Tour of Mystic Falls and Saying Goodbye to The Vampire Diaries

Are you a fan of The Vampire Diaries television series? With the last episode of the series airing this week, we thought we would take you on a virtual tour of Mystic Falls. We love visiting towns that are shown in our favorite movies and TV shows. There is something magical about seeing your favorite story come to life. A few years back I was given the chance to take a guided tour of the fictional town of Mystic Falls to see where The Vampire Diaries was filmed. Although Mystic Falls is said to be in Virginia, it is actually hosted in a small town outside of Atlanta in Covington, Georgia. Covington… that just sounds like a vampire town, doesn’t it?

Covington, Georgia was ranked one of the top ten vampire destinations by the TravelChannel.com.

The 16th episode of Season 8 marks the end. The fan base for this television show is pretty massive and we are among the ones that are sad to see it come to a close. However, you can still experience a little piece of this reality on a weekend getaway to Georgia.

The first thing we recognized when driving into town was the iconic clock tower. The clock tower was significant during the last episode of Season Six but appeared quite a bit throughout this last season with the ringing of the bell. Remember Damon standing at the top when the town went dark? Now can you see where the action took place.

When we arrived in Covington we stopped at the visitor center and picked up a free map. The Mystic Falls map outlines where all the scenes were filmed and the best places to visit. You can mostly walk around the square snapping photos and see majority of the houses over a span of a few blocks. We drove around the small town in our rental car and followed the route they suggested.

Below the clock tower is where you can find Mystic Falls Courthouse and Sheriff Forbes Office. We didn’t actually go inside this place of business.

Have you always wanted to hang out at the Mystic Grill? Now is your chance. This Vampire Diaries inspired restaurant is now open to the public. When we visited Covington the Mystic Grill was undergoing renovations and preparing to open so unfortunately we did not get a chance to eat lunch there. However, I have since read great reviews. The restaurant is located in a historical building within the town center and an experience I hope to make it back for.

It was interesting to see the construction and read all the well wishes and fan signatures that were left on the board. Some had traveled all the way from Canada to visit the town of Mystic Falls!

Dr. Gilbert’s office.

Featured as the Lockwood Manor in flash back episodes, this beautiful property is The Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast. You may recognize it from more than just The Vampire Diaries. This B&B has been featured in numerous movies, including a Tyler Perry film. If you are staying in town then I would recommend checking out this place.

Home sweet home of Sheriff Forbes and Caroline.

Elena may have blown up the home of her and Jeremy but I assure you, it is still standing and available for photo opps.  Many memories were shared of this home. From Elena journaling in her room to Damon kissing her on the porch.

Do you recognize the home of Bonnie Bennett’s gram? It was featured a lot in the early seasons and again recently.

This beautiful property is the Worthington Manor, known as the Lockwood Mansion. The Vampire Diaries viewers have watched many scenes featuring this gorgeous home and breathtaking landscape.

The property is gated and you are only granted access to the backyard on approved tours. More details below.

Look at this front door! I’m envious. It is stunning. We truly enjoyed walking around this estate. We even got to go inside a couple of rooms that were filled with Vampire Diaries memorabilia. The only approved tours to go beyond the front gate are booked through Vampire Stalkers – Mystic Falls Tours. We booked our tour of Mystic Falls through them and had a great time.

Although you can walk around the town of Mystic Falls in Covington, Georgia following along with your free map, I felt the experience of the guided tour was worth the cost. The tour guides have been cast as extras in the television series so they had personal stories to share. It was a pleasure to chat with other fans of the shows and visit with all the women. Plus, spending time at the Worthington Manor was an extra bonus. The entire town was filled with friendly people welcoming tourists and fans of the show. They were willing to answer any questions.

While in Covington, Georgia the tour guides told us about the location to see filming of The Originals in a town fifteen minutes away in Conyers. We saw a little alley that was decorated and setup to resemble New Orleans. Even the signs stated such. It was pretty neat to see how the film crew recreate a town within another city.

If you enjoy seeing what goes into filming a movie or television show, want to see if you can catch some live action filming or even be cast as an extra, I recommend you check out the site On Location Vacations. This site is good for multiple states, not just Georgia.