The Christmas decorations may have gone up and the cupboards have began to be filled with chocolates that cannot be touched until the big day, but is it really Christmas until you've settled down to watch Love Actually?
The interwoven storylines of Love Actually, arguably one of the ultimate Christmas films, explores many different kinds of love, with London acting as the perfect winter backdrop.
Maybe your love for the film has been rekindled by the announcement of this year's Love Actually reunion, or perhaps you're heartbroken at Hugh Grant's confession that he 'hated' filming one of Love Actually's most beloved scenes , or you might simply be looking for child-friendly films you’ll actually love to watch this Christmas, whatever it is, a re-watch of the Christmas classic will always bring comfort.
Here we share all the real life Love Actually filming locations you can actually visit, from the street where Mark declares his love for Juliet, to the Selfridge's where Harry breaks every viewers' heart and buys a necklace for someone who isn't his wife.
Where is Love Actually filmed?
Though a number of scenes were filmed in a studio, the majority of Love Actually was actually shot on location across the city of London. Many of the key scenes throughout the film were filmed in places you can still wander past or visit.
Visiting the locations seen in Love Actually will have you travelling around London boroughs like Notting Hill, Brixton and Putney while also allowing you get some tourist-y photos with iconic London landmarks like Trafalgar Square and Somerset house.
The cards scene
While many couldn't pull their eyes off of Mark's romantic hand-written cards as he proclaimed his love for his best friends new wife, Juliet, all that many could look at was the gorgeous house she lived in.
The iconic scene was filmed outside 27 St Luke’s Mews in Notting Hill. The street itself is incredibly gorgeous, with cobble stone paving and multicoloured buildings lining the row. While visiting the street is an easy task, it is a road that anyone can use, the council has had to ask people not to turn up and take pictures as tourists tend to flock to the area and create disturbances.
The house next door to the one used in Love Actually went up for sale last year, selling for a cool £3 million. The house features three bedrooms, two living spaces, and a party-ready rooftop.
Daniel and Sam’s chat on the bench
One of the most heartwarming and simultaneously heart-breaking love stories in Love Actually comes to a head when Daniel and his stepson Sam have a deep conversation about love next to the Thames.
During the heart-to-heart, the pair are sat on a bench in front of Gabriel's Wharf on South Bank. The exact bench itself is located outside The Wharf Restaurant at 56 Upper Ground, SE1 9PP.
Peter and Juliet’s wedding
While they may not be the couple that everyone is rooting for, we all know that Mark definitely is not rooting them, Juliet and Peter's wedding is truly stunning. The pair tie the knot in Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair on South Audley Street - and the church still hosts weddings there!
Hugh Grant in Downing Street
Is there any scene more iconic than Hugh Grant dancing around Downing Street? Unfortunately, to be the bearer of bad news, it was not the real-life Number 10 that saw those dance moves.
Instead, the film's producers were granted some supervised access to the iconic location but filmed most of the scenes in Shepperton Studios in Surrey where sets were used to recreate the look of the iconic home.
Harry buys the ill-fated necklace
It's the scene that had everyone screaming at the screen. Harry heads to the jewellery counter in Selfridges to buy a necklace for his secretary Mia, who is not his incredible wife, Karen. If you can stand to relive the heartbreak, filming took place at the department store Selfridges on Oxford Street.
Emma Freud, is who the partner of the film’s director, Richard Curtis, revealed on Twitter that they filmed the iconic scene at midnight in the store.
Jamie's lakeside retreat
When Jamie discovers that his wife has been cheating on him, he escapes to an envy-inducing French cottage with picturesque lakeside views. As he attempts to write through his heartbreak, he meets and befriends a Portuguese housekeeper, Aurélia, before the pair begin a steamy relationship.
The real life farmhouse seen in the film is located in the French town of Vidauban, on Chemin du Roucas Troucas. While the building really does overlook the lake and features the exact same rustic chic interior, sadly, it is a private residence and you cannot visit.
You can visit the restaurant where Jamie heads to declare his love for Aurelia though. While the fictional restaurant is located in Aurelia's native Portugal, the real restaurant is actually the cosy Le Bar de la Marine in Marseille. According to the TripAdvisor reviews, it is praised for it's lovely staff, good food and unbeatable selection of beer - what a dream!
