The ultimate guide to James Bond film locations and experiences 

From Dr. No to No Time To Die, this is your guide to the best James Bond film locations, destinations and experiences – and how to find them.

Vodka martinis, futuristic gadgets and beautiful women may define the James Bond persona, but they aren’t the only things that have kept audiences enthralled with the gentleman spy for the past 70 years. Throughout 25 films and 14 books written by Ian Fleming, Bond has traversed more than 50 countries both real and fictional, taking fans on a whistlestop tour of the world’s most beguiling cities. Armed with an all-access passport, money and insider knowledge of every destination, Bond is a traveller but never a tourist.

In his book Licensed to Look, Michael Denning observes that “travel and tourism make up much of the interest and action of a bond thriller”. Whether travelling ‘for business’ while undercover, or in the company of a ‘Bond Girl’ under the guise of a honeymoon or summer fling, Bond’s travels range from mass tourism to exclusive luxury, drawing in a diverse audience who crave the same experiences.

James Bond: The Original Influencer

Fleming’s fictional creation had such influence that in 1959, The Sunday Times sent Fleming on a world tour tasked with creating a series of travelogues. From Hong Kong, Tokyo and Honolulu to Las Vegas, Berlin, Vienna and Monte Carlo (and many more in between), Fleming unearthed excitement and adventure in every destination – locations that became characters themselves.

At a time when international travel was a rarity and film was a form of escapism, the 1962 movie adaptation of Dr. No took Bond’s cultural influence to new heights. Set among white-sand beaches and crystalline waterfalls in Jamaica, Bond took viewers to paradise while fighting the forces of evil.

The journey continues on the Orient Express in From Russia with Love, to Switzerland in Goldfinger, the Bahamas in Thunderball and Japan in You Only Live Twice. While Bond’s globetrotting missions left a trail of wanderlust-struck fans in his wake, EON Productions – the franchise’s production company – established a tradition of leaving a location better than they found it.

How James Bond films benefit their locations

The alpine adventure of 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service utilised an under-construction restaurant on top of the Schilthorn in Switzerland’s Bernese Alps. Reachable only by cable car, the production company offered to complete the build and incorporate a helipad provided the venue could serve as Blofeld’s lair, Piz Gloria. It did, and the helipad went on to be used by emergency services, while the restaurant is now home to Spy World, an interactive exhibition dedicated to the film. Similarly, in 2015, Spectre’s Day of the Dead opening scenes in Mexico City inspired a real parade to be initiated in 2016.

In his book, James Bond Destinations, Daniel Pembrey reports that EON Productions “donated a warehouse’s worth of floats, giant skeleton marionettes and other props” to the celebration, which was organised in response to tourism demand. Austria also benefitted from the film, which had scenes filmed on the Sölden peaks. Today, the interactive James Bond museum 007 Elements sits atop the snowy peaks, welcoming thousands of people every year. Thailand’s Khao Phing Kan appeared as Scaramanga’s lair in 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun and became a key tourist hotspot known as James Bond Island, which welcomes thousands of visitors each year.

James Bond has informed travel trends since the 1960s

Each instalment of the prolific film franchise is a love letter to its destination, and Bond’s economic, aesthetic and sociological influence is evident in the realm of travel. Luxury operator Black Tomato offers limited-edition 007 multi-day tours curated in partnership with EON Productions. Premium resort wear label Orlebar Brown and ski specialist Bogner each produce official James Bond product lines inspired by the films and the infamous motifs. The century-old luggage maison Globe Trotter creates the official James Bond luggage for those in the know. And let’s not forget the travelling exhibition of the spy’s luxury vehicles, Bond In Motion. From jaw-dropping landscapes to spectacular cultural immersions, these film locations grow beyond backdrops to become characters inextricably entwined with the myth, the man, and the legend himself: Bond, James Bond.

Eight of the best James Bond experiences around the world

1. 1. Travel agency Black Tomato hosts and organises 007 tours around the world.
   2. 007 Action is a new exhibition showcasing Bond vehicles, gadgets and costumes at the METAstadt Convention Centre in Vienna, Austria from September 2024.
   3. 007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond is open at The Griffin Museum of Science + Industry in Chicago, USA. It analyses the tech from 007’s 25 films and explores how physics, chemistry, engineering and mathematics have shaped James Bond’s on-screen adventures.
   4. Travelling vehicle exhibition Bond In Motion has arrived at Washington’s International Spy Museum in the USA.
   5. Journey to the peaks of Gaislachkogl Mountain in Solden, Austria, to explore 007 Elements, a cinematic gallery installation dedicated to James Bond 3,040 metres above sea level.
   6. Join a 007 London Walking Tour that explores film locations from the entire franchise across the English capital.
   7. 007 x SPYSCAPE: DRIVEN is an exhibition in New York City, USA, that investigates creative process behind the James Bond films.
   8. Climb to the top of Switzerland’s Schilthorn mountain where On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed. Here you can find Spy World, an interactive exhibition dedicated to the movie and the revolving summit restaurant which served as the headquarters of James Bond’s arch-nemesis Blofeld, known as ‘Piz Gloria’.

14 iconic James Bond film locations in London

1. 1. Ian Flemings home at 22b Ebury Street in Mayfair.
   2. The Langham on Regent Street, the central location of GoldenEye.
   3. The National Gallery’s Room 34, where Bond first encounters Q in Skyfall.
   4. Somerset Houses’ courtyard Christmas icerink was disguised as St. Petersburg in GoldenEye.
   5. Visit Dukes London, the bar where Fleming dreamt up the infamous ‘shaken, not stirred’ martini.
   6. The River Thames’s most notable appearance in the franchise is during The World Is Not Enough. 
   7. The home of the British Government, Whitehall, has been featured in Octopussy, A View to a Kill, License to Kill and Skyfall.
   8. SIS Building, Vauxhall is the secretive MI6 headquarters.
   9. The Reform Club is a private members-only establishment in Pall Mall that was used as a fictional fencing club known as ‘Blades’ in Die Another Day.
   10. In Spectre, M, Q, Bond and Moneypenny sit down for a delicious meal at Rules restaurant in Covent Garden, the oldest in the English capital.
   11. The bridge Bond runs down while wielding a gun in Spectre is Westminster Bridge.
   12. The budget was tight for GoldenEye, and St. Pancras Station in Kings Cross played the role of Russia’s St. Petersburg Station.
   13. Towards the end of Spectre, 007 and Moneypenny have a meeting on the picturesque Millenium Bridge in London, with the dome of St. Paul’s presiding over the rendezvous.

The ultimate guide to James Bond film locations around the world 

1962 Dr. No

• • Jamaica is considered the ‘spiritual home’ of James Bond, as it is where Ian Fleming wrote all 13 of his spy books while staying at ‘GoldenEye’, his residence on Oracabessa Bay. Jamaica has acted as the backdrop to many Bond films, particularly in Kingston where the famous ‘Three Blind Mice’ scene occurred on South Parade Square.
  • The small town of Ochos Rios in Jamaica served at Crab Key.

1963 From Russia With Love

• • With film locations in Italy and Turkey, Bond visited the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.

1964 Goldfinger 

• • The golf course where Bond challenges Auric Goldfinger is Stoke Park Country Club in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom.
  • The winding roads of Switzerland’s Furka pass are traversed by Bond in his Aston Martin DB5.

1965 Thunderball 

• • Almost every underwater scene is filmed at the southwest reefs of New Providence off Coral Harbour in the Bahamas, and you can even dive to see the remains of the Vulcan Bomber prop today.
  • While the nuclear warheads in this film are hidden in a fictional underwater cave guarded by sharks, you’re more likely to find swimming pigs at the film location, which is Thunderball Grotto in Exumas, Bahamas.

1967 You Only Live Twice 

• • Journey to Japan to see the James Bond film locations from this instalment, which sees our beloved spy visit Himeji Castle. Blofeld’s desert lair is also located in Japan’s Shinmoe-dake Vulcano.

1969 On Her Majestry’s Secret Service 

• • The epic snow scenes from this film take place on the Schilthorn in Switzerland, where you can also find Spy World.

1971 Diamonds Are Forever 

• • The opening scenes were filmed at a private beach on Cap d’Antibes in France’s Cote d’Azur.

1973 Live and Let Die 

• • The Swamp Safari Crocodile Farm at Falmouth in Jamaica is where the croc-jumping scene was filmed

1974 The Man With The Golden Gun 

• • So famous is the James Bond film location in Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay, it is now known as James Bond Island, made famous as Scaramanga’s lair.

1977 The Spy Who Loved Me 

• • The cylindrical plateau of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island in Canada was used for the opening stunts

1979 Moonraker 

• • Scenes of Hugo Drax’s lair were filmed in France at Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, a privately owned palace outside Paris.

1981 For Your Eyes Only 

• • Escape to Corfu Island in Greece and you’ll see the olive plantations around Pagi where the Citroen chase was filmed.
  • Another James Bond film location in Greece was Metéora Monastery (Holy Trinity Monastery), where 007 climbs up the cliffside to recover a stolen ATAC device.

1983 Octopussy 

• • India’s floating hotel, Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, infamously housed a cult of female smugglers run by none other than Octopussy.

1983 Never Say Never Again 

• • James Bond film locations for this film were plotted in France, Spain, the Bahamas and Elstree Studio in the United Kingdom.

1985 A View To A Kill 

• • The antagonist in this film, Max Zorin, resided in the very real Château de Chantilly, a castle in France located around 50 kilometres north of Paris.
  • The two-Michelin-star Jules Verne Restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris is where Roger Moore’s Bond faced off with Grace Jones (AKA May Day).

1987 The Living Daylights 

• • The opening scenes for this ‘80s film take place at the Rock of Gibraltar in Gibraltar.
  • When Kara is eventually allowed to play Tchaikovsky at the film’s end, she does so in Schönbrunn Palace Theater in Vienna, Austria.
  • When Bond traversed ‘Afghanistan’, he was actually in the Sahara in Morocco. Join a quad-bike or camel tour from the nearby town of  Ouarzazate and explore the area, along with the UNESCO-listed citadel that doubled as the Mujahideen hideout.

1989 Licence To Kill 

• • Tucked away in Florida’s Key West, Hemingway House (the home of literary great Ernest) appears as an MI6 base.

1995 GoldenEye 

• • The towering dam Pierce Brosnan runs across in his debut film is Verzasca Dam in Ticino, Switzerland.

1997 Tomorrow Never Dies 

• • After a brief visit to London’s Somerset House and its courtyard, Bond departs for Hamburg, Germany, where we scenes are shot on Monckebergstrasse, and Hotel Atlantic Kempinski stands in as Alster Hotel Atlantic.

1999 The World Is Not Enough 

• • The River Thames in London Served as a backdrop to the memorable speedboat chase
  • Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland appears as the Scottish headquarters of MI6

2002 Die Another Day 

• • Cadiz in southern Spain masquerades as the Cuban town of Havanna in this ‘90s iteration.
  • Another James Bond film location, another car chase. This time, the thrilling hunt takes place in Jökulsárlón, Iceland.

2006 Casino Royale 

• • There’s an abundance of James Bond film locations in Italy, and this film saw Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como act as Bond’s hideaway during his recovery, before cruising into Venice via the Grand Canal on a speedboat. Bond moors his boat in front of The Belmond Hotel Cipriani.
  • Prague is home to quite a few James Bond film locations from Casino Royale. The National Museum in Prague appeared as Casino Royale, Danube House is where the pre-title sequence was filmed and Strahov Monastery appeared as the House of Commons.

2008 Quantum of Solace 

• • In the real world, Dominic Greene’s lair is the residence of on-site scientists of the ESO Paranal Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert. While you can’t stay there, you can join a free tour of the facility on Saturdays.

2012 Skyfall 

• • The mountainous terrain of Scotland’s Glen Coe and Glen Etive were used for Bond’s family estate
  • When MI6’s operations move underground after an explosion, the subterranean scenes were filmed in the Old Vic Tunnels that run under London’s Waterloo Station.

2015 Spectre 

• • The SIS Building at Vauxhall Cross in London, also known as the MI6 Building, is one of the most well-known James Bond film locations and was spectacularly ‘blown up’ in this instalment.
  • When Bond ventures out to Blofeld’s secret desert lair, he does so in Morocco’s Gara Medouar Crater.
  • Visit Mexico City in November during the Day of the Dead celebrations to rub shoulders with skeletons used in the film’s opening scenes.

2021 No Time To Die 

• • Cairngorms National Park was used for the car chase scenes
  • When Bond and Madeleine are engaged in an epic car chase, the picturesque Atlantic Ocean Road in Norway stands in as a dramatic backdrop.
  • The two-tier bridge and aqueduct bond leaps from is Puglia’s Ponte Madonna della Stella in Italy.