Wes Anderson & The Grand Budapest Hotel
Have you ever heard about Görlywood? If not, this is the little brother of Hollywood just a few seconds beyond the border towards Germany.
You are confused and have no idea why? We will tell you. Görlitz actually is one of the most favourite locations to shoot movies across all genres. Almost every time you will find some film teams and maybe you even will meet some famous actors!
Probably the most famous recent movie that was shot in Görlitz is “The Grand Budapest Hotel“. Yes it all is a big lie, the hotel was never in Budapest! It is an empty compartment store in Görlitz, Germany. Usually it is closed but around two to three times every month it is open for public. The best part about that: You can visit it even for free – there is no entrance fee.
There is a reason for being Görlywood
The second thing about Görlitz that you should know is that it is full of old beautiful German architecture. Most likely you have guessed that already as why else would Hollywood come here? But there is more to that.
For around ten years, an anonymous donator had transferred around half a million Euros every year to the city. This enabled the city to carry out a lot of expensive renovation and restauration work. There were just two main conditions from this mysterious donator. First that his identity must remain secret (which it still is!). Second, the money may only be spent on the renovation and on nothing else.
Young people moving out and old people moving in
Another truth about Görlitz is that a lot of old German people are living here. One reason for that is the lack of perspectives for the younger people who then move to the large cities. Another reason that the cost of living is very cheap compared to the rest of Germany. Due to those circumstances, a lot of old people move to Görlitz after their retirement where they can afford to live in a palace for peanuts.
You best get to Görlitz either by train, bus or car. By car it will take about 2 hours. The train takes around the same and is a great option. You can find more information on the train and bus connections in our article about the best train connections to Wroclaw.
Trip Overview for Wroclaw to Görlitz:
- Distance: around 180km (2 hours) west of Wroclaw
- Get there: Great train connections are available here or alternatively a car will be good (compare rental cars here)
- For whom: Hollywood and movie lovers, people who are into architecture
- Duration: Day trip for a first impression but worth to stay one night!
- Navigation: Just click here to start!
- Stay here: Check out these places to stay in Görlitz – we recommend one night!
