Star Wars Locations You Can Actually Visit

A relatively long time ago in a galaxy not so far away George Lucas created Star Wars. Since the late 1970's Star Wars has captivated the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide, with the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens even more fans will wish to travel to a galaxy far far away. Unfortunately, we do not yet posses the technology to visit the deserts of Tatooine or the icy tundras of Hoth, in this article however, we'll take a look at the next best thing.

From Mustafar to Endor, we'll take a look at the real life settings for your favorite scenes.

Although many scenes on Naboo were shot in Spain and the UK, most of the palace scenes took place in The Palace of Caserta in Italy.

Formerly home to the royal family of Naples, this palace was constructed in 1752 under orders from King Charles VII. Covering just about 235,000 square miles, this palace is open for public visitation and would be a perfect destination for those interested in architecture, history, or Star Wars.

Also in Italy is Mount Etna, Italy's largest active volcano. During the filming of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith this volcano erupted and George Lucas seized the opprtunity to film some footage for the volanic planet of Mustafar, where Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have their climactic battle at the end of the film.

In real life this is one of Siciliy's biggest tourist attractions, accumulating thousands of visitors each year. If you ever find yourself in Sicily, as a Star Wars fan, it would be criminal not to visit this awesome location (just as long as it's not erupting!).

The Rebel Alliance went to great lengths to protect the location of their hidden base, Lucasfilm didn't. The ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala were used to film scenes on Yavin 4.

Perhaps the most well known and well understood Mayan city. Reaching the peak of it's civilization somewhere between the third and tenth centuries A.D. , Tikal was re-discovered in the mid 1800's it is now a major travel destination and is home to Tikal national park

Del Norte County has a rich history in popular culture, not only is it the home of the fictional fuzzballs the Ewoks, it is apparently home to the maybe fictional fuzzball (although I still hold out hope) Bigfoot. In 1967 the famous Patterson-Gimlin film was shot in one of the county's many wooded areas.

Today Del Norte is an excellent spot for hiking and taking in the sights, and perhaps if your lucky you'll spot a Sasquatch, or even an Ewok.