You Can’t Sit on the Iron Throne Unless You Correctly Name at Least 13 Major Landmarks in Westeros
By: Ian Fortey
Image: HBO
About This Quiz
George R. R. Martin made a very big and richly detailed world when he created the "Game of Thrones" universe and HBO breathed life into it in a way we could all see and almost feel a part of. And, in fact, we can actually go to a lot of those places in real life, too if you're the adventurous type. That's amazing! But before you go running off to visit everyplace from Belfast to Malta to Dubrovnik, you need to prove your geographical mettle when it comes to some of the most significant Westerosi landmarks from the show. That's right, we're not even crossing the Narrow Sea to Essos to give you the easy ones like Braavos and Qarth, not this time. This is just the Seven Kingdoms and the little stragglers attached to them. From the Land of Always Winter all the way down to Sunspear in Dorne, along the Kingsroad or the River Road, the Wolfswood to the Kingswood.
If you spent so much time in Westeros you feel like you could be a travel agent there, then this is the quiz for you. Pack up your House sigil and your favorite direwolf and give it your best shot.
Where would you go if you wanted to meet the Starks?
Winterfell
Ancestral home of House Stark, Winterfell was the stronghold of the North. Because so much of the action takes place at Winterfell over every season of the show, filming locations were not stable. Winterfell was made up of a castle in Scotland, a couple of castles in Ireland, and soundstages in Belfast.
The Wall was said to be 300 miles long, 700 feet tall, and 8000 years old. All it took was one dragon and about 5 minutes of work to render the entire thing useless so that was a bit of a letdown, all things being equal.
Castle Black wasn't technically a real place like many other castles in the show. It was actually built by the production team in an old quarry north of Belfast in Ireland. The inside shots were all soundstage stuff, also in Belfast.
This is where the Lannisters call home. Where is it?
The Twins
The Eyrie
Storm's End
Casterly Rock
Casterly Rock was filmed at a place called Trujillo Castle in part of Spain called Extremadura. That part of the world is known for a lot of really delicious foods like citrus, cheese and cured ham. No word on whether or not the Lannisters enjoyed any of that.
For the poorest part of town, a lot goes on in Flea Bottom. This is where Davos Seaworth says he's from and it's also where Gendry gets hidden away. Many of the scenes that are filmed here were shot in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
In which of these locations would you find the Red Keep?
Casterly Rock
Dragonstone
King's Landing
A lot of action takes place in King's Landing and a lot of locations were used to film it. In season one, it was partially filmed in Malta, but much of what we might recognize as King's Landing was the historic city of Dubrovnik in Croatia.
This is where Robert Baratheon gets his fatal injury. Where is it?
Kingswood
Kingswood is the forest near King's Landing in which King Robert gets gored by a boar. It's supposed to cover the Kingsroad all the way from King's Landing to Storm's End and meet up with the Roseroad somewhere as well.
Do you know where some brothers of the Night's Watch staged a mutiny against the Lord Commander?
Fist of the First Men
Craster's Keep
Craster's Keep is a weird place beyond the Wall where the Wildling Craster lives with his daughter/wives. He sacrifices all of his male children to the White Walkers and the Night King turns them into his kind in a creepy, deep forest ritual.
If you were a Mormont which of these places would you call home?
Misty Isle
Bear Island
Thanks to so many adults in the Mormont line dying off, for a good portion of the series Lyanna Mormont, a 10-year-old girl, is the head of House Mormont on Bear island. On the upside, she's the toughest 10-year-old girl ever.
Obviously the dragon-riding Targaryens call Dragonstone home. That just makes sense. Of course, once everyone thought the Targaryens were gone it was House Baratheon that took Dragonstone over, with Stannis living there for a time.
If you want to be a Maester which of these places is where you'll train?
The Red Keep
The Sept of Baelor
The Citadel
The Citadel is located in Oldtown and it's where you go to become a Maester. This is where Samwell Tarly spends some time training before heading back to the Wall. It's also where he cures Jorah Mormont of a previously incurable disease.
Jaime Lannister says which of these places is also called the Sapphire Islands?
White Harbour
Horn Hill
Hardhome
Tarth
In an effort to save Brienne of Tarth, Lannister tells some of Bolton's men that she was from the Sapphire Islands and she was worth a lot in ransom if they didn't hurt her. After they're free, Brienne points out that there are no sapphires on Tarth, it's named for the color of the water.
Tyrion Lannister won a pretty decisive battle against the forces of Stannis Baratheon at which of these places?
Blackwater Bay
Despite no one having much faith in him succeeding on the field of battle, Tyrion Lannister threw down at the Battle of Blackwater Bay and used the nefarious weapon known as wildfire to set the bay on fire and take out much of Stannis's forces.
Which of these is the longest highway in Westeros?
Eastern Road
Blackwater Road
The Gold Road
The Kingsroad
A good portion of the traveling in Westeros takes place on the Kingsroad because it'll take you all the way from Castle Black to King's Landing and then down south to Storm's End. It doesn't actually go to Winterfell, but it gets close.
Though the Baratheons take over Dragonstone which of these is their ancestral home?
Dragonstone
Storm's End
Storm's End is where you'll end up if you follow the Kingsroad all the way to the end of the line. At the end of the show, Gendry is the Lord of Storm's End and the heir of all things Baratheon. Though we hear about it on the show no one ever actually goes there.
Cersei Lannister blows this place sky high. Do you know it?
The Citadel
Sept of Baelor
The Sept of Baelor had been a significant landmark in King's Landing as the main place of worship for citizens. That mostly ended when Cersei Lannister had the tunnels underneath it loaded with wildfire so she could explode it and everyone in it. Ouch.
This place contains the Tower of the Hand, Maegor's Holdfast, and the Great Hall. What is it?
Queenscrown
Clegane's Keep
The Red Keep
The Red Keep is home to the King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms (or six, depending on your timeline) in King's Landing. It got pretty messed up by Drogon when Dany attacked the city, but it did manage to remain standing, so presumably, King Bran lives there.
Which of these places becomes a nightmare city of the undead?
Pebbleton
Sunspear
Mole's Town
Hardhome
Hardhome is the place where one of the most epic battles in all of "Game of Thrones" takes place. Jon Snow and the Wildings take on the Night King and the result is way too many zombies. Word is it took them 5 whole weeks to film that scene and the budget was in the millions.
Sunspear was the capital of Dorne and the home of House Martell. In real life, it was filmed at a place called Royal Alcázar of Seville in Spain. The place has some breathtaking orchards and gardens that are well worth a visit if you ever get a chance.
Do you know which of these was home to the Boltons?
Horn Hill
The Eyrie
Harrenhall
The Dreadfort
The Dreadfort doesn't get a lot of screen time but the parts we see were filmed at a place called Myra Castle in Ireland. By the time the show is over, the Dreadfort is sort of forgotten and with both Boltons dead we're not sure who is left to run the place if anyone.
Where does Bran hang out with some of the Children of the Forest?
Haunted Forest
Cave of the Three-Eyed Raven
Located somewhere beyond the Wall, the cave of the three-eyed raven is where Bran learns more about his creepy sight powers and also where we finally learn what the deal is with Hodor. Nothing particularly good happens here.
Cersei offers this place to Bronn if he agrees to kill Jamie and Tyrion. What is it?
The Vale
The Neck
The Twins
Riverrun
Riverrun is where House Tully calls home, which is where Catelyn Stark originally came from. Thanks to some shady doings with the Freys the Tullys end up losing control of the place, however. For a short time, Jaime Lannister was in control of Riverrun.
Home of the nefarious Frey family, the Twins are a pair of castles on either side of the River Trident. By the time the series is over, it's rather unclear who runs the Twins since Arya seems to have killed off all the male members of the House.
Home of the Greyjoys, Pyke is both their castle and the island on which it sits. If you liked the grey, watery countryside you can visit it in real life over in Ireland at Ballintoy Harbour. Most of Pyke was a soundstage on the inside and the castle was a digital creation so it wouldn't look too similar if you went there today.
Few towns are located so far north but Mole's Town is one of them. It's mostly famous for its brothel which brothers of the Night's Watch are forbidden to visit and yet all of them still do it. Gilly hid out here for a while, but Wildlings sacked it later.
The Night King destroyed this with the help of undead Viserion. What was it?
Castle Black
Eastwatch-by-the-Sea
Eastwatch-by-the-Sea is one of the castles overseen by the Night's Watch. It's the closest to the sea, and it was the spot that the White Walkers chose to break through the wall. A little undead dragon fire completely destroyed the place.
Which of these places had something called a Moon Door?
The Eyrie
The Eyrie was located in the Vale and is home to House Arryn and its super weird family. Though much of the castle itself was CG, the location where they put the stronghold was actually filmed in a place called Meteora, Greece.
If you want to visit House Manderly or catch a boat around the North this is where you'd go. Where is it?
Pyke
White Harbor
White Harbor is a little ways south of Winterfell and the primary trade port in the North. Anytime anyone has to take a boat to or from the North in "Game of Thrones" they're going through White Harbor. A lot of people mention it, and it's the largest city in the North, but not a ton of show action occurs there.
The Night's Watch camp out at which of these hilltop locations beyond the Wall?
Hardhome
Craster's Keep
Frost Fangs
Fist of the First Men
If you go to Iceland you can find a glacier with the name Snæfellsjökull. That was used as a filming location for the Fist of the First Men, and also the Frostfangs in season 2 of "Game of Thrones." The weather in these locations was brutal and temperatures got down to around 12 degrees Fahrenheit.
Which of these is a mountain range beyond the Wall?
Whitepass
The Ice Peaks
Skirling Pass
Frostfangs
The Frostfangs are the mountains that separate the North from the Land of Always Winter. Somewhere beyond these mountains is where the White Walkers come from but we never really get to learn much about it because no one ever goes there.
Do you know which of these was the capital region of the Reach?
Casterly Rock
Riverrun
Highgarden
House Tyrell called Highgarden home. For the exterior shots, filming was done at a Spanish castle called Castillo de Almodóvar del Rio. This castle was also used for some parts of Casterly Rock as well. The castle itself is Moorish and it's open to the public if you ever want to visit.
House Tarly's seat is at Horn Hill and was the original home of Samwell Tarly until his father, who was a bit of a jerk, sent him to join the Night's Watch so he wouldn't be an embarrassment to the family anymore. It worked out for Sam but not so much for the rest of the family.
Arya's friend Hot Pie ends up working at which of these inns?
Seven Swords
Drunken Dornishman
Crossroads Inn
The Kingsroad meets the River Road at the biggest junction for travelers in Westeros and the Crossroads Inn is there. This is where Robert Baratheon stops on his way back from Winterfell, and where Hot Pie parts company with Arya but then later helps out Brienne of Tarth.
Sansa and Littlefinger camp here for a while with knights of the Vale. Where is it?
Mormont Keep
Saltspear
Deepwood Motte
Moat Cailin
Moat Cailin is on Stark lands and was built by the First Men. It's pretty ramshackle these days and no one actually uses it, but it does pop up a few times over the course of the series as people stop by on their way to somewhere else.
The Wildling Osha is first discovered in which of these places when she and some companions attack Bran?
Hornwood
King's Wood
Godswood
Wolfswood
Osha turns up in the Wolfswood in season one. The other Wildlings she's with aren't as lucky as her as they are killed when Osha is taken prisoner by the Starks, and then later ends up caring for the two youngest boys, at least for a little while.