- Travel insurance experts at InsureandGo have revealed which cities are most mentioned in films
- Paris beats Hollywood, with the French capital garnering the largest number of on-screen references
- U.S. cities make up over half of the top 20 most mentioned destinations, with nearly 71,000 movie quotes between them
- London gets the most on-screen mentions out of any UK city
Popular movies often serve as travel inspiration, their way of portraying everything from busy streets to historical landmarks enticing us to explore new destinations. But which places around the world does Hollywood love to talk about the most?
Using QuoDB’s film quote database, InsureandGo has compiled a list of cities across the globe and analysed how many times each location has been mentioned in movies across different genres since 1892, to reveal the cinematic hotspots the silver screen can’t get enough of.
According to the research, screenwriters have a penchant for inserting US cities in dialogue, from San Francisco all the way to Dallas, but no destination gathers more attention than Paris, in first place with over 33,000 mentions in movies.
Top 20 Most-Mentioned Cities in Movies
| Rank | City | Country | No of mentions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris | France | 33,078 |
| 2 | London | United Kingdom | 30,624 |
| 3 | Rome | Italy | 16,371 |
| 4 | Chicago | United States | 13,328 |
| 5 | Boston | United States | 8,742 |
| 6 | Los Angeles | United States | 8,389 |
| 7 | Berlin | Germany | 8,300 |
| 8 | Tokyo | Japan | 8,273 |
| 9 | Miami | United States | 8,058 |
| 10 | Sydney | Australia | 7,785 |
| 11 | Hong Kong | China | 7,221 |
| 12 | San Francisco | United States | 6,548 |
| 13 | New York City | United States | 5,138 |
| 14 | Seattle | United States | 4,426 |
| 15 | Dallas | United States | 4,132 |
| 16 | Houston | United States | 4,066 |
| 17 | Las Vegas | United States | 3,958 |
| 18 | New Orleans | United States | 3,674 |
| 19 | Vienna | Austria | 3,613 |
| 20 | Milan | Italy | 3,567 |
1. Paris, France
Leading with 33,078 mentions, Paris is the most quoted city in movie history, and the only French location in the top 20 rankings. “We’ll always have Paris” from the 1942 movie Casablanca marks one of the most iconic lines of the silver screen, but it’s not alone in honoring the city of love. Films like Pulp Fiction (1994), Good Will Hunting (1998), Inception (2010), and the beloved animation Ratatouille (2007) all reference France’s capital, making it a lasting cultural reference.
Considering the city is widely regarded as the birthplace of cinema, holding the first public film screening in 1895, Paris is a must-visit for cinephiles. Europe’s largest cinema with Art Deco architecture, Le Grand Rex, has its home in the 2nd arrondissement, the prestigious Paris International Film Festival is hosted in the second week of February, and dozens of walking tours are dedicated to guiding visitors across the same paths as their favourite characters from the likes of La La Land, Amélie, and Moulin Rouge!
2. London, UK
London follows as the most mentioned UK location in the top 10, featuring in films all the way back to 1897, with the silent short film Death of Nancy Sykes being one of the first recorded remarks of the city in motion pictures. Since then, the UK capital has been a muse for filmmakers. James Bond has a major set in London’s MI6 headquarters, DC’s Wonder Woman portrayed by Gal Gadot sails under the London Bridge, and for the young ones, Paddington’s misadventures can be relived all over.
There’s no shortage of genres that allude to the Royal Family’s stomping grounds: London is referenced 13,032 times in drama titles, 8,637 in crime and mystery movies, and 6,936 in comedy.
Despite most cities being mentioned primarily in dramas, UK cities stand out with a stronger comedic presence. For example, Sheffield is hinted at 1,052 times in films, with over half of those (650) being in a comedy. Same for the city of Newport, with 442 mentions in a comedy, as well as Dundee, where out of the total 153 quotes that reference the city, 150 are in comedy movies.
3. Rome, Italy
Wrapping up the top three is none other than Rome, continuing Hollywood’s love affair with European capitals. The birthplace of the Roman empire is quoted over 16,000 times in films, helping develop crucial storylines.
2013’s The Great Gatsby announces Nick Carraway lived like a young prince in all the capitals of Europe, Rome included. While Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls (2004), offers a history lesson: “(…) people totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar, and when did it become okay for one person to be the boss of everybody because that’s not what Rome is about!”
Indeed, Gretchen was right, that is not what Rome is about. The Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, a stroll through the Villa Borghese gardens close to the Spanish Steps, all often serve as cinematic backdrops, and are much more synonymous with Rome, in person and on the big screen.
From then on, American cities dominate the rankings, with Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles taking the fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively, and Miami coming in ninth. With 11 cities making the top 20 list, the United States takes center stage, its locations a staple in film dialogue and spanning genres from drama to action, and everything in between.
Surprisingly, New York City is found further down the list in 14th place, despite being one of the most recognisable movie sets worldwide. While it gives audiences everything from festive nostalgia in Home Alone 2 to superhero action in Spider-Man, the Big Apple gains less mentions than cities like Miami and San Francisco, though that does little to deter its star status.
And while U.S. cities shape much of Hollywood’s storytelling, Berlin, Tokyo, and Sydney manage to land in the top 10, the first entries for Asia and Oceania.
Letitia Smith, Head of Communications at InsureandGo comments: “Whether our study has inspired you to recreate a romantic moment at a Paris café, explore Tokyo streets that were once movie settings, or experience Miami just like James Bond, it’s crucial to remember that not every trip follows the perfect plot.
“Unlike the movies, your adventures can face disruption – from lost luggage to a medical emergency. Comprehensive travel insurance makes sure you are protected on your trip, so you can create memories fit for a blockbuster and enjoy your destination worry-free.”
For further information on travel insurance, visit: https://www.insureandgo.com/travel-insurance/
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Methodology:
InsureandGo compiled a list of 301 cities across the world and, using the QuoDB database (https://www.quodb.com/), how many times each place has been mentioned in movies since 1892, along with which genre they were mentioned most in, was tallied. 25 cities were removed from the final list due to their name being skewed by other popular terms (e.g. Florence, city in Italy, and Florence, an individual’s name). The resulting list was ordered by number of mentions from high to low, thus ranking the most quoted cities in movie history. Data correct as of November 2024.