No need to be a movie star or a timeless legend to be the main character in your international love story. Set the scene – you, your significant other, transported to these romantic locations re-enacting the kisses that made them famous. Pucker up and start crossing these smooches off your bucket lists.
Bridget Jones’ kiss in the snow – London, UK
The Royal Exchange in London, where Bridget and Darcy finally kiss in Bridget Jones’s Diary
If running through the snow in your knickers is what springs to your mind when you think of romance, book your next holiday for London and re-enact this romantic kiss with your better half. In the movie Bridget Jones’s Diary, the protagonist Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) sprints from her apartment scantily clad to throw a smooch on her crush Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) while snow falls all around them.
The scene takes place outside London’s Royal Exchange, so if you’re planning on sprinting there from Bridget’s apartment on Bedale Street across the Thames, bring a pair of trousers (and our FREE London city guide for iPhone to find your way).
The tragic Callejón del beso – Guanajuato, México
Love is eternal under the balconies of the Callejón del beso
The story of the Callejón del beso (Kissing Alley) in Guanajuato is a tragic love story, comparable to that of Romeo and Juliet. Doña Carmen, daughter of a greedy and violent man, was deeply in love, to her father’s desperation, with Don Luis, a poor miner. Although Doña Carmen’s father confined her to her room to impede the lovers from meeting, Don Luis purchased the house across the tiny alleyway and they were able to share a kiss leaning over their balconies. As any romantic tragedy goes, Doña Carmen’s raging father burst into the room and murdered her while Don Luis was still holding her hand. Today, the legend has it that kissing on the third step of the alley brings you long-lasting love, and any other step will bring your couple bad luck. So, watch your step!
Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity — Halona Cove, Oahu, Hawaii
The iconic kiss between and in From Here to Eternity
In the film From Here to Eternity, First Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) and Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr) lock lips while frothy waves engulf their bodies lying on the sand – it doesn’t get more sensual than this. So slab on some sunscreen, type Halona Cove into your GPS, and relive the epic kiss. When the waves crash hard enough onto the cliffs, the Halona Blowhole, from the overlook above, spouts steam and salt water into the air making your kiss nothing less than explosive.
Recreating this scene requires a good pair of shoes for climbing over sharp, steep, and slippery rocks, and a knack for hiking. The brave that arrive on the private beach are rewarded by pristine blue waves crashing on the shore, relatively isolated from the rest of the world (besides the other brave fans that hiked here, too).
Robert Doisneau’s The Kiss by the Hotel de Ville — Paris, France
Paris – the city of love and its iconic kiss by Robert Doisneau
The rush of Parisians getting to work, the roaring traffic, the onlookers at the café terrace – none of that seemed to matter to Francoise Bornet and Jacques Carteaud, engrossed in a sensual kiss in front of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall).
Robert Doisneau, witness to the loving exchange, had to capture it on glossy paper even if it required asking the couple to re-enact their embrace. When questioned about the photograph, the couple affirmed the kiss was just as true when they posed the second time around, making this 1950s shot a sincere depiction of the City of Love.
Kisses are free, so is our FREE Paris city guide. Download it on your iPhone via the App Store.
An unlikely pair in Planet of the Apes – Malibu, California, USA
It’s hard to imagine a planet of apes on the beaches of Malibu
On the sunny beaches of Malibu, you’re more likely to set your eyes on blonde beach babes and studly surfers than a talking ape. Yet in 1968, spectators watched astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and chimpanzee Zira (Kim hunter) kiss during a scene of Planet of the Apes. The astronaut-on-ape smooch scene was filmed on a beach between Zuma Beach and Point Dume in Malibu, California – only a one-hour drive to Hollywood, you, too, can relive this blockbuster scene (with any creature of your choice).
Find a flight to nearby Los Angeles
The infamous Don Juan – Andalusia, Spain
Inspired by Don Juan? A couple rides on horseback at a festival in Seville
Don Juan – the man, the legend. A list about kisses would be incomplete without mention of the serial-kisser himself. Several interpretations of the character have evolved since Tirso de Molina’s 15th century play, El Burlador de Sevilla (The Trickster of Seville), where Don Juan incarnates sin, lust, and the devil himself.
Throughout Andalusia, all the way to Cadiz (according to Lord Byron’s poem), and even reaching Pisa, Italy (according to the 1926 eponymous film), Don Juan makes seduction look like child’s play. Several sources mention that in this version, Don Juan holds the record for the most kisses in a film, averaging at one kiss per minute. To up your chances in seduction in Andalusia, try yourself out to the fiery dance of flamenco, but watch out when stealing kisses to not get pinched by a castanet!
The timeless Victory-over-Japan Day kiss — Times Square, New York, USA
Couples in costume meet in Times Square to re-enact the kiss in front of a temporary replica of Eisenstaedt’s famous photo
This kiss amid the post-war daytime commotion of Times Square is a cliché that has made its way around the globe. The true story behind the featured kissers – Navy quartermaster George Mendonsa and dental assistant Greta Zimmer – isn’t exactly one of romance, but more of impulsive celebration. The kissing pair frozen in time became an image of all-American love, offering an extreme contrast to the violence of war.
The photo was originally captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt in August 1945 – on the day Japan surrendered, effectively ending World War II. The kiss has been immortalized as a sculpture and temporarily stood in 2015 in Times Square where it all began, but you can also see the giant couple standing tall on San Diego, California’s waterfront and Sarasota, Florida’s shoreline.
Going to the Big Apple? Download our FREE New York city guide for your iPhone via the App Store.
Romance in Casablanca – Casablanca, Morocco
Relive Casablanca at Rick’s Café Americain
In the black-and-white setting of 1942 Casablanca, two long-lost lovers find their way back to each other and share what is both a secret and risky relationship. As Nazi forces gain territory in Europe, the choice between being with Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) the woman he loves or helping her get a visa to America is a heart-breaking choice Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) has to make.
Many notable quotes and melodramatic kisses mark the tempo of the film, set to the tunes of As Time Goes By of Herman Hupfeld. Rick’s Café, where key scenes take place, actually exists in a courtyard-style mansion along the walls of the Old Medina. When the 1930s piano plays that song, it’s your cue to lay a kiss on your better half. If you don’t relive this scene: ‘You’ll regret it, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.’
The first lesbian Navy kiss – Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
The first lesbian “first-kiss” after disembarking the USS Oak Hill ship
Sailors seem to be popular when it comes to famous kisses! In December 2011, The USS Oak Hill ship returned to the naval base at Virginia Beach after 80 days in Central America. Family members waited impatiently on the dock, eyes riveted on the ship, for a chance to kiss their loved ones. The time-honored tradition of the “first kiss” – one lucky sailor chosen by raffle to disembark first – made history that day when Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta won the chance to kiss her girlfriend Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, accompanied by the cheering crowd.
There may not be any crowds to cheer on your kiss when you re-enact the naval kiss, but you might find them exploring the historical Chesapeake Bay nearby, notable for the establishment of the first English settlement in North America in the 1600s.
Find a flight to nearby Norfolk
Trevi Fountain from La Dolce Vita – Rome, Italy
Toss your coins in the Trevi Fountain where a famous scene from La Dolce Vita was filmed
The epitome of Italian charm is to enjoy la dolce vita (the sweet life) while in Rome. In the movie by the same name, Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), oozing with sensuality, found her sweetness in a late night dip in the Trevi Fountain. Her admirer Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni) joins her in the fountain waters and although they may not exactly kiss, the scene is so sensual they may as well have.
Plunging into the Trevi Fountain is prohibited, but using the masterpiece by architect Nicola Salvi as the decor for a romantic moment with your partner should do the trick. Bring a pocket full of change if you plan on participating in the tradition of throwing a coin into the fountain – one coin toss supposedly ensures you’ll be returning to Rome one day. Prepare yourself by downloading our FREE Rome city guide for your iPhone via the App Store.
