The Oscar-grabbing movie travelled all over the US, but was based inCincinnati,Ohio, for four weeks, and made use of locations inIndianaandKentucky.

On hearing of his father’s death, hard-hearted businessman Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) travels fromLos Angeles, where his business operates out of the docks ofSan Pedro, toCincinnati.

Charlie’s childhood home is the Tudor-style mansion at2 Beech Crest Lane, off Madison Road inCincinnati’sEast Walnut Hillsdistrict, on the Ohio River’s northern shore, northeast of downtown.

The ‘Cincinnati Trust’, where Charlie charms the desk clerk to divulge the whereabouts of the $3 million trust fund, is the lobby of theDixie Terminal, 120 East Fourth Streetat Walnut Street, downtownCincinnati. TheDixie Terminal Buildingswere completed in 1921 as a combined streetcar terminal, stock exchange and office space for the city's business district. After streetcars were discontinued in the 1950s, the terminal continued to be used for bus services, until 1998 when these too ceased. The complex still houses shops and offices C and its elaborate marble arcade is open to the public.

If ‘Wallbrook’, the home where he finds brother Raymond, looks a bit religiose, with statues of the virgin in the walls, that’s because it’sSt Anne’s Convent, 1000 Saint Anne Drive, Melbourne, just to the southeast ofCincinnatiover the Ohio River on Route 8,Kentucky. Built 1919 by architect Howard McClorey, it now houses a Montessori school.

Charlie’s father’s funeral was filmed atEvergreen Cemetery, 25 Alexandria Pike, Southgate, just south ofNewport, also inKentucky.

The bridge Charlie and Raymond cross leaving town is theJohn A Roebling Suspension Bridge, a prototype for the designer’s later Brooklyn Bridge inNew York(you can see it from the window of theDixie Terminal Building).

the first night: Vernon Manor Hotel, Oak Street, Newport |Photograph: Flickr Nancy Badertscher

The first night away from ‘Wallbrook’ is spent at theVernon Manor Hotel, 400 Oak Street,Cincinnati, a 1924 landmark in the historic uptown district, loosely modelled on much-used movie location Hatfield House,Hertfordshire, in the UK. Unfortunately, the hotel finally closed its doors in March 2009.

counting toothpicks: Pompilio’s, Washington Avenue, Newport |Photograph: Flickr Jenniferrt66

And it’s back toNewportfor the café where Raymond reveals his numerical skills by remembering the waitress’s phone number and counting scattered toothpicks. It’sPompilio’s Bar and Restaurant,600 Washington Avenue. A southern Italian restaurant, built in 1933,Pompilio’swas granted one of the US’s first post-Prohibition liquor licences.

ServingCincinnati, though across the border inKentucky, it’s off toGreater Cincinnati International Airport, where Raymond quotes a few useful statistics, decides that road travel is preferable and the two take the highway,I-275, which happens to be the ring road aroundCincinnati.

the ‘Amarillo, Texas’ motel: DeLuxe Inn, El Reno, Oklahoma |Photograph: Flickr Jenniferrt66

The film’s crew was based inOklahoma Cityfor the cross-States journey. The motel in ‘Amarillo, Texas’, where Charlie realises that Raymond was his imaginary friend, ‘the Rain Man’, was the Big 8$ Motel,1705 East 66th Highway,El Reno, on I-40 about 15 miles west ofOklahoma City. It later became the DeLuxe Inn, but has since been demolished.

the motel in its heyday: Big 8$ Motel, El Reno, Oklahoma

making a phone call at the gas station: Cogar, Oklahoma |Photograph: Flickr GuyB v3.0

The gas station, where the pair stops to make a phone call, is a disused, and now once again dilapidatedW.S. Kelly Gas Station and Store, atCogar,Caddo County,Oklahoma, about ten miles south ofEl Renoover the South Canadian River.

Twenty miles west ofEl Reno, south of I-40, is the town ofHinton, where Raymond gets to watch Judge Wapner on the farmhouse TV. Way up about twenty miles north ofOklahoma City, on I-35, is the town ofGuthrie, where Charlie takes Raymond to see the doctor at theGuthrie Clinic, on the corner ofOklahoma Street and Division Street.

counting cards: Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas |Photograph: Flickr cayusa

More road filming took place in southNevada, en route toLas Vegas. Raymond demonstrates his skill with cards and Charlie teaches him to dance inCaesars Palace,3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard. The complex has been enlarged since filming. The foursome fromTodd Phillips's 2009 hitThe Hangoverfollow in their footsteps.

Back toLos Angeles, and Susanna (Valerie Golino) is dropped off at her apartment,Ocean View Apartments, 1435 South Beacon StreetinSan Pedro.

the offer from Dr Bruner: Westin Bonaventure Hotel, South Figueroa, downtown Los Angeles

Charlie, reborn as a caring brother, turns down a $250,000 offer from Dr Bruner poolside in theWestin Bonaventure Hotel,404 South Figueroa Street, downtown. Its cylindrical glass towers can also be seen inThis Is Spinal Tap,True Lies,In The Line of Fire,Jim McBride’s 1983 remake ofBreathless(withRichard Gere),Strange DaysandBuck Rogers in the 25th Century. Its interior even became the NASA facility forChristopher Nolan'sInterstellar.

Charlie's LA home is (the rear of)1599 Sunset Plaza DriveinWest Hoillywood.

He takes Raymond for pancakes at the Pink Cadillac Cafe (you can’t do the same C the pancake house is nowBlue Bamboo, 359 North La Cienega Boulevard, serving up Asian fusion fare), before battling it out with the medical profession (a cameo from directorBarry Levinson) for custody of Raymond.

the custody battle: Wattles Mansion, Hollywood, Los Angeles

The meeting takes place in theWattles Mansion,1824 North Curson Avenueon the south end of Runyon Canyon Park inHollywood, a 1905 house and gardens built as the winter residence of an Omaha businessman.

Charlie finally sees Raymond off back to ‘Wallbrook’ atSanta Ana Train Station, 2800 North Main Street, Santa Ana, southeast ofLos Angeles.

Charlie Babbitt's apartment: Sunset Plaza Drive, West Hollywood, Los Angeles