You Can Actually Visit These Little Women Filming Locations

Devoted fans of Little Women have spent dozens of hours of our lives imagining the Massachusetts town that Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy grew up in. We've watched the girls act out plays in the attic of Orchard House, we've endured smart comments from Aunt March at Plumfield, and we've even been left feeling utterly conflicted in the woods after Jo turned down Laurie's proposal. While we greatly enjoyed all that imagining, it's exciting to learn that we can now visit Little Women locations in real life.

As all Little Women-lovers surely know, Louisa May Alcott's novel has been adapted into a movie once again, this time by writer and director Greta Gerwig. The film is set to be released on December 25, but fans can experience the magic of the March sisters' home now by visiting some of the Massachusetts spots featured in the movie.

The town where the March family lived was based on Alcott's own hometown of Concord, Massachusetts, and according to Vanity Fair, Gerwig chose filming locations around Concord where the author and her family actually spent time. Of this location decision, Saoirse Ronan, who plays Jo March in the forthcoming film, told VF, "It gives gravity to what you’re doing. The physical place really reminds you of the story you're trying to tell."

Gerwig and her team also went beyond Concord to the neighboring towns of Lawrence, Stoughton, Ipswich, and Lancaster, Condé Nast Traveler reports. And they chose key locations in Boston that are easy for fans to visit. Among them is the ballroom of the Fairmont Copley Plaza, a luxury hotel in Boston's Back Bay. In the caption of a recent Instagram image shared by the hotel, it writes, "The space was dramatically transformed into a party scene featuring the characters Amy March and Laurie. This behind-the-scenes photo shows elegantly dressed extras in our lobby, walking into the ballroom to film a choreographed dance.⁣"

Another Boston location fans can visit is the Gibson House Museum on Beacon Street. According to one of the museum's recent Instagram posts, its facade and a few of its rooms will be featured in the film. IMBD reports that the museum served as the locations for scenes taking place in Jo's New York City publisher's office and apartment.

Just a seven-minute walk up Beacon Street is the William Hickling Prescott House, another house museum that was used as a filming location for Gerwig's adaptation. Accompanying an Instagram photo, the NSCDA of Massachusetts writes, "In the [Little Wome] trailer, you'll notice a scene of about a dozen young women in formal dresses standing on a staircase... This staircase happens to be in the William Hickling Prescott House, aka the headquarters of our Massachusetts Society in Boston!" Based on that description, fans of Alcott's book will recognize this as the location of the coming-out party Meg attends at the Moffat's home.

Colonial Theatre, which is the oldest continually-operating theater in Boston, also appears in Gerwig's Little Women. It served as the site of a scene that involves Jo enjoying a performance as Professor Bhaer admires her from afar.

Gerwig looked to a famous Boston site for the location of the movie's scenes that take place in Paris, as well. During filming, a horse-drawn carriage rolled down Meadow Road, which runs through Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum. In that carriage was Meryl Streep, who plays Aunt March; Florence Pugh, who plays Amy; and Timothèe Chalamet, who plays Laurie. According to the arboretum's website, antique gas lanterns and iron filigree park furniture were set out to truly transform the park. Though the props and Victorian costume-clad extras are long gone, you can still stroll down the same lanes used in the shots.

Finally, after years of wishing we could disappear into Alcott's story — only if we could be Jo, of course — we can experience the March sisters' world firsthand. We just have to get to Massachusetts.