Lord of the Rings tourism: Culture and Travel Context

The Lord of the Rings (LotR) is a film series in the high fantasy or epic fantasy genre, based on novels by J. R. R. Tolkien, including The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings, published in 3 volumes in the 1950s, set in a fictional world known as Middle-earth. The film series was shot in New Zealand, and the sets are today among the most visited tourist attractions of the country.

While Tolkien's novels codified the epic fantasy genre, and assembled an unprecedented community of fans, its live-action adaptation took many decades to develop. An animated film series made in the 1970s was met with lukewarm reviews, and fans expressed skepticism when New Zealand director Peter Jackson was announced to direct a Lord of the Rings film trilogy for release in 2001 to 2003.

The total budget of Jackson's trilogy was US$280 million. The films were praised by critics and fans, combining to win a total of 17 Academy Awards out of 30 they were nominated for. The final film in the series, The Return of the King, won all 11 Academy Awards it was nominated for, including Best Picture, making it tied with Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997) for the greatest number of Academy Awards won by a single film.

In 2012 to 2014, Peter Jackson moved backwards in the story's chronology and adapted The Hobbit novel into a trilogy of films. While not as critically successful, with only the first film winning a single honorary Academy Award, the films were a box office success, outgrossing the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The works have been adapted to several media, including video games, board games, and inspired later works, as well as live-action roleplaying.

The film franchise continues to maintain a website with information about Blu-ray and DVD re-releases and the like. The publisher of the books also maintains its own website covering The Lord of the Rings, as well as other works by Tolkien.

The Hobbit is the most accessible of the books, and a recommended first read, followed by the novel trilogy, and the original film trilogy (which would be a great introduction for a visit to New Zealand). The Hobbit films and other material could be saved for later.

All six films were produced at Stone Street Studios in the city of Wellington, New Zealand, which is still an active film studio and is generally not open to the public. However, most of the props and sets were designed and made in the nearby Weta Workshop, which does host public tours that can be booked through the company website. Do not expect to see the original sets and props though, as they were destroyed after filming was completed.

1 Weta Workshop, 21 Camperdown Road, Miramar, Wellington (corner of Camperdown Road & Weka Street, #2 bus from Railway Station or Courtenay Place), ☏ +64 4 909 4000. Tours can be booked online or at Wellington Visitor Information Centre. Note that Guided Transfer & Tour includes transport from city but costs $99 instead of $49 for Tour without transport (public transport via bus is cheaper, $6 one way if paid by cash and cheaper if paid by Snapper cards). Besides Tour, there are also creative workshops for special effects makeup, sculpting, and leatherwork. Unlike Tour, creative workshops are not available every day. $49-159. (updated Dec 2024)

2 Weta Cave, 1 Weka Street, Miramar, Wellington (corner of Camperdown Road, #2 bus from Railway Station or Courtenay Place), ☏ +64 4 909 4100, [email protected]. Daily 09:00-17:30. Weta's mini museum and souvenir shop in which you can purchase The Lord of the Rings memorabilia. Behind-the-scenes documentary film every 30 minutes. Photography allowed everywhere. If you have booked tour or workshop, you need to go to Weta Cave to check in. Free entry. (updated Dec 2024)

This cultural overview is an excerpt of a community travel guide. Confirm current access, schedules and prices with the venue before planning a visit.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Lord of the Rings tourism by Wikivoyage contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.