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How many times have you packed and unpacked your suitcase this year? With ongoing limitations and lockdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic, the summer of 2020 has been a particularly frustrating one for travel lovers, and fall doesn't look much different. But all hope is not lost. Thanks to the transporting power of movies and the ability to stream them from the comfort of your sofa, you can go there — at least virtually — while you wait out the pandemic. Check out these 15 top vacation destinations and the movies that will take you there.
If you wish you were headed to: The French Riviera
Watch this instead: To Catch a Thief (1955)
Few places in the world are more glamorous than the sun-soaked French Riviera. But Alfred Hitchcock manages to up the ante by tossing Cary Grant and Grace Kelly into the mix. Filmed in Cannes and Nice, this jet-set thriller revolves around a rash of daring jewel robberies victimizing wealthy tourists along the Cote d'Azur. The gendarmes suspect Grant's dashing, retired cat burglar John Robie, but of course, we know better. After all, he's too busy changing ascots and wooing Kelly to be involved in snatching diamonds … or is he?
Escape here: Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube
If you wish you were headed to: Tuscany
Watch this instead: Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Much like Eat, Pray, Love, Frances Mayes’ memoir Under the Tuscan Sun is responsible for countless soul-seeking sojourns to the rustic Italian countryside in hopes of starting one's life over again midstream. In the sumptuous screen version, Diane Lane plays a San Francisco writer who buys a dilapidated villa in the charming town of Cortona after her marriage falls apart and sets out to restore both her new home and her sense of independence. If you've ever fantasized about pulling up stakes and starting over, this movie is like a how-to manual.
Escape here: Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube
If you wish you were headed to: Greece
Watch this instead: Mamma Mia! (2008)
I suppose this one is a twofer. It may compel you to make a beeline to Stockholm to commune with the bubblegum pop of that nation's greatest ‘70s export, ABBA. Or, more likely, it will have you yearning for the turquoise waters and simple, sun-dappled living of Greece — specifically the Aegean island of Skopelos, where this jukebox musical starring Meryl Streep was filmed. Then again, if you're feeling ambitious (and you've got the air miles), why not hit both when the pandemic is finally under control?
Escape here: Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube
If you wish you were headed to: Majorca
Watch this instead: Evil Under the Sun (1982)
Although the setting of Agatha Christie's deliciously entertaining murder-mystery novel was a hotel in Devon, England, director Guy Hamilton chose to relocate his film adaptation to the Spanish island of Majorca. And thank goodness he did, because it's absolutely breathtaking. Peter Ustinov plays the vacationing Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, who's called into action when a visiting starlet (Diana Rigg) is murdered while sunning on the beach. Dame Maggie Smith is the posh cliffside hotel's proprietress, and the murderer could be any one of her daffy, hot-tempered guests, who include Sylvia Miles, James Mason, Roddy McDowall and Jane Birkin. Come for the strangling; stay for the scenery.
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