Every Real-Life Location Visited In Vikings (Ranked By Importance)
The show Vikings started out in a small settlement, called Kattegat. Historically speaking, Vikings dwelled in Denmark, but the geography of the show highly implies that Ragnar and his people were actually from Norway, as Denmark has no fjords. Kattegat as a location is a fictional place. Today, it denotes the sea between Sweden and Denmark. Other places on Vikings, however, were not made up.
All the large cities on Vikings still stand today. Adventurers as they were, the Norsemen also visited a few places that were not settled yet. They tried making a home out of several foreign places but were mostly unsuccessful in the long run.
12 Novgorod, Russia
Heading to Russia was one of Ivar's best decisions. Not only did he grow there, but he can also be credited for introducing new powers to the Vikings universe.
Before Kiev became the capital of the Rus, Novgorod (translated as 'the new town') was their stronghold. In the 14th century, it was one of the largest cities in Europe and it still stands today. It didn't look like much on the show, but today, it enjoys the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
11 Old Uppsala, Sweden
Uppsala was first introduced in season 1 as the location of an important religious festival. With its temples and many pilgrims, it offered insight into the Viking culture and religion.
The settlement still stands today under the name of Gamla Uppsala, which means Old Uppsala. While Vikings is not a show that's always historically accurate, it followed confirmed facts in the depiction of this particular location. It's where Odin was supposedly from, which is a fun fact that's also featured on the show. Additionally, human sacrifices indeed took place in real-life Uppsala, just like they did on the show.
10 Sicily, Italy
Ragnar is often credited as being an amazing explorer, and his first-born Björn followed in his footsteps. He sailed his ships into the Mediterranean and visited several countries on his tour.
One of the places he visited in season 5 was the island of Sicily. He offered to be Euphemius' bodyguard, but once Björn realized he's not at the top of the chain of command, he changed his mind.
9 Kairouan, Tunisia
Since it turned out that Euphemius was merely Emir Ziyadat Allah's client, Björn wanted to see him next. He turned his ships towards Tunisia and soon arrived to Kairouan.
After a series of unfortunate events, Björn, Halfdan, and Sinric escaped the deceitfully welcoming place and went back home to Kattegat. Kairouan is a UNESCO Heritage Site that still stands today in Tunisia.
8 Hedeby, Germany
Hedeby could first be seen in season 2 and it looked like a modest settlement. Lagertha was there, struggling to co-exist with her new, abusive husband.
Later on, her luck turned around. For a while, Lagertha ruled over both Kattegat as well as Hedeby. The show places this location in Scandinavia, but technically speaking, Hedeby is in today's Germany.
7 Algeciras, Spain
When Vikings first decided to sail to the south, they stumbled upon a Spanish city, called Algeciras. This port city in Andalusia still stands today and it has a population of nearly 120,000 people.
The Spanish town ended up being fairly important to Floki and Helga's character arcs. The two had one of the most successful relationships on the show, but it, unfortunately, ended when Helga was murdered.
6 Nova Scotia, Greenland & Iceland
Floki set out to travel as far west as possible and thus discovered Iceland. He wanted to settle it, which turned out to be a horrible decision. Othere told Ubbe, Torvi, and the rest of the settlers of an abundant land further out west, but they first landed on the inhospitable Greenland.
Ultimately, they ended up in what is today Nova Scotia in Canada. There, they were reunited with Floki once more, which was one of the best parts of the series finale. The discovery of the new continent was a huge achievement, even though the fans never got to see what Ubbe and the Norsemen had done with it.
5 Winchester, England (Wessex)
Winchester was the capital of Wessex, which made it one of the most important locations on the show. After all, its ruler, King Ecbert, is one of the most likable characters on the show, even though he was technically an enemy to the Vikings. Additionally, this is where the epic Sack of Winchester took place in season 4.
Before London, Winchester was the capital of England. The city and its breath-taking cathedral still stand today.
4 Lindisfarne, England
Lindisfarne in Northumbria is the first place that the Vikings sacked, both on the TV show as well as in real life in 793. It's where Ragnar first met Athelstan, the monk who'd later turn out to be his best friend.
Since this tragic event is considered the beginning of the Viking Age, it's one of the most important locations featured on the show. The brutal raids stopped shortly after the Norsemen found wealthier and bigger settlements to plunder.
3 Kiev, Ukraine
The Rus' main stronghold was Kiev, Ukraine's capital. It was introduced in season 6 when Ivar was traveling on the silk road. Eventually, he met Oleg, the prince of Kiev.
Despite all the odds, they became friends and formed one of the most powerful alliances on the show. When they flew over the city with a baloon, it became clear just how big and impenetrable this majestic city was. Today, Kiev, also spelled as Kyiv, is home to more than 3 million people.
2 York, England
York, the capital of Northumbria, was a city that Ivar desperately wanted to capture. Since this is where two important battles happened, it is one of the most important locations in the entire show.
First, Ivar took over the city in the so-called Sack of York. It wasn't long until King Aethelwulf and Bishop Heahmund set out to reclaim the city and defeat the heathens. They pressed the Norsemen hard, but the Vikings won yet again.
1 Paris, France
Paris was one of the most important real-life locations, featured on Vikings. The three-episode-long siege of Paris is considered one of the greatest battles on the show and it changed the fates of some of the main characters forever. Rollo married Princess Gisla and betrayed his people and Ragnar was heavily injured.
Siege of Paris was one of the few times on the show when different factions of Vikings stepped together and put their differences aside. When working together, they were nearly unstoppable.