Netflix’s Geek Girl was filmed in London, UK, and Ottawa, Canada, at Waterloo’s Leake Street tunnel, North Greenwich, Shaftesbury Avenue, Waterloo Bridge, Trinity Buoy Wharf, Canadian Museum of Nature, National Gallery of Canada, Fairmont Chateau Laurier, Major’s Hill Park, Rideau Canal Locks and NCC River House.
Harriet Manners (Emily Carey) and her best friend, Nat (Rochelle Harrington), don’t realise that a school trip to London Fashion Week will end in a modelling contract.
Nat doesn’t make the cut, but former supermodel Jude Paignton (Sarah Parish) wants to sign Harriet to her agency, Infinity Models. Can Harriet convince her dad Richard (Tim Downie), and stepmum Annabel (Jemima Roper) to agree – while handling school bullies, running into moody rival models and getting to know Nick Park (Liam Woodrum)?
Geek Girl Filming Locations
The many filming locations for Geek Girl include Waterloo, North Greenwich, Bloomsbury, the Docklands, Pimlico and Downtown Ottawa, Canada. UK location filming took place in June 2023, with the Canadian episodes filmed in July 2023.
Is Geek Girl Based on a Book?
Yes, Netflix’s Geek Girl series is based on the Geek Girl books by Holly Smale. The author partly based the character of Harriet on herself as a teen, and revealed that after writing them, she was diagnosed as autistic. Her own authentic experiences added to Harriet’s character – though her modelling journey is fictional.
If you want to read more of Harriet Manners’ adventures, there’s are 6 Geek Girl novels to dive into. But for now, back to the Netflix adaptation, co-written by the original author, Holly Smale. Look out for these Geek Girl filming locations in London and Canada along the way!
Geek Girl Filming Locations
Fairmont Chateau Laurier
Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Mack Male from Edmonton, AB, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Geek Girl hotel location is the Fairmont Chateau Laurier at 1 Rideau Street in Downtown Ottawa. Set in a sumptuous castle (yes, castle), this grand hotel has hosted the city’s VIP guests for decades.
Plaza Bridge Tunnel
Filming for Geek Girl took place at Ottawa’s Plaza Bridge pedestrian tunnel, a former railway tunnel which runs beneath the bridge.
It’s close to the Canal Locks, Rideau Street and most of the Canadian Geek Girl filming locations. In fact, one end of the bridge meets the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel.
Major’s Hill Park
Major's Hill Park. Bob Linsdell, CC BY 3.0
Geek Girl’s Canadian filming locations include Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa, above the Rideau Canal. You can see the canal in some shots later in Harriet’s first modelling assignment. It’s located right in the centre of Ottawa, making it the scene of Canada Day celebrations and other city-wide festivals.
Rideau Canal National Historical Site
Rideau Canal Locks. DavidWEnstrom, CC BY-SA 4.0
Look out for Ottawa’s Rideau Canal Locks 1-8 – the Geek Girl canal location appears later in the Canadian scenes. This historic landmark was central to Ottawa’s beginnings, with these locks linking up the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River.
NCC River House
Formerly known as the Ottawa River House, this recently refurbished boating and swimming site also appears in Geek Girl’s Ottawa scenes.
Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian Museum of Nature. shankar s. from Dubai, united arab emirates, CC BY 2.0
The grand museum location in Geek Girl’s Canadian episodes is the Canadian Museum of Nature’s Victoria Memorial Museum Building in Downtown Ottawa. And there’s a reason why the Netflix show’s location is so fancy.
When it was built in 1912, no building had ever been custom-built for a national museum in Canada before! The designer took inspiration from Scottish Baronial castles to give it a grand, almost medieval feel.
National Gallery of Canada
Filming also took place at the National Gallery of Canada on Sussex Drive, Ottawa. It was founded with a collection of one landscape painting. But today, the building holds over 75,000 pieces, including a vast collection of Indigenous and Canadian pieces.
Trinity Buoy Wharf
Trinity Buoy Wharf Lighthouse, London. The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Geek Girl modelling agency location is in the Trinity Buoy Wharf area in London. Look out for its unusual lighthouse (and in fact, London’s only lighthouse!) peeking over the rooftops. The lighthouse also featured in Netflix thriller Rogue Agent.
This Infinity Models location in the Docklands appears throughout Geek Girl, including Harriet’s arrival and meetings – as well as Jude Paignton’s frantic negotiations with designer Yuji Lee (Sandra Yi Sencindiver).
The O2
Look out for the O2 in North Greenwich appearing in establishing shots of Harriet’s modelling agency, Infinity Models. We see a few angles of the former Millennium Dome and the Greenwich Peninsula during Geek Girl, as well as other nearby locations.
Greenwich Park
Old Royal Naval College. Txllxt TxllxT, CC BY-SA 4.0
Look out for Greenwich Park and the Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) in long shots at start of Episode 3. These much-loved London filming locations appear in everything from Cruella to Bridgerton and more.
Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel
Geek Girl’s graffiti tunnel location is the Leake Street tunnel, a local landmark beneath Waterloo Station. Look out for it as Harriet goes to the Infinity agency offices in Episode 3. It’s home to Leake Street Arches arts and entertainment venues, which. lie in the vaults beneath the station.
Going back to the 90s, the Leake Street tunnel once led to the original Eurostar terminal in Waterloo. It became a graffiti haven when Banksy set up here in 2008, and it’s attracted artists ever since.
Shaftesbury Avenue
Nat waits for Harriet at 241 Shaftesbury Avenue in Bloomsbury, London, just around the corner from the British Museum. It’s the former home of Fanny Wilkinson, the first female landscape gardener in the UK – you can just glimpse her Blue Plaque, if you’re quick!
Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge. MrsEllacott, CC BY-SA 4.0
Harriet and Nat meet on Waterloo Bridge, where they argue about Harriet’s lateness after her date with Nick. This London Geek Girl location appears in Episode 7, and it’s got a secret girl-power history.
Built during World War II, lots of the construction work was done by women – unusual for the time. As a result, this Geek Girl location is known as The Ladies Bridge.
Riverside Walk Garden
Another Thames-side London location in Geek Girl is Riverside Walk Garden, where Wilbur has a chip supper lunch. Situated north of the river, Riverside Walk Garden is just a few steps away from stylish Pimlico townhouses and the Tate Britain in Millbank.
The imposing building opposite is recognisable from the Bond movies and more – it’s the real-life MI6 HQ. Though you’ll have to look past the Albert Embankment Foreshore works in front of it...