Movies That Made Me Feel Like I Travelled the World
July 25, 2025
Not everyone has the time (or budget) to hop across continents, sip coffee by the Seine, or hike through Patagonia. And that’s okay. Because sometimes, all it takes is the right film to make you feel like you’ve travelled – without leaving your couch.
These aren’t just travel films; they’re immersive, emotionally rich stories that make places come alive. From local alleys to global landmarks, here are movies that gave me the magic of travel from the comfort of my own home.
🎥 1. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Destinations: Iceland, Greenland, Himalayas (Afghanistan)
This one isn’t just about travel – it’s about awakening. Walter, a daydreaming office worker, goes from dull routines to scaling icy mountains and skating through volcanic landscapes. Iceland’s sweeping views almost steal the show. The soundtrack, too, is pure wanderlust.
👉 What stayed with me: That feeling of courage – that maybe, just maybe, an ordinary life can take an extraordinary turn.
🎥 2. Midnight in Paris (2011)
Destination: Paris, France
Set in the romantic glow of Paris, this Woody Allen film is a love letter to nostalgia and the timeless charm of the city. As the protagonist time-travels to 1920s Paris, you’re taken through cobbled lanes, dim-lit cafés, and smoky jazz bars.
👉 What stayed with me: It felt like sipping coffee in Montmartre with Hemingway and Fitzgerald – a whimsical, walking tour of Parisian charm.
🎥 3. Eat Pray Love (2010)
Destinations: Italy, India, Bali
Say what you will, but Eat Pray Love is a feast for the senses. From devouring pizza in Naples to finding stillness in an Indian ashram to romantic sunsets in Ubud – this film is as much a spiritual journey as a travel one.
👉 What stayed with me: The simplicity of enjoying good food in Italy. Honestly, it made me want to book a solo trip and learn how to just… slow down.
🎥 4. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Destination: India
Wes Anderson’s signature aesthetic meets the chaos, colour, and charm of India. Three estranged brothers journey through the country by train, and what unfolds is both strange and spiritual. The backdrop? Rajasthan’s deserts, train stations, temples, and small-town life.
👉 What stayed with me: It wasn’t the India of postcards. It was raw, tender, slightly absurd – and oddly familiar.
🎥 5. Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Destination: Northern Italy
Set in the dreamy countryside of 1980s Lombardy, this film is all about languid summer days, sun-drenched fields, cycling through sleepy towns, and the awkward ache of first love.
👉 What stayed with me: The pace. It was like a European summer that stretches endlessly, with no rush to be anywhere – just feelings, food, and the soft buzz of cicadas.
🎥 6. Into the Wild (2007)
Destination: USA wilderness (Alaska, South Dakota, Arizona)
Based on a true story, this film follows Christopher McCandless as he gives up his possessions and hitchhikes across America to live in the Alaskan wilderness. It’s wild, both literally and emotionally.
👉 What stayed with me: The vastness. It made me rethink how little we really need – and how much the world offers when we unplug.
🎥 7. Lost in Translation (2003)
Destination: Tokyo, Japan
This quiet, melancholic film explores cultural dislocation, language barriers, and fleeting human connection – all against the neon glow and hustle of Tokyo.
👉 What stayed with me: The contrast. The film made Tokyo feel electric and isolating at once. It wasn’t just sightseeing – it was feeling a foreign city in your bones.
🎥 8. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
Destinations: Argentina, Chile, Peru
Based on the journals of a young Che Guevara, this film captures a journey across South America on a battered motorbike. More than geography, it explores class divides, personal change, and landscapes that feel untouched.
👉 What stayed with me: The raw, earthy cinematography. South America looked wild, human, and heartbreakingly beautiful.
🎥 9. Wild (2014)
Destination: Pacific Crest Trail, USA
Based on Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, this film is about grief, mistakes, and redemption – played out on a 1,100-mile hike along the rugged Pacific Crest Trail. The visuals? Breathtaking.
👉 What stayed with me: Nature as therapy. It reminded me that sometimes, the most important journeys are the ones we walk alone.
🎥 10. Baraka (1992)
Destinations: 24 countries, including India, Brazil, Egypt, Japan
No dialogue. No narrative. Just visuals and music. Baraka is a cinematic meditation on the world – temples, rituals, slums, nature, people, beauty, despair – everything in one poetic sweep.
👉 What stayed with me: It didn’t show the world as a tourist – it showed it as it is. Raw. Real. Reverent.
✈️ Final Thoughts
These films didn’t just entertain me – they transported me. They offered a glimpse into other lives, cultures, climates, and mindsets. And sometimes, that’s more powerful than any actual trip. Not everyone has the chance to board a flight, but we all have access to a screen, a quiet evening, and the willingness to see the world a little differently.
So next time you feel the itch to escape – maybe skip the booking site and hit play instead. Who knows where it’ll take you?
