Atlas Film Studios

Atlas Studios opened in 1983 on the flat outside Ouarzazate and is one of the largest studio complexes in the world by ground area, which is a function of having a great deal of empty desert rather than of sound stages. What visitors see is the back lot: standing sets left up after productions - Egyptian temple fronts, a Tibetan monastery from Kundun, Roman and Jerusalem streets, aircraft, a Sodom, and pieces from productions including Gladiator, Asterix, Kingdom of Heaven, The Mummy and Game of Thrones, some maintained and some falling apart in the sun. Tours are guided and take a couple of hours. The honest caveat is that back lots are plywood and plaster and look like it up close - the pleasure is in recognising things and in seeing how thin the illusion is. The CLA studios nearby run a similar operation, and the Cinema Museum in town holds props.

What you actually see

• Standing back-lot sets - Egyptian, Roman, Tibetan and Jerusalem streets left in the desert.
• Recognisable productions - Gladiator, Kundun, Kingdom of Heaven and Game of Thrones among them.
• Plywood and plaster - the illusion visible for what it is at close range.
• Desert scale - one of the largest studio areas anywhere, because the ground is empty.

When to go

October to April; morning before the heat. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

Sets are plywood and many are decaying in the sun. Access is by guided tour only and the tour is brisk. Entry is charged and photography rules vary. Working productions close parts of the lot without notice.

Nearby

Ouarzazate and the Cinema Museum are east; Ait Ben Haddou is north-west.