Fictional Cities We Wish Existed

Gotham City would be an awful place to actually live in, but the city itself is undeniably cool in most versions. The first is the Gotham from the 1966 TV show, where the sun is always shining, the crime is ridiculous, and everything is clearly labeled. The other is the Gotham in Batman: The Animated Series. It’s a gorgeously sleek masterpiece of art deco design.

Tim Burton's Batman also featured a perfect gothic look that really took us to another place, but of course, that was all ruined by the campiness of Schumacher's Batman Forever. But even in the worst circumstances though, it's important to remember that Gotham City has Batman and nothing is cooler than Batman.

If you can manage to keep yourself from getting murdered, Cabot Cove, the cozy, New England town from Murder, She Wrote, would be an absolutely lovely place to live.

This seemingly idyllic coastal village may have a seedy underbelly filled with violence and crime, but you can’t beat the quaint architecture and friendly neighbors (assuming they aren’t trying to kill you). 

Sure, it's technically not a city - but actually, a weapon that will wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy. Nevertheless, Halo sure is beautiful. And except for some structures here and there, it's brimming with vegetation and crystal-clear waters. 

You get a gorgeous view no matter where you travel off to. But, if a shiny little AI orb with a blue light in the middle wants you to come with him – just don't.

Star Wars has a lot of interesting planets that would be great to explore, but the loveliest of them all would have to be Naboo, and particularly Theed - its capital city. It is filled with scenic views with green rolling hills, waterfalls and some beautiful architecture – and of course, spaceships!

On top of that, nearby there's an underwater city in a swamp. There is a problem though, the creatures that live there are extremely irritating. Also, they have a queen that's 14 years old - but, hey, she gets the job done.

They might get tedious after a while, but the low-tech inventions found in Bedrock on The Flintstones would be lots of fun at first.

Who wouldn’t love a town full of elephant vacuum cleaners and bird-powered film projectors? 

Everyone knows the best holiday is Halloween. But Christmas is cool too, which is probably why Tim Burton thought about mixing up the two. His idea would become a Christmas…or Halloween…or both…classic!

Halloween Town has some really scary but nice creatures living there including the Pumpkin King himself.

Whiterun, the gorgeous little gated community in Skyrim has a lot going for it. The people are mostly friendly, housing is extremely affordable, and if you do him a few favors, the Jarl will make you feel like the most important person in town and even give you your own bodyguard.

Of course, Whiterun has its problems too, like the ongoing hostility between the Grey-Mane's and the Battle-Born clan, dragon attacks, and a secret faction of werewolves. Typical.

Despite its geographic ambiguity, Springfield from The Simpsons is a place like no other.

Filled to the brim with quirky, offbeat characters and unique locales, this iconic city would offer lots to explore for real-life tourists. 

The breathtaking Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz would be on any traveler’s must-visit list—if only it were real!

There’s just hardly a place in the real world that’s so charming or captivating.

Nestled in a valley at the foothills of the Misty Mountains, Rivendell was a beautiful city built in harmony with the lush, natural surroundings that enfolded it.

While there are places in real life you can visit that are pretty close, this cosmopolitan sanctuary and "refuge for the weary and the oppressed," is a little too good to be true.

The bright colors and warm heart of Adventure Time rest upon a horrifying secret: the magical fantasy world of Ooo is actually our world, centuries after a nuclear apocalypse.

Other than that, it's a beautiful place full of Candy Kingdoms, Ice Kings, and Hot Dog Princesses! 

Hogsmeade, the picturesque village in Britain is like something out of a painting. Offering Honeydukes candy shop, Zonko's Joke Shop and a pub, Hogsmeade is the ideal hangout spot for wizards.

Of course, there is a muggle replica at universal Studios but you certainly won't find any real wizards there. Just overpriced merchandise and a couple of rides. We'd like the real thing and a nice pint of real butterbeer.

As depicted in Norse mythology and Marvel's Thor, Asgard is a city for the Gods. The gleaming fortress city offers beauty from head to toe and a low crime rate except for a few incidents in the Marvel movies.

Regardless, before Ragnarok, Asgard was a nearly perfect place and had a lot going for it, including a super-efficient transportation system – a rainbow bridge that transports you back to the human world – as if you'd want to go back…

There are three big differences between the real-life Hollywood and Bojack Horeseman’s: It's full of delightfully strange animal-people, J.D. Salinger's still alive, and Bojack drunkenly stole the "D" from the Hollywood sign and everybody just rolled with it.

It's called "Hollywoo" now.

Welcome to Night Vale is a brilliant slice of subverted Americana. Life here is a little more surreal and a little more frightening. The people care for each other in a small-town way.

They stick together, even as glowing clouds float by and animals drop dead from the sky.

As a result of the wealth and technological sophistication vibranium (the strongest metal on earth) affords them, Wakanda is a high-tech utopia. The latest Black Panther story, "A Nation Under Our Feet," leaves the country in pretty dire shape.

But at its peak, Wakanda is a paradise and it would no doubt look as awesome in real life as it looked on screen.

Stars Hollow was a large part of what made Gilmore Girls so great. If you've ever lived in a town that small, you recognize the eccentric clan of locals. To someone that lives in a larger city, it seems like nothing would be better than going to the same coffee shop and seeing your friends by happenstance. In real life, neighbors like Babette and Morey would be frightening instead of lovable, the town meetings wouldn't be nearly as entertaining, and Jess would definitely be the biggest jerk of all time (and totally not the best boyfriend ever).

But, in Stars Hollow, everything feels just as it should be and things are mostly perfect. Can't you see yourself sitting at Luke's? Don't forget to stop by Kim's Antiques to find the next awesome thing.

Prior to the finale, of course, King's Landing would be quite the sight to see. Located on the shores of Blackwater Bay, everyone has a gorgeous view of the ocean. There's a ton of places we'd love to explore too, like the Sept of Baelor and the Red Keep with the Iron Throne itself.

And not too far away, you could ferry over and check out Dragonstone castle. Game of Thrones has a ton of interesting locations that would be great to see in real life but King's Landing is iconic. King's Landing does have a great disparity between the rich and the poor living there, and that's a pretty big problem, but what else is new?

The city of Twin Peaks from the hit drama of the same name harkens back to a simpler time—when neighbors were like family and ancient evil spirits roamed the woods.

From the can’t-be-beat cherry pie at the Double R diner to the breathtaking view of the waterfall at the Great Northern hotel, Twin Peaks has a lot of small-town charm with a surreal twist.

Winden, the fictional town of Netflix's sleeper hit Dark, is a quaint little town where almost everyone knows each other, there's plenty of trees and rain, and you can get where you need to go by bicycle. It's a town so quiet, who wouldn't want to live there?

Although there are a few problems: a cave that takes you back in time, some dark secrets among the residents—as well as the fact that they are all related to each other and don't realize.

When get to the underwater city in the game Bioshock, it's a dystopian nightmare but before that it was designed to be a utopia – for anarchists anyway.

Still, the concept of a city built entirely underwater, at the bottom of the Atlantic is a pretty cool idea and something we'd personally like to see, even though it may not be the most feasible or practical of ideas.

Pawnee is simultaneously a loving tribute to and a searing parody of life in small-town America.

It’s home to the best waffles in the world, and it's where people gathered in droves to mourn the loss of the world's most magical miniature horse. I’ll leave it at that.

Arlen (inspired by Richardson, Texas) is an amalgamation of all of Texas' most outsized traits.

From the statewide obsession with the Cowboys to the What-a-Burgers to the fact that Willie Nelson just sort of wanders by sometimes, King of the Hill just about nails it!

The City is so choked with superheroes that they have their own nightclubs. They collide into each other as they swing through town, and they form support groups for sidekick morale.

Not everyone can be Superman, but in a world full of heroes like "Sewer Urchin,” "Running Guy,” and "The Chainsaw Vigilante," you actually have a shot!

Alas, 2019 came and went, and we still don't have flying cars. While technically a real place, the Los Angeles of Blade Runner isn't the same. We do have electronic billboards though and skyscrapers and AI, but not quite like in Bladerunner.

Of course, if you happen to be a replicant, life is not so good. But the city of Los Angeles as depicted in Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 is cool, yet dreary. We'd love to check out a dystopia like that but maybe just not live there. We definitely would like the flying cars still. No, seriously, we're waiting.