Best travel films and TV shows to stream right now

Now that COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has grounded travellers around the world, you might be wondering how to cure that itchy traveller’s foot or chronic case of wanderlust. While you can certainly fill the void with new travel books or staying busy with projects like cooking up pandemic gourmet, another option is the tried-and-true cinematic voyage, courtesy of your favourite streaming services.

There are plenty of movies and television shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hotstar, and others that will whisk you away to foreign locals, show you beloved cities in a new light, and drop you headlong into particular places in time.

While it’s not quite the same as getting a fresh stamp on your passport, there’s definitely something to be said for the immersive experience of traveling with Audrey Hepburn on a Roman Holiday, following The Blues Brothers on a mad-cap musical road trip through Chicagoland, or careening with documentary film crews through Senegal and Mali on the route of the Dakar Rally.

Here are our top international picks for travel buffs to stream while self-isolating:

Cultural gems

The Dark Tourist (Netflix)
Atlantics (Netflix)
Udaan (Netflix)
Chandni Bar Tabu (Amazon Prime)
Life… In A Metro (Netflix)
Columbus (Hulu)
Russian Ark (Fandor)
Vaya (Netflix)
Daughters of the Dust (rent via Amazon Prime)
Eight Miles High (rent via Amazon Prime)
In the Last Days of the City (rent via Vudu)
Of Time and the City (rent via Amazon Prime)
Wings of Desire (rent via Amazon Prime or Vudu)
The Harder They Come (rent via Amazon Prime or Vudu)
Tracks (rent via Amazon Prime or Vudu)

Classics

Amelie (Hulu)
To Catch a Thief (Amazon Prime)
Strictly Ballroom (Netflix)
The Sound of Music (Disney+)
Lost In Translation (Hulu)
Metropolitan (Hulu)
Y tu Mamá Tambien (Netflix)
The English Patient (Hulu)
Room with a View (Hulu)
Two for the Road (rent via Amazon Prime)
Before Sunrise (rent via Amazon Prime)
Before Sunset (rent via Amazon Prime)
Before Midnight (rent via Amazon Prime)
It Happened One Night (rent via Amazon Prime or Vudu)
Lawrence of Arabia (rent via Amazon Prime or Vudu)

Comedies

National Lampoon’s Vacation series (Hulu)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Neflix)
L’Auberge Espagnole (Netflix)
The Blues Brothers (Hulu)
When Harry Met Sally (Hulu)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Hulu)
A Good Year (Hulu)
The Commitments (rent via Amazon Prime)
Good Bye, Lenin! (rent via Amazon Prime)

Television

Queen Sono (Netflix)
Elite (Netflix)
Derry Girls (Netflix)
My Brilliant Friend (Hulu)
Killing Eve (Hulu)
Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father (Netflix)
The Kettering Incident (Amazon Prime)
Lillyhammer (Netflix)
Moone Boy (Hulu)
Larry Charles’ Dangerous World Of Comedy (Hulu)
The Trip (rent via Amazon Prime)

For foodies

Ugly Delicious (Netflix)
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (Hulu)
Like Water for Chocolate (Netflix)
Street Food (Netflix)
Chef’s Table (Netflix)
Restaurants on the Edge (Netflix)
Salt Fat Acid Heat (Netflix)
The Mind of a Chef (Netflix)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Netflix)
The Hundred-Foot Journey (Netflix)
My Dinner With Andre (rent via Amazon Prime)

Documentaries

Ken Burns Presents: The West (Netflix)
…And the Pursuit of Happiness (Criterion Channel)
Calcutta (Criterion Channel)
Once Were Warriors (rent via Amazon Prime or Vudu)
A Map for Saturday (rent via Amazon Prime)

For nature lovers

Ken Burns: The National Parks – America’s Best Idea (Amazon Prime)
National Parks Adventure (Netflix)
The African Lion (Disney+)
Night On Earth (Netflix)
The Vanishing Prairie (Disney+)
Our Planet (Netflix)
The Living Desert (Disney+)
African Cats (Disney+)
Bears (Disney+)
Born in China (Disney+)
Wild Yellowstone (Disney+)
Wild Alaska (Netflix)
Mile, Mile & a Half (Amazon Prime)
Mountain (Netflix)
Unbranded (Amazon Prime)

For sports fans

The Endless Summer (Amazon Prime)
Free Solo (Hulu, Disney+)
7915km (Fandor)
BeAlive (YouTube)
The Dawn Wall (Netflix)
Iron Cowboy (Netflix)
Meru (rent via Amazon Prime)
Safety to Nome (rent via Amazon Prime)

This article was first published on www.lonelyplanet.com.

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via Lonely Planet India