These romance flicks set against heart-melting, swoon-worthy backdrops remind us that we don’t just fall in love with people, but also with places.
Before Sunrise
You never know who you’re going to meet when you’re traveling, and that’s one of purest and simplest reasons why we travel—for connection. As a backpacker, I used to watch this movie before every big jaunt and hope for my very own Before Sunrise moment: I would meet someone a train and we would have this intense, immutable connection that would keep us up all night talking. But I never was as lucky as main characters Celine and Jessie, whose chance meeting on a train leads them to a sleepless night roaming the streets of a glowing Vienna. Nothing much happens—but that’s part of the film’s charm. It’s a quiet ode to a one of Europe’s most remarkable cities, as well as a testament to the magic of human connection. Also check out the follow-up flicks, After Sunset and Before Sunrise.
Stealing Beauty
The plot of this coming-of-age 90s drama is uncomplicated and beautiful, not unlike the rustic Tuscan farmland used as its locale. Follow an ethereal American teenager (Liv Tyler) as she daydreams though the Italian countryside looking for (what else?) love—or at least sex. Even if you don’t fall in lust with the moody characters, there are always dreamy villas and breath-catching countryside to steal your heart. It’s so easy to fall in love in Italy—and with Italy.
Eat Pray Love
This is a story of personal redemption with love as a bonus. Liz ditches her old, gray world for something far more vibrant in Italy, India, and Indonesia, and the world rewards her risk with not only self-acceptance, but also with a handsome Brazilian man. The romance sounds like fairy tale, but the fact that it’s a true story will have expelling wistful sighs and musing, “Maybe I’ll try that.”
Under The Tuscan Sun
Like we said, it’s easy to fall in love in Italy. Follow a down-and-out divorcee as she rebuilds her heart and home on a picturesque Tuscan hillside. The film bounces between lovers and locations, but it’s a journey that will encourage you to be equally spontaneous, in life and in love.
Lost In Translation
This stylized Sofia Coppola flick set in sleek and cool Tokyo is more about unexpected bonds than traditional romance. The film is a soft, doped-up love letter to the tourist-version of Tokyo, and the shiny cityscapes and odd connection between characters will stay with you like a dream you just can’t shake.
The Holiday
It may just be me, but I tune out the LA parts of this movie to focus solely on that adorable English cottage and Jude Law in a left-side Range Rover. Swoon. Practicality and predictability be damned, this romance is sheer escapism—and we love it for it.
Last Holiday
Full disclosure: this remake is highly predicable and silly, but the wintery scenery of the Czech Republic bolsters it up with charm and lovability. Romance takes the B-plotline, which is fine, considering the real message of the film is about falling in love with life and living it to the fullest. And what traveler could argue with that?