Last updated on December 22, 2022 by Sophie Nadeau
Year after year, one of the most popular films to watch over the Christmas period is The Holiday. This feel-good flick has been entertaining audiences since 2006 and features an all-star cast. Here is the top Holiday filming locationsplus other fun facts about the Christmas movie.
What is the plot of The Holiday?
The famous film follows the stories of two women from different countries (the United Kingdom and the United States) who want to escape their relationship problems and choose to embark on a home exchange for the Christmas holidays (hence the movie name).
The two women couldn’t live more different lives, with Iris (a journalist played by Winslet) living in a charming cottage in a cute little village and Amanda (a burnt-out Hollywood producer played by Diaz) living in a sprawling LA mansion.
Predictably, the two women end up meeting and falling in love with local men at their respective vacation destinations and the film follows the drama that ensues. The main actors are Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black and Kate Winslet. The romantic comedy
Holiday filming locations
San Marino
Amanda lives Los Angeles is a giant Tuscan-style mansion that almost dwarfs Iris’ country house. The actual filming location is a stunning 1928 property in the town of San Marino, a small, affluent town in California. The interiors of Amanda’s home were filmed at Sony Studios.
Shere
One of Surrey’s most picturesque villages is Shere, located close to Guildford and less than an hour from London. This small village of less than 4000 inhabitants has half-timbered houses, a medieval church and even its own museum, the Shere Museum.
Shere also has its own English pub, The White Horse, which was featured in The Holiday when Amanda and Graham (played by Jude Law) go for a drink.
One of the most scenic shots in the film shows Amanda strolling on a footbridge over Tillingbourne Stream, a waterway that crosses Shere. The village has also been used as a backdrop for films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and The Wedding Date.
Iris lives in a box of chocolates that seems straight out of a storybook. Sadly, the house Amanda allegedly rented doesn’t even exist, although it was heavily inspired by Honeysuckle Cottage, in Holmbury St Mary, near Dorking.
The interior and exterior of the house you see in The Holiday was actually a movie set. The good news is that Honeysuckle Cottage has just been listed on Airbnb for an average of £295 per night and so you can live your rustic British dreams there if you have the funds. Find our more details here.
Windmill at Wonersh
Unlike Amanda’s house, the exterior of Graham’s house in The Holiday actually exists and is located in Wonersh in Surrey. The property is Grade II listed and the village itself is 28 miles south west of London.
Godalming
The village of Godalming was also used for scenic exterior shots of the English countryside and is where Amanda heads to collect food for her cozy cottage. The town itself is also located in Surrey and is a market town with a population of around 20,000.
Cornwell Manor in Oxfordshire
This luxury wedding venue is nestled in the Cotswolds and was used as the backdrop for a scene depicting a romantic date between Amanda and Graham. In real life, this popular property is surrounded by a private hamlet set on 2,000 acres near Chipping Norton.
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