Guide to The Real Town of Mystic Falls
- Savannah call
- Jan 28, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 29, 2023
Mystic Falls, VA is the location of The Vampire Diaries, but it's not really filmed in Virginia. The actual filming location is Covington, GA. This small Georgia town has actually been the background for many shows and movies. According to IMBD.com, popular movies like Selma, The First Lady, Footloose (2011), Flight, Dumplin', and Netflix show Sweet Magnolias were all filmed there.
I am an avid fan of The Vampire Diaries, so much so, that when I visited my friend (also an avid fan} in Knoxville, TN, we made the four hour drive both ways in one day. We chose to do a self guided tour as we didn't want to pay the $50 fee for a guided tour. The town is quite small, and most of the locations are within walking distance from each other. The guided tour provides exclusive access to an inside or closer look of each filming location.
Find the Vampire Stalkers Guided Tour HERE
Scroll to the bottom for a PDF Printable of the locations.
Mystic Grill
We got into town close to 12:30, so our first stop was the Mystic Grill to get our name on the waitlist. We went in January, and the wait was 30 minutes for a table. Keep in mind this is not the filming location for the Mystic Grill, but a replica that was made for fans. They did a great job capturing everything memorable about the restaurant from the show, and I felt very nostalgic going in.
It is very expansive once you get inside, and our table was upstairs tucked away. Even though it was only January, there were still quite a few vampire diaries fans keeping it busy. The food was reasonably priced, between $10-$20 for most items, and it tasted good, but nothing out of the ordinary. I would recommend eating there for the experience and getting photos outside with the cafe chairs.
Address: 1116 Clark St SW, Covington, GA 30014
Elena's House/ Gilbert House
Keep in mind that the interior of Elena's house is not the same as the house they used for filming. With the tour you can get as close as on the front porch, and without you can see it from the yard. A majority of the homes have a sign saying how far you can go without the tour.
Even though we could only see the house from the sidewalk, the Gilbert house was my favorite to see. It plays such a large role in the filming that I was most looking forward to seeing how the house and neighborhood looked in person. It's less than a mile walk from town square, but since it was so cold in January, we opted to drive everywhere.
Address: 2104 Floyd Street NE, Covington, Georgia, USA.
Caroline's House
Caroline's house is actually right next door to Elena's. You don't need to be part of the tour to get on the porch, but there is a sign that asks you to pay $10 to take a photo.
Address: 2118 Floyd Street NE, Covington, GA, 30014
Gram's House
I didn't remember seeing Gram's house in the show often, so it wasn't as exciting to see. It kind of blended in with the houses around it, so I would recommend having the original photo handy to see the resemblance. We just drove by, but you could walk by and get picture from the sidewalk.
Address: 2136 Conyers Street SE, Covington, GA 30014
Lockwood Mansion/ Tyler's House
The front gate is as close as you can go at the Lockwood Mansion without the tour. With the tour, you can go inside and tour the mansion and grounds. That is the part that would make the tour worth it to me. Normally the gate is closed but it opened when we were there, so we were able to get a clearer view.
Address: 2129 East Street SE, Covington, GA 30014
Old Salvatore Mansion
The old Salvatore Mansion is the filming location for scenes from the 1800's when Damon & Stefan were still human. The real name for it is the Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast, and you can actually stay there! You can book a stay in “The Salvatore Brothers’ Study Suite” or “Katherine’s Mirror Image Grand Suite”! We just drove past it, but if you want the full experience, I would recommend booking a stay as it's the only way to see the inside.
Address: 2176 Monticello St SW, Covington, GA 30014
Town Square & The Clock Tower
The town square will instantly transport you to the show, and it's most likely the first thing you will see when you come into Covington. The iconic clock tower is actually the Covington Court House and right across the street is the town square where all of the Mystic Falls town events took place!
Address: Washington St SW, Covington, GA 30014
Best Gift Shops
If you are looking for a souvenir to bring back with you, there are plenty of gift shops with a variety of choices. If you walk around the town square, almost every shop has some sort of Vampire Diaries merchandise available. We went into the "The Soap Box" where they had vervain soaps and roller balls, as well as Mystic Falls tote bags. The two main gift shops are the "Vampire Stalker" gift shop and "The Alley" gift shop.
The Vampire Stalker gift shop is ran by the tour guides, and is where you go to start the paid tour as well. They have memorabilia from the show on the walls and they have Elena's daylight ring. This is where we got our souvenirs. We got matching Damon socks, and Mystic Falls t-shirts.
You can buy a blood bag filled with fruit punch for $10 at the Vampire Stalkers gift shop, or you can plan ahead and get a blood bag from amazon. Then you can fill it with whatever beverage you prefer (the fruit punch wasn't very good).
The Alley is located below the Mystic Grill, and is also the location of the Welcome to Mystic Falls sign. Within the gift shop is also a Vampire Diaries memorabilia museum which has props and outfits worn by the characters. They even have Damon's leather jacket. This is a great store to hang out in while you wait for your table to be ready at the Mystic Grill.
Download Printable PDF List of locations & address below - Bonus locations include
See more Vampire Diaries Merchandise on my Amazon List HERE
I hope you found this guide helpful! If you know of any other locations, please share them in the comments to let others know!
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* All images are mine unless otherwise stated.
By Savannah Call, January 28, 2023
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