"Vertigo," The Movie Tour: ​Locales from Hitchcock's Masterpiece

     ​Thriller, eccentric love story, psycho-logical exploration, "Vertigo" is a truly spellbinding movie. Its many layers of exposition and meaning, however, often require a second, even third viewing. More than 2 decades after its initial 1958 release, "Vertigo" was ranked by the leading British film critics' organization as the
#1 'greatest movie of all time.' AFI, the American Film Institute, ranks it #9. Actual locales in San Francisco and farther south function as characters themselves--evocative and intriguing, even if you haven't seen the film.
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    Let us help you enjoy the enchanted mood of this masterpiece (including Bernard Herrmann's brilliant soundtrack). We can pick you up anywhere within a ninety-mile radius of downtown San Francisco.

Tour Highlights:

• The town of San Juan Bautista, lost in time, steeped in charm [Full-Day Version]
• Mission Dolores: is Carlotta Valdez buried here?
• The surf crashing at the base of Fort Point, beneath the Golden Gate Bridge
• Madeleine's hotel on elite Nob Hill, Judy's apartment nearby, and Scottie's home below the "Crookedest Street in the World"​

Why Tour with Us...
to Experience Locales from Hitchcock's "Vertigo"? 
​     Because driving yourself, you'll waste time figuring out exactly where everything is, looking for parking, then walking back to your car (or public transit). With us, you'll learn more about the historic city in which the characters lived and Hitchcock worked, while enjoying the vistas. We can go as deep in our discussion of the film as you'd like...for example, "what was Judy's role in Madeleine's demise?"

     “I had an amazing and unforgettable time. San Juan Bautista was great and I am glad that I spent some time there to enjoy thoroughly. …One other thing I most enjoyed is that the tour was not just solely based on vertigo and that we also learned a lot about san fran's past, its future and other demographic factors."
– Allen Z. (Sydney, Australia)

         A FREQUENT ITINERARY
    Locales from Hitchcock's "Vertigo" can be experienced as a full (10-hour) day wherein we spend the morning focused on the charmingly unaffected town of San Juan Bautista, site of the essential tower scenes. Then back in the City we visit all the extant sites which provide the frame for most of the film. 

     [Full-day Itinerary] The tour begins with a scenic drive via Silicon Valley to the part Old Mexico, part Old West town of San Juan Bautista. You'll have an hour (or more) to explore the well-preserved and still-active mission church, location of two unexpected deaths), its large traditional garden, the livery stable (replete with carriages and other historic conveyances) where Madeleine is en-tranced. The town's main street offers many antique shops...and we can have lunch there, or wait until after our return to San Francisco.

     [Afternoon or Morning of full day...of half-day itinerary] Begins with a visit to Mission Dolores (San Francisco's oldest building) and its 234-year-old cemetery, as did Madeleine in search of…her past. We stop at several places that detective Scottie and Judy would have found familiar: the grand Palace of the Legion of Honor (art museum), Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge, the serene Palace of Fine Arts, the famous "Crookedest Street in the World," and elite Nob Hill.
​     (Please note that usually we do not visit the redwood forest referenced in the film (Muir Woods), or the forest actually used as a stand-in (Big Basin, which was burned down by a recent wildfire) as doing so would involve a considerable slice of our itinerary. We also do not visit some sites (e.g. the flower shop, Ernie's restaurant) as they no longer exist. With sufficient time we may bring our enchanted day to a climax with a drive to Twin Peaks or the Marin Headlands (above the Golden Gate Bridge)—to test your vertigo.​

    "I loved your tour—I'm a huge Hitchcock & Vertigo fan, so finally getting to see the key locations from the film and wander around them, taking photos, was wonderful! I think the most emotionally satisfying moments of the tour...were the first chance to walk on a genuine film location (at San Juan Bautista), and the iconic view of the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point… It was nice to get the unexpected 'extras' of the Avenue of Tall Trees, the sanitarium-hospital, and the Portals of the Past… I enjoyed the discussion we had about Novak's acting, the colour symbolism, the changes to the original story, and how Scottie got down from the gutter."
– Andy E. (Reading, England)