
An Art Nouveau synagogue in Szeged completed in 1903 by architect Lipot Baumhorn, mixing secession, historicist and Gothic Revival forms under a large central dome.
Tihany Abbey
Church & monastery
A Benedictine abbey on a peninsula above Lake Balaton, nearly 1,000 years old, with a baroque twin-towered church, a crypt holding the tomb of King Andrew I and a museum on the monastic community.
Magyar Szentföld-templom, Hűvösvölgy
Church & monastery
An unfinished 1940s reinforced-concrete church in a Buda woodland suburb, meant to unite replicas of Holy Land pilgrimage sites, left as a roofless shell of bare columns.
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Churches and monasteries in the Netherlands 4
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Der Aa-kerk
Church & monastery
A deconsecrated medieval church in the city of Groningen, used today as a venue for exhibitions, concerts and hired events.
Zeeuws Museum
Church & monastery
Regional museum of Zeeland housed in the medieval abbey complex of Middelburg, combining historic abbey rooms with a modern glass extension.
Academiehuis Grote of Sint-Michaëlskerk
Church & monastery
Deconsecrated late-Gothic church in the centre of Zwolle, now a cultural venue with a glass mezzanine floor inserted under the vaulted ceiling for events and concerts.
Grote Kerk Veere
Church & monastery
A large late-gothic former church in the small Zeeland town of Veere, deconsecrated and now used as an exhibition and events space available for hire.
Churches and monasteries in Greece 3
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Aslan Pasha Mosque
Church & monastery
An 18th century Ottoman mosque inside Ioannina Castle, now housing the municipal ethnographic museum, with a domed prayer hall and minaret used for period Ottoman-era scenes.
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Meteora
Church & monastery
Byzantine monasteries perched on sheer sandstone rock pillars rising above the Thessalian plain.
Seen in: For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Toplou Monastery
Church & monastery
A fortified Orthodox monastery in eastern Crete with thick defensive walls, a bell tower and an inner courtyard, still an active working monastery with its own wine and olive oil estate.
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Churches and monasteries in Norway 3
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Lyse Abbey
Church & monastery
The moss covered ruins of a medieval monastery near Bergen, with stone arches and columns around a grass courtyard, listed as a historic filming location by the Western Norway Film Commission.
Seen in: Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Black Widow, Succession (productions cited for Western Norway generally)
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Vinje Church
Church & monastery
Wooden cross-shaped parish church built in 1796 in the rural Vinje valley, seating around 225, with a painted interior altarpiece and carved benches from the 1930s.
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Hamar Cathedral Ruins (Domkirkeodden)
Church & monastery
Ruins of a medieval stone cathedral on a headland by Lake Mjøsa, enclosed since 1998 in a modern glass and steel protective dome, part of a wider open-air history museum site.
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Churches and monasteries in Bulgaria 2
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Boyana Church
Church & monastery
Small three part medieval church at the foot of Vitosha, with 1259 wall paintings, a stone and brick exterior and a walled garden of old trees.
Rila Monastery
Church & monastery
Walled monastery in a forested valley, with striped arcaded ranges on four levels, a domed painted church and a fourteenth century stone tower.
Churches and monasteries in Croatia 2
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Church of St Mark, Zagreb
Church & monastery
A medieval parish church on St Mark's Square in Zagreb's Upper Town, known for its tiled roof, listed by the Zagreb Film Office as an Old Town location.
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Church of St. Donatus
Church & monastery
Circular ninth-century pre-Romanesque church built partly from recycled Roman stone on Zadar's ancient forum, now used as a concert venue for its acoustics.
Seen in: Through the Centuries (per Zadar Film Commission)
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Churches and monasteries in Lithuania 2
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Hill of Crosses
Church & monastery
Pilgrimage mound north of Siauliai covered with tens of thousands of crosses of all sizes, reached by a boardwalk across open farmland.
Pazaislis Monastery
Church & monastery
Baroque monastery of 1667 above Kaunas Lagoon, with a hexagonal church, frescoed interiors, cloisters, guest wings and a walled forecourt.
Churches and monasteries in Poland 2
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Former synagogue, Zarki (MGOK)
Church & monastery
A 19th-century former synagogue in the small town of Zarki, now the municipal cultural centre (MGOK), with power, water and vehicle access offered for filming.
Kościół Św. Wawrzyńca w Mikołowie (Church of St Lawrence, Mikołów)
Church & monastery
A brick parish church in the Mokre district of Mikołów, built in the mid-16th century and rebuilt several times, with stained glass windows in its interior.
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Churches and monasteries in Denmark 1
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Roskilde Cathedral
Church & monastery
Brick cathedral in Roskilde and UNESCO World Heritage site, burial church of the Danish monarchy for over 500 years, with regular organ concerts and cultural events.
Churches and monasteries in Finland 1
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Pirkkala Old Church
Church & monastery
A wooden church built in 1921 in Pirkkala, with an adjoining cemetery, a church boat and a bird observation tower on the grounds.
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Churches and monasteries in Iceland 1
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Akureyrarkirkja
Church & monastery
A 1940 Lutheran church on a hill above central Akureyri, designed by Gudjon Samuelsson with a stepped concrete facade related to his Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik.
Churches and monasteries in Malta 1
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Rotunda of Mosta (Mosta Church)
Church & monastery
A domed parish basilica in the centre of Mosta, one of the largest unsupported church domes in Europe, listed in the Malta Film Commission's location catalogue.
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Churches and monasteries in Serbia 1
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Novi Sad Synagogue
Church & monastery
Synagogue of 1909 by Lipot Baumhorn in yellow brick, a triple nave hall with a dome 40 metres high, now used as a concert venue.
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Churches and monasteries in Spain 1
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Fundacion Carlos de Amberes
Church & monastery
Private cultural foundation in a former 1584 church in the Salamanca district, protected as a site of cultural interest, with its chapel, two exhibition rooms and an auditorium with a dressing room and translation booth.
Chapel, two exhibition rooms, auditorium with dressing room and translation booth, terrace access