Empty modern U-Bahn platform with steel columns and ceiling lights in Berlin

Where Was Resident Evil Filmed?

The Hive lurked under Berlin, the mansion stood in Potsdam, and Raccoon City was really Toronto.

Check availabilitySee every location

The Short Answer

Resident Evil (2002) was filmed mainly in Berlin and Potsdam, Germany, with Toronto, Canada, playing Raccoon City. An unopened Berlin U-Bahn station became The Hive's entrance, Lindstedt Palace in Potsdam stood in for the Spencer mansion, and a former Potsdam barracks supplied interior sets. Toronto's Midwestern look earned it the street-level Raccoon City scenes.

Paul W. S. Anderson's 2002 adaptation of the Capcom survival horror game sends its characters to Raccoon City, a fictional American town. The cameras, however, rarely left Germany and Canada. Principal photography ran from March 5 to May 19, 2001, splitting time between Berlin, the Potsdam suburbs, and Toronto.

The split served the story well. Germany supplied the unsettling institutional architecture beneath and around The Hive, while Toronto's grid of brick streets passed convincingly for an American Midwest city under siege. Several of these sites can still be tracked down today.

Every Location At A Glance

LocationWhereWhat was filmedAccess
Bahnhof Bundestag (U-Bahn station)Berlin, GermanyThe Hive underground entrance chamberFree to see
Schloss Lindstedt (Lindstedt Palace)Potsdam, GermanySpencer mansion / above-ground entrance to The HiveTicketed
Kaserne Krampnitz (Krampnitz Barracks)Potsdam, GermanyOfficers' Mess interior of The HivePrivate property
TorontoToronto, CanadaRaccoon City streets and exteriorsFree to see

Filming Locations Map

4 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Location By Location

Bahnhof Bundestag (U-Bahn station), Berlin
Location 01

Bahnhof Bundestag (U-Bahn station)

Mitte, Berlin, Germany Free to see

Filmed here: The Hive underground entrance chamber

The Hive's underground entrance chamber was shot in this U-Bahn station, which had not yet opened to the public at the time of filming. That unused status gave the production a ready-made, genuinely subterranean set. Today it is an operational station on the U5 line in central Berlin, so visiting costs nothing beyond a standard transit fare. Riders can step onto the platforms and picture the red-laced corridors that led down into Umbrella's laboratory.

Schloss Lindstedt (Lindstedt Palace), Potsdam
Location 02

Schloss Lindstedt (Lindstedt Palace)

Brandenburg, Potsdam, Germany Ticketed

Filmed here: Spencer mansion / above-ground entrance to The Hive

This palace in Potsdam provided the Spencer mansion and the above-ground entrance to The Hive. Its stately facade is what Milla Jovovich's Alice walks out of in the film's early scenes. The palace sits within the Sanssouci Park UNESCO World Heritage site, and visits are ticketed, with guided tours and events offered. It is the most rewarding stop for fans, since the building looks on screen much as it does in person.

Kaserne Krampnitz (Krampnitz Barracks), Potsdam
Location 03

Kaserne Krampnitz (Krampnitz Barracks)

Brandenburg, Potsdam, Germany Private property

Filmed here: Officers' Mess interior of The Hive

The former Krampnitz barracks near Potsdam housed the interior sets for The Hive, including the officers' mess. Production crews built laboratory and corridor sets inside its cavernous military buildings. The site is private property and not generally open to the public, though urban explorers have documented it over the years. Fans should admire it from a distance or through the many photographs circulating online rather than trespassing.

Toronto, Toronto
Location 04

Toronto

Ontario, Toronto, Canada Free to see

Filmed here: Raccoon City streets and exteriors

Toronto stood in for Raccoon City, chosen because its streetscapes read convincingly as a Midwestern American city. Urban scenes and exteriors were shot around the city, though sources do not detail the specific sites. That vagueness works in travelers' favor: a general film location walk through downtown Toronto covers much of the same ground. The city remains one of North America's busiest screen production hubs.

Where It Is Set Versus Where It Was Filmed

The story is set in Raccoon City, a fictional town in the United States, but no filming happened on American soil. The Hive and the mansion sequences were shot in Berlin and Potsdam, Germany, while Toronto, Canada, handled the Raccoon City street scenes. It is a familiar trade: Germany offered eerie institutional spaces, Toronto offered a convincing American downtown.

The Studio Side

Interior work also relied on Studio Berlin Adlershof, a major German studio facility in Berlin. Unlike the palaces and stations used for location shooting, the studio itself is a working production complex and is not set up for public visits, so it earns a mention here for completeness rather than as a stop on an itinerary.

Tours That Visit These Locations

Only one of the filming locations overlaps with a bookable tour experience: the Toronto side of the production. A general television and movie tour of Toronto, which includes a visit to the University of Toronto, covers the city whose streets doubled as Raccoon City. It is not a dedicated Resident Evil tour, but it places visitors in the same urban landscape seen on screen.

Toronto Film Locations Walk

Toronto: TV & Movie Tour with University of Toronto Visit

See the city that played Raccoon City on a guided TV and movie tour of Toronto, with a stop at the University of Toronto, for 161 USD per person.

From$161Check availability

Frequently Asked Questions

Where Was Resident Evil filmed?

Mainly in Berlin and Potsdam, Germany, with additional shooting in Toronto, Canada. Filming ran from March 5 to May 19, 2001.

Was Raccoon City a real place?

No. Raccoon City is fictional and set in the United States. Toronto stood in for its streets because the city resembles a Midwestern American downtown.

Can You Visit the Spencer Mansion from Resident Evil?

Yes, in a sense. Schloss Lindstedt in Potsdam provided the mansion exterior and Hive entrance. It is part of the Sanssouci Park UNESCO site and can be visited on ticketed guided tours.

Can You Visit the U-Bahn Station Used for The Hive?

Yes. Bahnhof Bundestag is an operational station on Berlin's U5 line. It was still unopened when the production used it as the Hive entrance chamber, and it is accessible with normal public transport.

Is Krampnitz Barracks Open to the Public?

No. The former military site is private property and not generally accessible. Urban exploration has been reported there, but entering is trespassing, so admire it from public roads instead.

Are There Resident Evil Tours in Toronto?

No dedicated Resident Evil tour exists. A general TV and movie tour of Toronto, including a University of Toronto visit, covers the city that doubled as Raccoon City.

Germany and Canada split the work of building Raccoon City, and both halves reward a visit differently. Potsdam offers the palace architecture of the Spencer mansion inside a UNESCO park, Berlin offers a working transit station with a secret cinematic past, and Toronto offers a film-friendly city best explored with a guide. Fans with a Berlin base can manage the first two in a single day trip.

Keep Exploring

Sources