Travel: Picture-Perfect Trips.(traveling to film locations)

Byline: Michelle Jana Chan

Film-location scouts don't pull in the big bucks for nothing. They scour pristine beaches, chic nightclubs and gritty neighborhoods for the most memorable spots on earth. Trouble is, the credits roll by faster than you can write down the name of that far-flung hamlet or exotic hotel. Here we've hunted down some scene-stealing destinations from five of our favorite films.

ROMAN HOLIDAY, Rome | 1953 Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) doesn't tell Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) that she's playing hooky from royal life; he doesn't tell her he's a journalist taking notes on the sly. They end up falling in love--with each other, and Rome. Joe gives his address as via Margutta 51, and that's where his apartment scenes were shot. To really follow in the couple's tracks, you'll want to rent a Vespa. They start at $12 per hour, from Bici & Baci (39-06-482-8443; bicibaci.com ) or Happy Rent (39-06-481-8185; www.happyrent.com ). Begin at the Trinita dei Monti Church at the top of the Spanish Steps, and make your way to the Colosseum--for the first time in decades, you can wander around inside it just as they do ($8; 39-06-3996-7700). A few blocks south of the Campidoglio, on Piazza Bocca della Verita, stands the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, with the Mouth of Truth, a monstrous stone face, on its portico. As Joe explains, if you stick your hand in its mouth and tell a lie, it'll bite off your fingers. Peck pulled down his sleeve so it looked as if his hand really did get chopped off. Hepburn fell for it, and her scream in the film is real.

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, Mexico | 2001 Horny teenagers Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) lure married Luisa (Maribel Verdu) on a road trip to a made-up idyllic beach. The one they eventually find, Playa la Entrega (called Boca de Cielo in the movie), on the Pacific coast, doesn't disappoint. Director Alfonso Cuaron filmed in Huatulco and Puerto Escondido, about 150 miles south of Acapulco. The palapa-bar scenes, which lead to the movie's memorable threesome, were filmed along Puerto Escondido's main drag, Avenida Perez Gasga. Stay in Santa Cruz Huatulco. One of the biggest lodging bargains is beautiful Mision de los Arcos, just off --the main square (misiondelosarcos.com ; from $26 double or $75 for a family suite).

SWINGERS, Los Angeles | 1996 Head to the neighborhood of Los Feliz, where Trent (Vince Vaughn) coaxes Mike (Jon Favreau) to hit on "beautiful babies." The Derby, where Mike eventually meets his match, hosts a swing night every Sunday (4500 Los Feliz Blvd.; 323-663-8979; the-derby.com ; $10; lessons at 6 p.m. and a live band at 8:30 p.m.). Then hit Las Vegas's Stardust Resort and Casino (3000 Las Vegas Blvd.; stardustlv.com ; rooms from ...