A Tale of Two Cities Filming Locations

MGM+’s A Tale of Two Cities brings Charles Dickens’ famous story back to television with Kit Harington, Francois Civil and Mirren Mack at the center of its complicated love triangle. The four-part adaptation moves between Georgian London and France, but the production did not need to divide its principal filming between the two countries shown on screen.

The new A Tale of Two Cities was filmed primarily in Budapest, Hungary, where historic streets and buildings were transformed into late 18th-century London and France. Production took place in 2025, with filming underway in the Hungarian capital by the fall.

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Budapest, Hungary

Budapest served as the main filming base for A Tale of Two Cities. Early production information indicated that filming was scheduled to begin in the city in October 2025, while later reports confirmed that the cast and crew were actively shooting there during the following months.

The Hungarian capital is particularly useful for a drama like this because large sections of central Budapest retain historic European architecture that can be adapted to represent several cities and periods. For A Tale of Two Cities, the streets were dressed with period costumes, horse-drawn carriages and other details needed to create the world surrounding Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette.

Although Dickens’ story is famously associated with London and Paris, Budapest is the publicly confirmed filming location for the 2026 series. Current production listings do not identify Paris or London as major principal photography locations for this adaptation.

Liberty Square, Budapest

One of the clearest identifiable filming locations is Liberty Square, or Szabadsag ter, in Budapest’s District V. The production was photographed shooting there in November 2025, providing a rare look at how the modern city was being converted into the period setting of the series.

Crews installed barricades around the location, while extras appeared in period French clothing and horse-drawn carriages were brought into the square. The scale of the setup suggests Liberty Square was used for some of the larger exterior sequences rather than simply appearing as a background establishing shot.

The Former Stock Exchange Palace

Filming at Liberty Square was concentrated around the former Stock Exchange Palace, one of the area’s imposing historic buildings. Local reporting confirmed that scenes were filmed in front of the building, with additional work taking place around a neighboring property during the same stretch of production.

The architecture fits naturally into the visual world of A Tale of Two Cities, allowing the production to create a convincing European cityscape without relying entirely on constructed sets. Period extras and carriages were seen outside the building during filming.

The production has not publicly provided a scene-by-scene location breakdown, so it would be premature to identify exactly which fictional London or French building the Stock Exchange Palace represents in the finished series.

When Was A Tale of Two Cities Filmed?

Production on the series took place in 2025, with Budapest established as its main shooting location. Filming had initially been expected to begin earlier in the fall before an October start was reported, and location work was still taking place in central Budapest in November.

Federation Stories produced the four-part adaptation with Federation Studio France and Thriker Films. Daniel West adapted Dickens’ novel for television, while Richard Clark directed the series.

Kit Harington plays Sydney Carton opposite Francois Civil as Charles Darnay and Mirren Mack as Lucie Manette. The series premieres on MGM+ in the United States on September 6, 2026.