A good rom-com will make you want to fall in love, but a good rom-com that takes place overseas will make you want to fall in love and travel. However, I’m not talking about Eat, Pray, Love, which peddles the myth that traveling business class to Bali will cure your depression. I’m talking about movies that are actually good – movies with three acts, character development, and more than just “Julia Roberts smiling.” That is to say, actual rom-coms. Classic rom-coms. Romantic comedies in far-flung destinations like Italy, Austria, and Brazil.
So, just in case you need some travel inspo, here are some rom-coms that gave us the travel bug. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.
Roman Holiday (1953)
If Breakfast at Tiffany’s made you want to become a socialite and eat pastries in front of Tiffany’s at 6 o’clock in the morning, then this other Audrey Hepburn movie will make you want to travel to Rome. Considered one of the most romantic movies of all time, Roman Holiday follows an American journalist, Joe Bradley, who falls in love with a European princess after finding her drugged and passed out and then taking her back to his apartment. Wait, no, not like that. Anyway, this movie takes its protagonists all over Rome, from the Spanish Steps to the Mouth of Truth, and you’ll want to retrace their steps immediately. Watch Roman Holiday on Amazon Video.
Amelie (2001)
The titular heroine of this movie is an awkward introvert with a big imagination, making her instantly relatable to any romantics in the audience. She’s also Parisian to her core, and spends most of the movie traversing her city, leading viewers past Sacré-Cœur, Notre-Dame, Gare du Nord, and even La Foire du Trône. Amelie’s Paris is one of tragedy and triumph, but it’s also one of romance, and will make you want to kiss sous le ciel de Paris. Watch Amelie on FreeVee.
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
This is more of a rom-com-dram in the vein of Eat, Pray, Love, tackling themes of self-discovery and grief as a beautiful American writer-protagonist uproots her fabulous life. The difference is that this movie isn’t overstuffed with pointless subplots and gratuitous landscape shots, and includes far more details about its setting. In Under the Tuscan Sun, you actually feel like you’re uh, under the Tuscan sun. The movie makes you want to eat spaghetti and fix a dilapidated villa with the help of a crying Polish man and his horny teenage companion. Plus, if you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, then you’ll have some new fanfic ideas after watching Kate Walsh and Sandra Oh play a queer couple. Watch Under the Tuscan Sun on Hulu.
Before Sunrise (1995)
No other movie better encapsulates the feeling of young, budding love in a foreign country. As Richard Linklater’s follow-up to Dazed and Confused, this dazzling, dialogue-driven movie makes great use of Vienna as its backdrop for Céline’s (Julie Delpy) and Jesse’s (Ethan Hawke) epic first date. Literally, this movie’s whole plot is “two pretty young people meet and discuss life for 12 hours, but in Vienna.” That said, it couldn’t be more engrossing. After watching these two strangers turn into lovers, you’ll want to book a solo flight to Austria ASAP. And while it’s not technically a rom-com, per se, it does share some similarities with the genre. Watch Before Sunrise on Amazon Video.
The Holiday (2006)
The idea of swapping homes with someone isn’t so far-fetched now that Airbnb has taken over the planet, but in 2006 it was wild enough to work as a cutesy rom-com concept. And while I think that Kate Winslet’s character got the better deal in this movie’s exchange, it’s Cameron Diaz’s character who will make you want to move to England. The cottage she visits has just enough simple, cozy pleasures to bring rural Southeast England to life. Watch The Holiday on Netflix.
The Way He Looks (2014)
This queer teen coming-of-age flick is not just set in Brazil, but made by Brazilians, so the cultural context is muito authentic. And while São Paulo is not the most romantic place in Brazil by any means – that would be Fernando de Noronha, or Florianópolis – it does bring this movie’s protagonists, Gabriel and Leo, together. You may just want to go there after watching the sweet, visually-impaired Leo fall in love. Plus, Leo has the travel bug, bad, and you’ll likely contract the same condition. Watch The Way He Looks on Amazon Video.
