This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 28, 2020 - January 3, 2021

Films and novels can provide some form of cerebral escape from the daily realities of life, but they no longer need to remain the stuff that dreams are made of. We list six properties that have been made famous — either on the silver screen, in pop culture or in the literary world — that you can pay a visit to or even spend the night.

The stately country house has appeared in several films and television series, with the most notable being the main setting for the historical drama series Downton Abbey and the 2019 film adaptation of the series.

The 5,000-acre estate’s history dates back to as early as 749, when an Anglo-Saxon king granted the estate to the bishops of Winchester. According to highclerecastle.co.uk, the property was previously a medieval palace built by Bishop William of Wykeham. It was rebuilt as Highclere Place House in 1679, when it was purchased by Sir Robert Sawyer, the direct ancestor of the current Earl of Carnarvon. The house was later transformed into the present-day Highclere Castle by Sir Charles Barry, a British architect best known for rebuilding the Houses of Parliament in London.

With over 250 rooms, the historic house and gardens are open to the public for tours at specific times throughout the year. Visitors can explore the main state rooms, some of the bedrooms, cellars and old staff quarters, as well as the Egyptian Exhibition, which celebrates the 5th Earl of Carnarvon’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb.

For those looking for a longer countryside escape at Highclere, the estate has two lodges — London Lodge and Grotto Lodge — that are available for rent. London Lodge has a double bedroom, sitting room, kitchen and bathroom, whereas Grotto Lodge has a double bedroom, each with its own bathroom, a sitting room and a kitchen.

The beautifully restored 18th-century property, recognisable for its mint-green shutters, has appeared in reality television series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and was purportedly the venue for the second wedding of celebrities Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas. According to chateaudetourreau.com, the château’s background dates back to 1612, when the Tourreau family from Avignon acquired the plot of land in Sarrians and built a chapel, along with the first building, in 1614. The château was only built two generations later, between 1750 and 1770, by François Paul Bénézet de Tourreau, based on plans by architect Charles Le Brun. The property survived the French Revolution and came under different owners, who improved on it over the centuries.

While some 850 sq m of the château’s interiors have been restored to their 18th-century glory — furnished with European and Provençal furniture and art — its heating, cooling, electrical and plumbing systems, kitchens, laundry rooms and bathrooms offer modern-day comforts.

Situated amid 20 acres of land, the entire property is part castle and part farmhouse. The former has nine bedrooms to accommodate 15 guests, three reception rooms, a library, a formal dining room that seats up to 20 persons, and an informal dining and kitchen area. It also features an internal courtyard — with fountains, aviaries and jasmine-covered walls — that is ideal for al fresco dining.

Adjacent to the castle, the 950 sq m farmhouse offers seven en suite bedrooms for 14 guests and features a patio offering different spaces to settle around the lawn, olive and citrus trees, jasmine-climbing walls and a fountain. It also has a gym and squash room.

Once home to literary legends and famous Jazz Age couple F Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald, the property today houses The Fitzgerald Museum — the only museum dedicated to the lives and legacies of the Fitzgeralds, according to thefitzgeraldmuseum.org.

Zelda, who was a native of Montgomery, and her husband, Scott, are said to have wintered in the house from 1931 to 1932, and written portions of their respective novels, Save Me the Waltz and Tender Is the Night, during their time here. The property is also the last of four surviving homes where Scott and Zelda had stayed in during their travels across the world.

According to the Fitzgerald Museum, the structure was originally built in 1909 as a single-family home, with bathrooms added later in 1930. When the family moved, the home was subdivided into four apartments and was set to be demolished in 1986 before the McPhillips, the museum’s founders, purchased the property and donated it as the Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum.

The museum is located downstairs while the Scott Suite and Zelda Suite are upstairs and are available for rent on Airbnb. Their listings state that the two-bedroom apartment offers modern amenities, including a full kitchen and bath. The master bedroom has a queen-sized bed, and the second bedroom, twin-sized beds. Guests can also expect a separate living room, dining room and sun porch — all with views of the magnolia tree on the front lawn — as well as access to a complimentary tour of the museum.

The private property is best known as the Stark Eco-Compound — home to Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and their daughter Morgan — in the 2019 Marvel superhero movie, Avengers: Endgame.

Located in Bouckaert Farm, an 8,000-acre equestrian paradise in  Chattahoochee Hills country, filled with well-established rolling pastures, lakes and woodlands that run for 12 miles along the Chattahoochee River, the property is available for rent on Airbnb at around US$800 per night.

The three-bedroom cabin can accommodate six guests and has an indoor fireplace. Guests will have full use of the cabin, porch and yard as well as access to much of the farm for hiking and exploring, according to the property’s listing.

Located less than 30 minutes by car from Atlanta, the property can also be used as a corporate retreat or a vacation spot to take the kids fishing and watch a horse show, the listing adds.

Built in 1895, the 19th-century Victorian property appeared in the 1983 holiday film A Christmas Story as nine-year-old Ralphie Parker’s house. According to historyeveryday.org, the house later fell into disrepair and went on sale in the early 2000s before the current owner, Brian Jones, bought the property over the internet in 2004 and restored it to its movie splendour.

Since its opening in 2006, the property has been a popular attraction and museum on the West 11th Street in the Tremont neighbourhood in Cleveland. According to achristmasstoryhouse.com, the property is open to the public year round for tours and overnight stays.

Guests can relive the movie experience by sleeping in Ralphie’s and Randy’s beds at A Christmas Story House, which can accommodate up to six guests per night. Overnight guests can use the property’s private third-floor loft for the entire duration of their stay, and the whole house from an hour after closing until 9am the following day. The loft area comes with a bedroom, living room, full kitchen and full bath. Sleeping arrangements include a queen bed, queen sleeper sofa as well as Ralphie’s and Randy’s twin beds. Rates begin at US$395 per night and vary with the season.

Just to the left of A Christmas Story House is The Bumpus House — the fictional home of Ralphie’s hillbilly neighbours, the Bumpuses, and their hound dogs. The property’s interior motif is 1940s vintage eclectic with a slightly hillbilly Bumpus flair while still equipped with modern amenities, according to the property’s website. It comprises two accommodations — the “Hound Dog Haven” suite on the first floor can accommodate up to four guests per night while the “Stolen Turkey” suite, which takes up the second and third floors, can accommodate up to six guests per night. Guests can also rent the entire house. The first-floor suite is handicap-accessible, with ramp access and other disabled-friendly features inside. Rates start at US$195 per night.

Across the street from Ralphie’s house is A Christmas Story Museum, featuring original props, costumes and memorabilia from the film, hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes photos, as well as a museum gift shop.

Before the century-old classic Iowa farm property was immortalised in the 1989 blockbuster Field of Dreams as the set for the Kinsella family, it had been the Lansing family homestead in the early 20th century.

The property, along with its legendary field, is a major attraction today, drawing fans of the movie and baseball, sports stars, celebrities and even Major League Baseball, which has announced an MLB game at the site featuring the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees.

Visitors can spend the night in the original Lansing three-bedroom farmhouse at rates ranging from US$500 to US$600, and vary based on time of year and availability. As part of the package, guests will also get to enjoy a tour of the farmhouse and be personally greeted by the Movie Site staff after parking at the garage. Guests will receive a gift basket complete with a Field of Dreams Movie Site Rawlings Baseball, a bottle of wine and two wine glasses, a Field of Dreams DVD with a bag of cheesy popcorn, as well as actor Dwier Brown’s book, If You Build It, which shares his tales of being “America’s Dad” after his tear-inducing performance at the end of the movie.

Apart from home rental, the movie site is also open for home tours, field rental, events and group tours. The field, however, is open daily. According to fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com, admission to the field is, and has been, free since it welcomed its first visitors in 1989 but donations are currently accepted to help with maintenance costs, parking and additional projects owing to the increase in tourists and for future expansions.

Visitors can also pop by The Stretch — a traditional concession stand located on the 3rd base line of the field, where they can find pop, beer, water, peanuts, popcorn, ice cream and other snacks available for purchase — and the Baseballism Field of Dreams Store for memorabilia such as leather baseballs and canvas prints.

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