Calpurnia, Europe - Is this Country a Real Place? The Story, Facts, Location

Calpurnia is a small, snowy country located to the south west of the French Alps. But wait a minute... only in our imaginations. This fantasy country is the concoction of the film 'A Royal Winter', and so, sadly, can not be visited in real life. In this 2017 rom-com, a young woman flees to Europe for some soul searching and meets a prince who introduces her to a world different from any she has ever known.

South West of the French Alps?

Of course, we could draw inspiration from the location given for this imaginary country, and take a visit to the South East of France. Perhaps you could consider a visit to the city of Grenoble, which lies in the Auverge-Rhône-Alpes region of the country, at the foot of the mountains between two rivers.

Grenoble is a centre for winter sports and is well known for its museums, universities and cultural attractions. Here you can take one of the bubble-like cable cars to the summit of the hill at the heart of the city to visit the 18th century La Bastille fortress at the top. There are also plenty of museums and other attractions to explore.

You could also head south to France's Mediterranean coast to enjoy the high live in Montpellier, Marseille or Nice, or at one of the beautiful beach locations along this sunny stretch of coastline. If you are a film lover – Cannes – where the famous film festival is held – could be a top attraction.
You could also consider staying inland and venturing a little further west to explore the beautiful, quiet regions of Drome and Ardeche, where plenty of amazing natural attractions, quaint villages and historic towns await.

But wait a minute. The scenes from the film were not actually shot in this region at all. If you liked what you saw in the film itself, you may like, instead, to head for Romania.

Romania's Transylvania Region & Bucharest

If you wish to see the places where the film was shot then you should explore Romania's Transylvania region, centred around the amazing mediaeval citadel of Sighisoara. Here you can dodge Dracula merchandise and imagine yourself a royal visitor, as you travel back in time and explore the historic streets. All around Sighisoara are a range of amazing historic castles, dark woodland and soaring peaks amazing for outdoors adventures.

The capital of Bucharest was also a filming location used as a stand in for imaginary Calpurnia. Bucharest is also an interesting travel destination, with an interesting open-air museum of village life, a huge Communist era Palace of Parliament, and a number of other museums, sights and attractions that will allow you to learn more about this real country that stood in for the rom-com invention.
While we cannot visit Calpurnia's snowy land for real – this imaginary destination could inspire us to discover what the real European countries have to offer.