Unbelievable - Kazakhstan has been named one of the top three European counrties travelers in the UK most wanted to visit.
Borat and his golden globe winning performance is credited with bringing Kazakhstan into the limelight.
Movie influenced travel is a growing trend, and has even inspired travel guides such as Fodor's Guide to The Da Vinci Code.
Well, Borat's movie didn't make the top ten most travel inspiring movies (for anyone's list) here are Budget Travel's picks for the top ten most travel inspiring movies of 2006:
10. THE ILLUSIONIST
Eisenheim (Edward Norton) falls for a duchess (Jessica Biel) and uses magic--and his wits--to thwart Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). Set in Austria in 1900, The Illusionist was shot in the Czech Republic. 'The best Vienna is Prague,' says location manager Jaroslav Vaculik.
Guggenheim Bilbao The famous art museum, in northern Spain, "made all kinds of music in my head," says Pollack (011-34/94-435-90-80, guggenheim.com, $13, closed Mondays).
9. SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY
Sydney Pollack's documentary delves into the mind and architecture of friend Frank Gehry. "I'm not sophisticated about architecture, so I don't look at it intellectually," says Pollack. "The buildings I get speak to me on an emotional level." Here are his three favorite Gehry buildings:
Guggenheim Bilbao The famous art museum, in northern Spain, "made all kinds of music in my head," says Pollack (011-34/94-435-90-80, guggenheim.com, $13, closed Mondays).
Marqués de Riscal Winery and Hotel Gehry's hotel in the Rioja wine country, 68 miles southwest of Bilbao, opened in October. Rooms start at $380 a night, but a 90-minute vineyard tour is $8 (011-34/945-18-08-80, marquesderiscal.com).
Vitra Design Museum "Vitra was the last building Frank did before discovering the computer," says Pollack. "He was playing with the same shapes that he later was able to have breakthroughs with." It's in Weil am Rhein, Germany, a 15-minute ride on bus #55 from Basel, Switzerland; the bus stops right outside (011-49/7621-702-3200, design-museum.de, $10).
8. THE DA VINCI CODE
Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) gets called to the Louvre, where he meets cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou); they're soon on a hunt for the Holy Grail. The adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller was shot in England, Scotland, Malta, and France.
7. THE HOLIDAY
Unlucky in love, two women--Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet)--swap houses for a fortnight. Their luck changes.
6. THE PAINTED VEIL
Based on the 1925 novel by W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil follows an unhappy English couple, Walter (Edward Norton) and Kitty Fane (Naomi Watts), as they navigate life in cholera-ridden China. (To be released December 15.)
A Beautiful Beginning The craggy mountains in the opening scenes are unique to the northeastern quarter of Guangxi, a region in southern China. Location scout Aaron Shershow says that the best way to explore the area is with a guide and a car from the city of Guilin, which starts at $80 per day.
The Village Huangyao, also in Guangxi, is "the best-preserved town I've seen in China," says Shershow. The Fanes travel there by sedan chair, but these days you'd hire a car and driver/guide out of Yangshuo (four hours, $240 round trip), or Guilin (six hours, $320).
Local Lodging Hotels in Huangyao are extremely basic and cost $10 per night. Before the crew arrived, an Australian decorator fixed up rooms in Jiajia Hotel (011-86/774-6722-833) and Jialong Hotel (011-86/774-6722-816). Shershow also recommends one called Guo Mansion (011-86/774-6722-041). None have English-speaking staff.
5. MISS POTTER
Known for Peter Rabbit and other characters, British author Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger) had a life far more complex than her books let on. (Limited release December 29.)
Lake District Much of Miss Potter was shot in the Lake District, in northwest England, where Potter lived as an adult; she bequeathed more than 4,000 acres to the National Trust.
4. A GOOD YEAR
When he inherits his uncle's Provençal vineyard, financier Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) goes to visit. Like many Brits who head south in the movies, he learns to re-prioritize.
The Vineyard The film was shot primarily at Château La Canorgue, a vineyard in Bonnieux (011-33/4-90-75-81-01, open for tastings year-round). Location supervisor Marco Giacalone says it has "the best rosé in France."
A Long Drive Skinner gets lost while driving a Smart car (see The Da Vinci Code, above, for rental info in Paris; the cars are available from Europcar at Marseille's airport, seven days $650). In reality, the roads are well marked, and the drive to Bonnieux from Marseille's airport shouldn't take longer than an hour.
First Kiss Skinner and Fanny Chenal (Marion Cotillard) share their first kiss in Cucuron, a medieval village located at the foot of the Grand Luberon Massif. Cucuron is 20 minutes southeast of Bonnieux.
3. RUSSIAN DOLLS
The sequel to L'Auberge Espagnole, a 2002 movie about young expats in Barcelona, takes place in Paris, London, and St. Petersburg; it offers a more realistic, everyday Europe than we usually see in films.
The Perfect Street In St. Petersburg, Xavier (Romain Duris) muses about perfection on "the street of ideal proportions:" Rossi Street, 220 meters long and 22 meters wide, and lined by buildings 22 meters high. It's directly behind the Alexandrinsky Theater; the nearest metro station is Nevsky Prospekt/Gostiny Dvor.
2. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) returns to the Caribbean for more swashbuckling. The DVD comes out December 5.
Royal Treatment The Port Royal scenes were shot at Wallilabou Bay, on St. Vincent, where you can explore what's left of the set, including the 17th-century-style village. "We traveled by boat because it was faster than taking the little roads," says production supervisor Tom Hayslip.
1. MARIE ANTOINETTE
In Sofia Coppola's biopic, the last queen of France (Kirsten Dunst) is a bored teenager trapped in the etiquette of the royal palace of Versailles, who entertains herself with exquisite clothes and hairstyles.
Versailles One-day passes to all of Versailles, including several audio guides, begin at $20 (chateauversailles.fr, closed Mondays). Skip the lines by buying tickets in advance at Fnac record stores throughout France (fnacspectacles.com), or by using a combo round-trip train ticket and one-day pass sold at Paris-area SNCF train stations or the Carrousel du Louvre, from $26.50.
Masked Ball The wild party in Paris that Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman) attend occurs on the grand marble staircase and lobby of the Palais Garnier, home to the Opera National (011-33/1-72-29-35-35, operadeparis.fr).
The Birthday Party The scene in which the queen gambles all night was shot at the Hotel de Soubise in Paris, a museum for the history of France and the National Archives (60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 011-33/1-40-27-60-96, closed Tuesdays). Admission is free, except during temporary exhibitions--such as one of Marie Antoinette's letters and mementos, until January 8--when it costs $4.
