I love it when I find items I want to scratch off my bucket list. Even better when they are located in amazing places I’ve never been. Going to the settings of some of my favorite movies and television shows is a bonus when they’re located in great cities, like these.

Bar Harbor, Maine

I had to watch the psychological thriller “Shutter Island” three times to understand all the nuances of this story set in Bar Harbor, Maine. Once I figured out what was real and what was in Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s imagination, this movie scared me even more. I look forward to staying in the small seaside port and exploring where Leo lost his mind. The city and its weather are prevalent in the plot; in fact, I might consider visiting in the winter. The city offers several great hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, and none, as far as I can see, are like the place they stayed at in the movie, thank goodness.

Image provided by Gizmo Goes West via Trover.com

Atlantic City, New Jersey

I’ve been to Atlantic City, and I liked it. The boardwalk, casinos, and hotels on the Atlantic Ocean were great. I enjoyed it mostly because it was closer than Las Vegas and gave you a hint of the Vegas vibe. After watching it come to life during the Prohibition era in the HBO show “Boardwalk Empire,” I see Atlantic City in a whole new light. The show made the boardwalk, hotels, and nightclubs seem like an adult version of Disney Land. They had so much fun, in between the killing, illegal activity, and other bad stuff.

Image provided by Jackie Grenier via Trover.com

Ithaca, New York

Ithaca, New York, is a great college town. It has beautiful scenery and what you think of when you picture upstate New York. Besides Cornell University, Ithaca was the setting for the 1986 movie “The Manhattan Project.” The movie was about a kid who built an atomic bomb in his garage for a science fair to expose a plutonium plant in the city. I’m sure it is safe to stay in the many hotels and explore the countryside, free from plutonium, now. The unassuming city was the perfect backdrop to this thriller.

Albany, New York

Albany, the capital of New York, is a beautiful place to visit if you have a thing for state capitals, which I do. I plan to visit when the weather is nice. Find a great hotel, get some hiking in to check out the scenery, and then drive up and down Interstate 787 and relive the car chase made famous by Angelina Jolie in the movie “Salt.”

Image provided by Linda via Trover.com

Stamford, New York

I admit, before my research, I thought Stamford was located in Connecticut. It turns out there are two Stamfords. Stamford, New York, is a little village three hours north of New York City that sits between Cooperstown and Albany. It’s part of the Catskills area where movies like “Dirty Dancing,” “War of the Worlds,” “The Bourne Legacy” were shot. Several quaint hotels and B&Bs occupy the area. It’s known for having great hiking, jogging, and scenic walking trails.

Is there a movie set you would love to visit?