The Game of Thrones filming locations – in Iceland, Northern Ireland, Croatia, Spain, Malta, and Morocco – are well known, and have all become tourist hot-spots. You can visit Winterfell in County Down, the Bloody Gate in Iceland, the Red Keep in Croatia, or Dorne Palace in Spain. But one place you will not expect to find Westeros is in San Antonio, Texas.
In early 2020, Game of Thrones fans were still reeling from what is widely considered one of the worst series finales in TV history (given how popular and successful the series was as a whole). And this was the moment when a San Antonio developer presented his new housing community Archer Oaks.
And the community is full of street names which refer to Game of Thrones. There’s a Westeros Path, or you could live on Winterfell – if you want to align yourself with House Stark. The developer is a particular fan of Maisie Williams’ Arya, because there’s an Arya Way and a Needle Creek, referring to Arya’s trusty sword given to her by Jon Snow (Kit Harington).
While the residents of Archer Oaks may have been slightly embarrassed living in their Game of Thrones community for a couple of years, it’s now become cool again after the release of House of the Dragon. Most fans are saying; “all is forgiven” and have flocked back to Westeros in droves.
Maisie Williams will surely be honoured that Arya is acknowledged, as she recently re-watched the whole series and said; “for the first time, it feels good to be proud of it. It was 10 years of my life.”
Obviously everyone now has an agonising wait until House of the Dragon season 2. But in the meantime, you can brush up on the House Targaryen family tree.