Whether James Bond is leaping across ancient rooftops, racing down snowy slopes, languishing in luxurious lakeside residences or seeking out villains’ urban hideouts, one of the joys of a 007 film is the places we get to travel to vicariously. As the latest film, No Time To Die, is set for its long-overdue launch, we look at some locations around the world that have played a starring role in the film franchise over the decades.
With its mountain passes full of hair-pin bends and snowy slopes made for chase sequences, Switzerland is a prime location for action films. As an offshore financial centre to boot, the land-locked country makes a regular appearance in James Bond films. Key settings include Piz Gloria, a revolving restaurant on Schilthorn's summit (pictured). It featured as arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s lair in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and today the mountain-top restaurant has various themed menu items, a Bond museum and 007 trail.
The dizzying Furka Pass, which loops between the Uri and Valais cantons in south-central Switzerland, also appears in Goldfinger, while glitzy resort St Moritz was used for thrilling ski chase sequences in both The Spy Who Loved Me and A View to a Kill. When he’s not plummeting down icy slopes, Bond can be seen jumping off various buildings. In the nail-biting opener to GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan’s Bond (or the stuntman anyway) dives off the towering Verzasca Dam near Locarno (pictured). Wannabe Bonds can recreate the stunt by signing up for a bungee jump there.
Like his flawed and restless hero, Ian Fleming was very well travelled and his explorations in Japan influenced his writing. The 1967 film You Only Live Twice was filmed in the photogenic country and sees Bond sent to Tokyo in search of the bad guys. Key locations include the city’s then ultra-modern Hotel New Otani, Shinmoedake volcano in Kirishima National Park (which was the villainous Blofeld’s lair), and 17th-century Himeji Castle in Hyōgo Prefecture (pictured). The latter was used as the grand location for a ninja training school.
Japan was once again the setting for a villain’s lair in 2012’s Skyfall. The deserted and tiny Hashima Island, a dilapidated coal-mining factory just off the coast of Nagasaki, made an extremely atmospheric hideout for Bond's creepy nemesis, Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). Now preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the industrial wasteland is also known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) because of its shape. It’s possible to visit the ghost town on guided tours with cruises departing regularly from Nagasaki's port.
Jamaica has long been a favoured location for the film franchise. It’s in the DNA, after all, as the Caribbean island was very close to creator Ian Fleming’s heart – he wrote all 14 books at his home GoldenEye in Oracabessa on the northeast coast. His tropical retreat is now an upscale resort where guests can stay in the author’s writing studio. Laughing Waters Beach was the setting for arguably the most famous Bond scene ever, when Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) emerges from the sea in the inaugural film, Dr No. The secret agent has returned to the island many times since, including in 1973's Live And Let Die, where Jamaica doubled as the fictional San Monique.
The Dunns River Falls, spectacular rock pools and cascades that tumble down to the sea near Ocho Rios, are one of the country’s most popular sights and famously featured in Dr No as part of the fictional Crab Key Island. So did vibrant capital Kingston, where Sean Connery filmed several scenes including at the Governor General’s mansion, King’s House. Away from the Bond connections, the island entrances with its jungle-clad Blue Mountains, plethora of palm-studded beaches, cool music scene, fantastic food and hip hotels. It’s no wonder the super sleuth keeps coming back – the tropical island also makes an appearance in the latest 007 instalment.
The spectacular rock pillars of Meteora are one of Greece’s most unusual landscapes. Criss-crossed with ancient trails, the rocky outcrops rise out of the plains of Thessaly in central Greece and are home to one of the most important monastic communities in Europe. As well as being carved out with hermit caves, they’ve been crowned with lofty Eastern Orthodox monasteries since the Middle Ages. The UNESCO World Heritage Site made an appearance in For Your Eyes Only when Roger Moore’s Bond scaled the sheer limestone cliff-face up to the Monastery of the Holy Trinity.
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Six rock-top monasteries are still in operation and it’s possible to visit them (without scaling the cliff, although the ascents are pretty steep). Guided hikes are a great way to discover the landscape and its age-old hermit caves and pilgrimage paths – and sunset is an especially magical time to take in the extraordinary “stone forest”. More ecclesiastical sights can be found in Kalabaka, a town that lies in the shadow of the pinnacles. Its 10th-century Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary has some extraordinary frescoes.
Corfu’s handsome old town also played a starring role in For Your Eyes Only. Many action sequences were filmed around its imposing Old Fortress, a vast complex built by the Venetians that masqueraded as Albania in the film. They were close: parts of this lush island are closer to Albania's sandy shores than Greece’s mainland. Neo-classical mansion Achilleion Palace, just to the old town's south, also featured as a casino; little village Pagi in the northwest was the setting for a car chase; and Corfu's stunning coastline was a dramatic backdrop for some cliff-edge scuffles.
Seaplane scenes reveal more of the island’s idyllic tree-lined coves and azure waters. Picturesque spots include Palaiokastritsa on the northwest coastline and the stunning Porto Timoni, a breath-taking double bay (pictured). The best way to explore Corfu's rugged coastline is by zipping from bay to bay by boat (you can hire them at most beach towns). There are lovely spots to cool off in Corfu Town too – including a swimming area beneath the Old Fortress where you can gaze up at the ramparts and imagine Bond racing around them. Or head to the port and hop on a ferry over to explore Albania.
Exuberant Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations in Mexico City’s grand Zócalo form a stunning backdrop for the dramatic opener of Spectre (2015). With its huge flagpole and imposing buildings, including the Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Palace, the vast plaza is at the heart of the historic district and just the place to start explorations. The nearby Gran Hotel Ciudad de México is where Bond slips into a hotel room with the mysterious Estrella (played by Mexican-American actor Stephanie Sigman) before giving chase across rooftops. It wasn’t the first time the Art Nouveau-hotel appeared in the franchise – it was also a location in Licence to Kill (1989).
Mexico’s sprawling capital has plenty to thrill with its must-see museums and galleries, eclectic barrios and tempting food scene. You can pore over works at the Museo Frida Kahlo and Palacio de Bellas Artes, gaze at the Angel of Independence on Avenida Paseo de la Reforma, and graze your way around its lively markets. There’s rich history in this modern metropolis too. The Zócalo, built by the Spanish conquistadors over the original Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, contains the ruins of an Aztec pyramid, the Templo Mayor. To see more, take the hour trip to gaze at the awe-inspiring pyramids of the Sun and Moon at Teotihuacán.
Italy and its beautiful lakes have been the location for many of Bond’s escapades. Magnet for the rich, the famous and for super villains too, Lake Como made a suitably glam appearance in 2006’s Casino Royale. The lake’s deep blue waters are backed by the Alps and its wooded shores are home to numerous ritzy residences, including the opulent Villa Balbianello (pictured). Sitting on a promontory on the western shore, the villa's beautiful terraced gardens were the location for several scenes (it can be visited on guided tours). Villa La Gaeta in San Siro, a private 1920-era mansion built to resemble a medieval castle, also appears as the setting for Bond's climactic battle with Mr White.
Boat is the most practical and pleasurable way to get around the 20-mile-long (32km) lake, so hire a motorboat or taxi boat to speed, 007 style, between mansions and pretty lakeside towns such as Bellagio and Varenna (pictured), which clings to a rocky headland opposite. There are plenty of swanky lakeside spots to stop for martinis and seafood lunches, and to explore cobbled lanes for hidden-away trysts and old-school trattorias. Another of Como's historic lakeside mansions is the exquisite Villa Carlotta with its lush gardens. Keep the thrills going like Bond by catching a train to Venice, whose canals, palazzo and piazzas also dazzled in Casino Royale (and a good few other Bond films).
The next instalment keeps us in Italy with Bond driving from a car chase in Lake Garda to Siena with Mr White in his car boot at the start of 2008’s Quantum of Solace. The hilltop Tuscan city is a stunning setting for a high-octane chase across ancient rooftops during its famous biannual bareback horse race, which takes place in the Piazza del Campo. The film crew had special permission to film the Palio, which takes place in July and August.
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All cobbled alleys in Siena’s car-free centre lead to the Piazza del Campo, a vast shell-shaped square lined with medieval palaces and cafés. The grand Torre del Mangia looms above the Palazzo Publicco and is the place to head for fantastic views. The medieval stronghold, which retains its old walls, is made up of 17 districts (contrade) all with a fierce sense of identity: 10 of them compete against each other in the horse race, which has taken place since the 17th century. Wander around the backstreets to spot each contrada’s symbols. Siena's other landmarks are its striking 13th-century cathedral and Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank.
For all his foreign forays, the British secret agent always returns home – more often than not reporting into London's MI6 HQ. Bond creator Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair – you can see a blue plaque at 22b Ebury Street, which was his home between 1934 and 1945, and drink Vesper martinis at Dukes London. Fleming frequented the hotel for its “shaken, not stirred" dry martinis, which were to become Bond’s signature drink. The well-heeled neighbourhood has also played host to various night-time liaisons in the books and films – for example, a set was built to resemble exclusive casino Les Ambassadeurs Club in Dr No.
The capital’s most expansive and dramatic appearance was in the opening sequence of The World is not Enough (1999). After launching onto the river from Thames House, real-life HQ of MI5, Bond races along the River Thames past the Houses of Parliament, under its famous bridges and through the wharf-lined Docklands to the Millennium Dome. Recreate the scene (Bond music and all) on a speedboat with Thames Rib Experience. Even when it doesn’t have a starring role, London has been present – in GoldenEye, for example, The Langham, Somerset House and St Sophia Church in Moscow Road all doubled as St Petersburg.
The World Is Not Enough also takes viewers far north of London and to Eilean Donan, a 13th-century castle in the western highlands which stars as the Scottish HQ of MI6. Once again, Scotland’s stunning wilderness makes a star turn in 2012’s Skyfall when Bond and M travel along the road to Loch Etive to hide out in the agent’s former family home, Skyfall Lodge. While the remote lodge was a studio construction, its location was real. It was filmed in Glen Etive, just near the rugged mountains of Glen Coe.
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The narrow and windy road that Bond and M drive along to his run-down family lodge starts at the A82 and goes for around 12 miles (20km) along the River Etive to spectacular sea loch Loch Etive. It’s a stunning route through the Highlands and has become a popular scenic drive since the film's release. More of Scotland's majestic lochs and wild, craggy scenery will be on show in No Time to Die with high-speed car chase scenes filmed in the Cairngorms National Park, a ravishing mountain wilderness in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.
The romantic palaces and dreamy waterways of Rajasthan’s ravishing city Udaipur have long captured travellers' and artists’ imaginations. It mesmerised viewers in Octopussy when its Lake Palace, one-time summer residence of the city's rulers, appeared as the opulent home of the film’s eponymous wealthy businesswoman. The floating 18th-century palace, which is set on an island in Lake Pichola, is now part of the luxury Taj Hotel Group. The old laneways of the so-called Venice of the East also featured extensively in the 1983 film.
A boat trip around Lake Pichola is a must – from the water you can see the many lakeside palaces, bathing ghats and temples that line its emerald green waters. The most magnificent of them all is the honey-coloured City Palace, built in the 16th century and home to generations of maharanas. Made up of 11 different mahals (smaller palaces), it's the largest palace complex in Rajasthan. Losing yourself in the old city’s tangle of lanes and bustling bazaars is another essential on any Udaipur itinerary – as is taking a breather in its serene gardens such as the Saheliyon Ki Bari on the banks of Fateh Sagar Lake.
The ethereal limestone karst towers of Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay feature prominently in 1974’s The Man With The Golden Gun, appearing as Bond flies over to Scaramanga's island. The real-life rocky islands of Khao Phing Kan and Ko Tapu doubled as the hideout of the assassin, played brilliantly by Christopher Lee. Back then this area of natural beauty in the Strait of Malacca was little known, but now its islands attract scores of visitors. Khao Phing Kan has even been renamed James Bond Island.
The hectic waterways of Bangkok also starred in the film as the setting for a thrilling, multi-vehicle chase. The high-speed chase scenes take place along the Chao Phraya river, passing some of the city’s notable landmarks including its colourful floating markets (namely Damnoen Saduak), palatial riverside Mandarin Oriental hotel and one of its oldest temples, Wat Suthat with its giant swing. Film makers returned to shoot in Phang Nga Bay for 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies.
A string of idyllic islands, the beautiful Bahamas makes plenty of appearances in the Bond film franchise. Thunderball (1965), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Never Say Never Again (1983) all featured some filming on location in the Caribbean archipelago. Capital Nassau with its yacht-filled harbour and glitzy resorts, appears many times, including in Thunderball's underwater fight. The port city on New Providence Island was also home to Bond star Sean Connery, who was a long-time resident in its ultra-exclusive Lyford Cay Club.
Casino Royale also takes in Nassau and Paradise Island, which is just off the northern coast of Providence Island and home to some seriously elegant resorts (including The Ocean Club, now part of the Four Seasons group). Daniel Craig’s Bond arrives at the exclusive beachfront hotel by seaplane with several scenes taking place in his swanky suite and the resort's beautiful gardens. Make like Bond and check in here or at the island's other super resort, Atlantis. The waters off Nassau are a top spot for diving too – the two wrecks that appeared in Never Say Never Again and Thunderball can be visited with Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas.
Istanbul is another handsome and history-rich city that has captivated Bond location scouts over the decades. The Turkish city dazzles in From Russia With Love, The World Is Not Enough and Skyfall. The latter thrills viewers with spectacular city scenes that include a nail-biting chase sequence across the roof of the sprawling 15th-century Grand Bazaar and around Eminonu Square and the New Mosque in its Old City.
Perched on a rocky outcrop on the edge of a sharp ravine, the southern Italian city of Matera has lured plenty of filmmakers with its spectacular setting, well-worn alleyways and atmospheric sassi (ancient cave dwellings). But the makers of Bond will truly put photogenic Matera on the map when No Time To Die, starring Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux, is released. The spy resumes his life-long love affair with Italy and the Basilicata beauty is one of the film’s primary locations.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site is the setting for a high-speed car chase scene, naturally featuring the secret agent’s Aston Martin (pictured here during filming). Matera's 13th-century Romanesque cathedral and sassi districts are a spectacular backdrop. The Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano quarters were once makeshift homes for the town’s underprivileged: now these age-old dwellings house restaurants, bars and hotels, including the charming Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita. There are also more than 100 rock-hewn churches including the largest, 12th-century Chiesa San Pietro Barisano.
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