20 Star Wars locations you can visit in real life

Grindelwald, Switzerland

Oh, Alderaan.

We really don’t see all that much of Princess Leia’s doomed home planet, but what little we do see is beautiful. George Lucas chose Grindelwald in Switzerland to be the location for Alderaan in Revenge of the Sith, appearing when we see baby Leia in the arms of her adoptive parents, Bail and Breha Organa.

This is the only canonical appearance of the mountainous planet in the Star Wars movies, beyond that of its destruction in A New Hope, and only here are we really given a glimpse of what Alderaan was, and what scenic beauty Leia grew up in.

It wasn’t always supposed to be mountainous, however. In early drafts of A New Hope, Alderaan was described as a gas giant not dissimilar to Bespin with its Cloud City.

The script describes: “The towering white oxide clouds pass, revealing the Imperial city of Alderaan. The magnificent domed and gleaming city is perched, mushroom-like, on a tall spire, which disappears deep into the misty surface of the planet.”

It was only following on from A New Hope that Alderaan came fully into being as what we see in Revenge of the Sith, a far more (conveniently for us) Earth-like planet.

Now we can all visit Grindelwald and pretend to be a teenaged Leia, shopping, skiing and soaking up the amazing views of the Alps. Working theory: space buns are ear muff replacements. It must be fairly cold on Alderaan and using your own hair to keep warm is far more sustainable.

And yes, we also assume this is where J.K. Rowling got Grindelwald’s name from. She does like her place names.