For those that don't know Covington is Georgia best kept secret. Home of The Vampire Diaries and almost 200 movies. It is centrally located to the Georgia Peach Studios. My wife and I planned a trip entirely around this town because of the show. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that several movies and shows that we had enjoyed were filmed right here in this town. There is plenty to do in this small town. You can easily spend a weekend here. It does get busy and I have a few tips for you to make your trip a memorable one.
Covington is about an hour from Atlanta airport. If you are flying into GA, you can rent a car and drive there. I will warn you though the whole car rental situation in ATL is very disorganized and confusing. I will post a separate blog about ATL. Covington is a very charming town with a lot of history. Covington was incorporated in 1821 by English immigrants. During the American Civil War the Union Army marched through the town and spared it because of their southern hospitality. There was rumors that the general and a townswoman had a fling and hence the town was spared. The crown jewel of the town is the Newton County Courthouse, built in 1884. The scene for many movies (My Cousin Vinny) and just an picturesque place to visit. The town square is in the middle of the town. Walking through
the square you can't help but feel like your in a simple time period. It feels like your walking through history. You can tell why so many movies are filmed in this town.
Where do you want to stay? There is a mansion in town you can stay at. The Twelve Oaks Bed and Breakfast is a very popular place to stay and it is in the heart of Covington. It is really nice and expensive to stay there. Its a bed and breakfast. The filming location for The Vampire Diaries. A very historical mansion. I am a bit crazy and like to stay in places that have the strictest standards. My go-to hotel The Holiday Inn Express. Clean, reasonably priced, and upscale. There is one located on the outskirts of town. It is close to Walmart, and if you read my packing hacks that is convenient and essential part of saving money. There is also a few restaurant around there. IHOP, safe option you know exactly what your getting, family friendly. Bullritos a Texas born burrito shop, delicious.
You made it to Covington, what is there to do? Everything! I recommend starting with a tour. There is two popular tours here in the Southern Hollywood. Vampire Diaries tour. It starts at Covington Welcome Center. It is a extended golf cart and they have a small bus. It tours you through the whole town and famous scenes in VD. It books up quickly and I recommend you plan this out when booking your trip. There is another tour, Covington Movie Tours. This is a hop on/off trolley. It is a good deal and you can buy tickets the day of as well. The tour guides give you some history of Covington and movie film history. It tours you all through the town , shows you where different scenes were filmed. A few tour locations include; the mansion, the graveyard, Covington Welcome Center and many famous houses. The Covington welcome center which is a mini museum. The welcome center showcases the most popular shows and movies filmed in Covington. You can take selfies with famous film props. There are posters of movies hanging up all over the center. Some of the memorabilia includes, Vampire Diaries clothes, Dukes of Hazzard, Halloween and a few more exhibits. The original sign for Mystic Falls is also there. I would personally recommend this tour, it was well worth the ticket prices. You get to go over the Dukes of Hazzard hill. I took my rental car coincidentally a Challenger, flying over the hill. It was awesome.
There are several places to eat around the town square. The most famous The Mystic Grill, it gets packed quick. Make reservations, for dinner. Lunch time you can wait to be seated. It has a full bar and the food is excellent. There is two levels, on the second floor there is a hall with famous actors and actress lining the wall. Some of the chairs are labeled as famous actors that have sat in. There is a few labeled after the actors in Vampire Diaries. I sat in Salvatore's chair without even realizing it. The Mystic grill itself was modeled after the one from the VD show. It was brought to life with the permission of Warner Brothers. This is the restaurant the show Sweet Magnolias is filmed. Well, they filmed a few scenes then built a replica restaurant at the studio. There is an awesome coffee shop, @Local Coffee House. You can drink coffee , read a book or just lounge. Its open early so it's a good stop before the tour. Bread and Butter they have coffee and pastries. These places are immediately around the square. There is many other restaurants throughout the town.
Let's go shopping! There are a bunch of boutiques and clothing stores around the square. Underneath the Mystic Grill is the Vampire Diaries gift shop. They carry replica jewelry from the show , shirts, and blood bags ( its a vampire thing). There is a sports store just off the square, there is a vintage pump used in many movies. Really cool, the shop looks like a old gas station. Nice photo-op. There is a souvenir shop on the square it has all kinds of things you can buy. Each of the shops around the square were very unique. Each one sells different items. Take some time going through these shops.
Around the square and throughout the town there are bricks with actors and actress names written on it. There are also bricks with the movie names on it and dates. It was a lot of fun trying to see how many stars we could find. There is a brick for each cast member of the Vampire Diaries. Kind of reminds me of Hollywood stars. I will put a few pictures below I took around Covington. Overall it is a really nice town. I will return there again in hopes to see a movie being filmed.
Places to visit:
Mystic Grille : 1116 Clark St, Covington , GA 30014
The Twelve Oaks Bed and Breakfast : 2176 Monticello St SW, Covington, GA 30014
Covington Welcome Center: 1143 Oaks St SE, Covington , GA 30014
The Alley Shop : 1116 Clark St , Covington , GA 30014 (underneath Mystic Grill )
The Clocktower : Newtown County Courthouse in the square
A Few Movies/Shows Filmed in Covington:
Doctor Sleep 2019
The Vampire Diaries 2009-2017
Legacies 2018-
Halloween II 2009
Flight 2012
Sweet Magnolias 2020-
My Cousin Vinny 1992
Remember the Titans 2000
In the Heat of the Night 1988-1995
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