Game of Thrones scouting palaces in Spain for season 5

As announced on Wednesday, Game of Thrones may be headed to Spain this year for filming, and according to the most recent reports, it sounds like the show is zeroing in on locations for shooting the show’s fifth season.

Early reports from the country this week indicated interest in Málaga, with Carlos Rosado, president of the Andalusia Film Commission, telling Diario Sur that representatives from the show had been visiting for months, searching much of Andalusia, including the province of Málaga, for locations based on the needs of the scripts.

Now, ABCdesevilla is reporting that Game of Thrones has been considering using the Alhambra in Granada, but attentions have also shifted to include the Alcázar in Seville and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos in Córdoba. Film commission president Rosado cited the positive impact that GoT would have on the Andalusian economy, bringing in approximately 80 million euros should the show officially confirm shooting in the region.

The Alhambra of Granada, a palace over a thousand years old designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, features Moorish architecture with pools and detailed artwork throughout the fortress.

The Alcázar of Seville, another World Heritage Site, is a Moorish-built castle from the 1300’s. The palace’s courtyard (pictured above) was used in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven as part of the King of Jerusalem’s castle.

The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos of Córdoba, a medieval castle built next to the Guadalquivir River by Visigoths and rebuilt by emirs of the Umayyad Caliphate, was a main residence of Ferdinand and Isabella. The palace includes gardens with pools and Gothic-ceiling towers.

Ours is the Fury: It’s clear at this point the show is looking for the Dornish center of the Martell clan. In the A Song of Ice and Fire series, the seat of Dorne is the walled settlement of Sunspear, and the Great House’s private family home is the nearby Water Gardens, a palace filled with gardens, fountains and pools, located on the coast. The Water Gardens have been referenced on Game of Thrones in “First of His Name,” as the place where Prince Oberyn last saw Myrcella Baratheon playing with his daughters. Any of the three alcázars would be a beautiful shooting location for the gardens and pools, and the fortress walls and towers would do nicely for the portions of Sunspear that factor into the plot.