You Can Actually Visit Storybrooke From Once Upon a Time, and It's Downright Magical
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Have you ever watched Once Upon a Time and thought to yourself, "I wish I could go to Storybrooke"? Well, you're in luck! The town may be magically hidden from the real world on the show, but you can actually visit it in real life. While Storybrooke is set in Maine, the fairytale series is actually filmed in Steveston, British Columbia, in a small town not far from Vancouver.
Not only is it just as quaint as Storybrooke, but it has quite the history with movies and TV shows. It was used for Charlie St. Cloud, 2017's Power Rangers reboot, and a handful of episodes of The X-Files, just to name a few. Now that OUAT is officially coming to an end, there's no better time to plan a trip! See a few highlights from when I visited last year for the season six finale.
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Granny's Diner
Naturally, one of my first stops during my visit was to Granny's diner, which is actually called The Cannery Café. Spoiler: the inside looks a little different since they film the interior shots on a set. While the infamous sign is usually only up during filming, the food is pretty magical, to say the least. I highly suggest going for breakfast. If you're in the mood for lunch or dinner though, I would definitely stop by Pajo's Fish & Chips by the docks, which is Storybrooke Fish & Chips on the show.
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Henry's Hot Chocolate
While the menu at The Cannery Café is pretty standard, there is a special treat for OUAT fans: Henry's hot chocolate. They even top it off with a little bit of cinnamon just like how he drinks it on the show.
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Granny's Diner
If it's nice outside, I would definitely suggest sitting at the red picnic tables to sip your drink. During filming, there's even a sign that reads "Storybrooke" on the wall, which is great for photo-ops.
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Granny's Diner
I couldn't help but take a photo at the entrance of Granny's Diner, which has been used for numerous promotional shots for the show.
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Storybrooke Post Office
If you're unsure about what to see next, you can hop on over to the Steveston Post Office & Visitor Centre. The building becomes the Storybrooke Post Office during filming, though most of the recognizable spots from the series are all along Moncton Street. You can also grab a few Once Upon a Time souvenirs while you're there!
Storybrooke Town Hall
While the town hall is usually filmed at Fort Langley Library in Langley, British Columbia, the show had a special setup next to the post office when I went to visit last year for the season six finale.
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Dr. Archibald Hopper's Office
I had a sweet surprise when I was walking down the street and realized the entrance to this apartment complex actually doubled as the office for Dr. Archie, aka Jiminy Cricket. Sadly, Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop wasn't set up when I went to visit, but there is a shop called Pieces right next door that has a few cute little trinkets.
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Storybrooke Clock Tower
If you don't get a picture with Storybrooke's infamous clock tower, did you even really go? While the tower doubles as a library on the show, it's actually home to Nikka Fishing & Marine in real life.