My European Vacation

The smell of a salt-kissed breeze along the Amalfi coast, the taste of freshly-aerated wine in the south of France.

Who else is missing the excitement and experiences of traveling? Oh how we tend to take these luxuries for granted. Whether missing some of your favorite places in Europe or wanting to see new ones, it’s been a challenging year.

Thankfully you can still travel without leaving the comforts of your home. “How?” you might ask. Movies! So my gift to you is a suggested list of movies you can watch that will take you on an epic European journey. Some of my favorite movies, either from or about a variety of European countries, will be sure to keep you entertained until we can all safely travel again. This is not an exhaustive list of every great film that has come from or set in a particular country, it simply includes my favorites. It also doesn’t include some of the obvious classics. I hope that by watching some of these movies you’ll become inspired and excited for future adventures!

Here’s my curated list:

Italy

• Il Postino: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Malena: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Bread & Tulips: Purchase on Amazon Prime
• A Bigger Splash: Watch on Amazon Prime
• My House in Umbria: Watch on Amazon Prime

France

• Amélie: Watch on Amazon Prime
• The Women on the Sixth Floor: Watch on Amazon Prime
• A Very Long Engagement: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Midnight in Paris: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Les Diaboliques: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Sarah’s Key: Watch on Netflix

Spain

• The Orphanage: Watch on Amazon Prime
• All About My Mother: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Pan’s Labyrinth: Watch on Amazon Prime

Scandinavia

• Let the Right One In: Watch on Hulu
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Insomnia (1997 Norwegian version – NOT the 2002 American version): Watch on Amazon Prime

Ireland

• The Secret of Roan Inish: Currently included with Amazon Prime
• Waking Ned Devine (although filmed on Isle of Man, UK): Watch on Amazon Prime

Scotland

• Rob Roy: Watch on Amazon Prime
• The Water Horse: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Brave: Watch on Disney+ or Watch on Amazon Prime

England

There are so many to list that showcase the gorgeous scenery, including all of the Jane Austen films of which I never seem to tire. Here’s my shortened list of favorites:

• Jane Eyre (2011 Version): Watch on Hulu
• Miss Potter: Watch on Amazon Prime
• The Duchess: Currently included with Amazon Prime
• The King’s Speech: Currently included with Amazon Prime
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: Watch on Netflix

Fun – Here and There

• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Watch on Hulu
• Spy: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Letters to Juliet: Currently included with Amazon Prime
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Watch on Amazon Prime
• Moulin Rouge: Watch on Hulu
• The Bourne Identity: Watch on Hulu
• Any James Bond film
• National Lampoon’s European Vacation: Watch on Amazon Prime

Next time, I’ll share some of my favorite books.