Star Wars tourism: Culture and Travel Context

Star Wars is a space opera franchise launched in 1977 with the Star Wars film, later known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. While set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away", many of the filming locations are real-world places, some of them open to visitors.

The core of the Star Wars franchise is the nine films of the Skywalker Saga; The original trilogy (episodes IV-VI, released 1977-1983), the prequel trilogy (I-III, released 1999-2005), and the sequel trilogy (VII-IX, released 2015-19).

The prequels depict Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker's forbidden love story with Queen Padmé Amidala, and his fall to the dark side and transformation to the Sith Lord Darth Vader, parallel to the Galactic Republic's corruption and transformation to the Galactic Empire, as well as the destruction of the Jedi Order at the hands of the Sith.

An intermediate film, Rogue One, tells the story of how the rebels stole the plans for the Empire's deadly new weapon, the Death Star.

The original trilogy depicts Anakin Skywalker's son Luke Skywalker on his journey to become a Jedi knight, leading the Rebel Alliance's struggle against the Galactic Empire, and eventual redemption of his father.

The sequel trilogy is showing the continuing struggle between the Rebels and the successor of the defeated Empire, the First Order.

Within the fan community, the films are usually referred to by their Roman number; e.g. "I" for Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Spin-off works have their own notation, such as R1 for Star Wars: Rogue One.

The franchise also includes several anthology films, television series, novels, video games, action figures and other material.

The fourth of May is known as Star Wars Day as many fans say the phrase "May the 4th be with you".

3 Villa del Balbianello, Via Comoedia 5, Lenno (Tremezzo, Italy). The wedding scene in Episode II takes place here.

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 Star Wars 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.