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Your Favorite 'Game of Thrones' Sets Could Become Tourist Attractions

HBO is considering letting fans tour parts of Winterfell, Castle Black, and King's Landing in Northern Ireland by 2019.
Drew Schwartz
Brooklyn, US
Photo via HBO

Game of Thrones, HBO's flagship series, will inevitably come to an end in 2019, but that doesn't mean the network is quite ready to say goodbye the show's rabid fanbase. There are reportedly a bunch of spin-offs in the works, including a prequel, and the show already has a "live concert experience" touring around North America. Now, it looks like fans will be able to see the show's sets (without sneaking onto them) with a new tourism program the network is planning across Northern Ireland.

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According to Variety, the network is planning to turn a handful of iconic filming locations into tourist attractions, on what HBO calls "a scale and scope bigger than anything the public has ever seen." Although the exact locations haven't been officially determined, the network is reportedly considering letting fans tour Winterfell, Castle Black, and parts of King's Landing, so you'll ostensibly get to take your photo Four Corners-style where the Mountain crushed Prince Oberyn's skull.

Plus, according to HBO, fans will also get to see "costumes, props, weapons, set decorations, art files, models, and other production materials" used during filming, which will probably include a bunch of IKEA-rug capes or whatever. The network said it's also wheeling out "digital content and interactive materials" to showcase the show's special effects, so maybe you'll get to send your annoying younger sibling up in fake flames or something.

Seeing as the show was shot all over Europe, fans already go out of their way to tour set locations like Dubrovnik, Croatia (which doubles as King's Landing) and many of the show's castles in Spain—but HBO has never opened up actual sets to the public or put together official tours. Given that folks will drop cash just to check out a few GoT props, this could be a windfall for the network—and for Northern Ireland, whose tourism authority is working alongside it.

According to Variety, HBO is hoping to get the new tourist spots up and running by 2019—coinciding with the show's final season—and it's not clear yet how much tickets could cost. One thing's for sure: Between this and The Long Night, it doesn't look like the network (or the show's fans) are ready to say goodbye to the beloved series any time soon.

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