In ‘Spectre’ we get to take a look at James Bond’s apartment. He (Daniel Craig) was standing at the window wearing dressing gown while waiting for Monneypenny (Naomie Harris). She brought him a box with personal things recovered from Skyfall. After the meeting in the apartment Moneypenny walked down the street into the darkness of the night.
– 1 Stanley Gardens, Notting Hill, London, UK
The exterior of the house was filmed at 1 Stanley Gardens in Notting Hill in London.
– 1 Stanley Gardens on the corner of Stanley Gardens and Stanley Cres.
The entrance to the building is located at Stanley Cres.
The exterior of the townhouse was filmed on December 15th 2014 in the evening. It was a week after principal photography began. Interior of the apartment was filmed at Pinewood Studios.
Both Daniel Craig and Naomie Harris were on location. Daniel Craig was standing at the window in an apartment with a balcony. Naomie Harris walked down the Stanley Cres towards Ladbroke Gardens.
At the beginning of ‘No Time to Die’ Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) had flashback of her mother’s death while swimming in the sea in Italy. After that she and James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Aston Martin DB5 took the scenic road at the sea. After a few corners they entered the tunnel that led to Matera.
Road SS18 Tirrena Inferiore along the coast by the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The sequence with Aston Martin DB5 was filmed from a helicopter in the south of Italy on road SS18 Tirrena Inferiore between Sapri and Acquafredda. It began near Canale di Mezzanotte on the border between Campania and Basilicata. It ended a few corners later below the tower called Torre dei Crivi. In the film Matera was right after the tunnel. In reality it would have to be 200 km long! Matera is located on the eastern side of the Apennine peninsula, about 60 km from the Adriatic Sea. The SS18 Tirrena Inferiore road runs along the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the opposite side of the peninsula. Filmmakers wanted to film the seqence in in the setting sun therefore, they sought a suitable route on the western side of the peninsula.
Road SS18 Tirrena Inferiore along the coast by the Tyrrhenian Sea. Part of the road where the scene with Aston Martin DB5 at the beginning of the film and Aston Martin V8 Vantage at the very end of ‘No Time to Die’ were filmed.Tower Torre dei Crivi (top of the frame) above the road SS18 Tirrena Inferiore.
The tunnel they entered was not real. CGI was used to create it. In the film you can see the wall of the tunnel covering third arch of the bridge (photo below) and part of the road on the right.
There is real tunnel around the next corner but it is very short and there is no Matera behind it as you can see below.
Road SS18 Tirrena Inferiore.
The same location was used to film the very last scene with Madeleine Swann driving Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
After killing Marco Sciarra in Mexico James Bond (Daniel Craig) arrived to Rome to attend his funeral. From a distance, he was watching the mourners leaving the chapel. In the next scene he was watching them standing at the Sciarra’s grave. After the ceremony he approached the widow Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci) and began a conversation that was interrupted by her bodyguard.
The entire funeral sequence was filmed in the second half of February 2015 at the Museum of the Roman Civilization (Museo della Civiltà Romana) in Rome, Italy. It is located in the south of the city away from the main tourist attractions. Motorsport fans may be interested in the fact that Formula E street circuit is located very close to the museum.
The complex is made up of two buildings with a long portico of travertine columns. Standing on Via dell’Architettura you will see the building with the main entrance to the museum on the left, the building with the Planetario on the right and the portico with „MUSEO DELLA CIVILTA ROMANA” sign on top in front of you.
– The Museum of the Roman Civilization. Entrance to the planetarium on the right and portico of travertine columns on the left.– The portico of travertine columns.
In the first scene of the funeral Daniel Craig was filmed in front of the main entrance to the museum. He was looking at the entrance to the Planetario. Mourners were walking left towards the portico.
– The Museum of the Roman Civilization. In the background the entrance to the Planetario. Photo taken in front of the main entrance to the museum.
In the next scene Daniel Craig was walking between travertine columns towards mourners. There was Piazza Giovanni Agnelli behind columns and skyscraper at Piazza Guglielmo Marconi in background.
– View from the portico at Piazza Giovanni Agnelli and skyscraper at Piazza Guglielmo Marcon.
Final scenes of the funeral were filmed between columns of the portico. The tombs were built for the film between columns on the Viale della Scultura side.
– Between two rows of travertine columns of the portico.
After the funeral widow Lucia Sciarra returned home. It was filmed in the first half of March 2015 in Villa di Fiorano. Everyone can rent it for the wedding or elegant party. It is located at Via Appia Antica less than 1,5 km from Rome airport Ciampino.
There were only a few scenes in ‘No Time to Time’ that were shot on location in London unlike in ‘Spectre’ or ‘Skyfall’. One of them was the scene with James Bond (Daniel Craig) arriving at MI6 headquarters in Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Previously James Bond was driving such car in ‘The Living Daylights’.
The scene was filmed on June 30th 2019 at Whitehall Ct. The car was parked near number 4. Daniel Craig walked towards Ministry of Defence that doubled for MI6 headquarters.
– 4 Whitehall Ct.– 4 Whitehall Ct and Ministry of Defence main building on the right.– Ministry of Defence main building.
While filming the scene, Nicola Dove who was still photographer on the set of ‘No Time to Time’ (Interview with Nicola Dove – ‘No Time to Die’ still photographer), took an iconic photo of Daniel Craig. It became an advertisement for Omega watches. It was also the first look image made available to the press.
Whitehall Ct is located in the very center of London. No wonder it is close to other filming locations known from James Bond franchise. In the next photo you can see the place where Bond parked the car in ‘No Time to Die’ in the right bottom and the Old War Office on the left. It was the MI6 headquarter in ‘Octopussy’, ‘A View to a Kill’ and ‘Licence to Kill’. The dome tower was also presented at the end of ‘Skyfall’ when James Bond was standing on the roof and looking at the London panorama. (‘Old War Office Building as MI6 HQ‘).
Another ‘Skyfall’ location can be found behind the Old War Office building. If you walk down the Whitehall Ct in the direction from which the Aston Martin V8 Vantage arrived, you will see the Embankment Place round the corner. The scene with Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) leaving the subway station was filmed there (‘Skyfall’ at Embankment Station in London).
After opening sequence James Bond went to Bratislava in Czechoslovakia. At the time when ‘The Living Daylights’ was filmed getting permission to film in communist bloc countries was very difficult. Therefore Vienna in Austria was doubling for Bratislava in the movie.
James Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Saunders (Thomas Wheatley) were sitting on a balcony in a concert hall. Bond was looking at general Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe), who was supposed to be transported to the West. He also noticed cellist Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo). Just before the concert interval 007 and Saunders left the concert hall and went to the Mi6 safe house in a building across the street. Soon general Koskov went out into the streets through the toilet window. Bond saw an assassin in a window above the entrance to the concert hall. It was cellist Kara Milovy.
The sequence began with establishing shot of the street and philharmonic building. It was Währinger Strasse in Vienna and the opera house called Volksoper. The camera was directed towards the viaduct on which the metro runs. In the film there was a small tree in front of the Volksoper. I was visiting Bond locations in Vienna in 2020, so it was 33 years after filming. During this time, the tree has grown, but the building hasn’t changed much.
– Währinger Strasse in Vienna.
– Volksoper in Vienna.
Entrance to Mi6 safe house was filmed at the intersection of Währinger Strasse and Schlagergasse in front of Volksoper. The hammer and sickle that were seen in the film were mounted on the balcony shown in the photo.
– The building at the intersection of Währinger Strasse and Schlagergasse.
General Koskov went through the window that is shown in a photo below. It is located to the left of side entrances to the Voksoper.
– Window in Volksoper in Vienna.– Side entrances to Volksoper in Vienna.
James Bond saw Kara Milovy with a gun in a window above main entrance to the building. It is the one below ‘Volksoper’ sign.
– Main entrance to Volksoper in Vienna.
James Bond helped general Koskov to escape from Czechoslovakia to Austria by sending him across the border in the Trans-Siberian pipeline, but at first they traveled by car.
Night ride was filmed in the center of Vienna. They went out on Traungasse.
– Traungasse in Vienna.
At the end of the street, right before the arched passage, the car turned left onto Lagergasse
– Intersection of Traungasse and Lagergasse in Vienna.
Later the Audi drove across the Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz and entered Sonnenfelsgasse.
– Doktor-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz in Vienna.
Later in the film James Bond returned to Bratislava to follow Kara Milovy. He saw her arrested outside her house. She left cello case in a tram. Bond took it to the public toilet at the tram depot to see what was inside without any witnesses.
The scene in which Kara was arrested was filedm at the tram stop at Antonigasse. After over 30 years it was easy to recognize the location. Only trams are completely different from what we saw in the movie.
– Tram stop on Antonigasse in Vienna.
The tram depot where Bond got off the tram has been closed down over 20 years ago. There are no more tram tracks but the building at Kreuzgasse still exists. Currently there is a gym inside the building.
– Former tram depot at Kreuzgasse in Vienna.
You can find the building where the entrance to the public toilet was filmed right next to the former tram depot. As you can see in a photo below it is not in use anymore.
Kara returned to her flat. There was James Bond waiting for her. They both escaped in Bond’ Aston Martin but first they had to fool KGB agent waiting in a car in front of her house. Bond was the first to leave the building. Kara went to the phone booth. She dressed the cello case with her clothes. She ran away when a tram was passing. KGB agent was convinced that Kara was still in the phone booth.
The entrance to the building in which Kara lived was located at Antonigasse 92.
– Antonigasse 92 in Vienna.
James Bond parked his Aston Martin at the intersection of Antonigasse and Sommarugagasse. It was roughly where the silver car is pictured in a photo below. Phone booth was located to the left of the orange delivery truck in that photo.
– Antonigasse in Vienna.
The scene with James Bond and Kara Milovy driving away was filmed at Schlagergasse.
Sources: – jamesbondlocations.blogspot.com – „The Living Daylights” Audio Commentary, „The Living Daylights” Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006.
James Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo) arrived to Vienna and took a carriage to the hotel. On the way they passed among others Schönbrunn Palace, former summer residence of the Habsburg family.
Schönbrunn Palace.
The horse-drawn carriage with Bond and Kara traveled along a line of trees towards the southern facade of the palace.
Southern facade of the palace.
When they were passing in front of the palace an orchestra was playing on the balcony, and couples were waltzing on a stage.
While visiting the Schönbrunn Palace you can enter the balcony where the orchestra was playing (see below).
The stage where couples were waltzing was located below the balcony on a wide strip sprinkled with gravel that you can see in the next photo.
Behind the carriage you could see the gloriette. It was built in 18th century on the top of the hill in the Schönbrunn Palace Garden.
The Gloriette on the top of the hill in the Schönbrunn Palace Garden.
Standing on the balcony where the orchestra was playing you can see on the left the alley that the carriage came along and the gloriette on the right.
It is worth to climb the hill where the gloriette is located. The view from the top is gorgeous. You can see from there the southern facade of the palace with a city skyline in background.
View from the top of the hill in the Schönbrunn Palace Garden.
In the evening James Bond and Kara Milovy attended the opera performance. That sequence was filmed in Schlosstheater in Schönbrunn Palace with nearly 250 extras. It is worth to mention that Michael G. Wilson and his wife were sitting in the audience. As he confessed it was the charm of this place that convinced them to be part of the scene.
Schlosstheater in Schönbrunn Palace.
The same location was used for the concert sequence with Kara playing solo at the end of the film. The role of the conductor was played bycomposer John Barry, who composed soundtracks for 12 James Bond films. Unfortunately the Schlosstheater was closed for the public during my visit to Vienna.
The northern facade of the palace was the background for the end credits.
In ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) followed Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) to Hamburg in Germany. At the airport he got specially equipped BMW 750 from Q (Desmond Llewelyn). Bond went to a big party organized by his opponent. There he met his former lover – Paris (Teri Hatcher), who had married Elliot Carver. Jealous husband ordered his subordinates to get rid of 007, who managed to come out of trouble and return to hotel. Paris Carver was already waiting for him in his room already. Later Bond sneaked into the printing house of Carver’s press empire. There he found entrance to secret laboratory. He had to run away in a hurry after being discovered by security. He left the building and got into the car parked nearby. Driving a car he was talking on the phone with Elliot Carver. His arrival to the hotel was noticed and reported by Stamper (Gotz Otto), standing on the roof of the opposite building. In the room James Bond found Paris dead and assassin – dr. Kaufmann (Vincent Schiavelli). James Bond killed that man and escaped from the room on the roof of the hotel. In a multi-storey car park he used mobile phone to remotely drive his car to escape from a group of opponents and finally knocked BMW into the AVIS window.
The sequence described above was located in Hamburg, but only part of it was filmed in Germany. Indoor scenes were filmed mostly in Great Britain. James Bond’s meeting with Q was filmed at the Hamburg airport on march 25th 1997. Carver’s party was filmed in IBM building in London, as well as in Pinewood Studios. Bond’s apartment was filmed in Stoke Poges club in Buckinghamshire. The fight in Carver’s printing house was filmed in real printing house in south-east part of London. Next scene with James Bond running to his car was filmed in Hamburg at Mönckebergstraße. He ran out of the Kleine Rosenstrasse passing by the entrance to the shopping center.
– Europa Passage shopping center.
Bond’s BMW 750iL was parked at Mönckebergstraße next to Saint Peter’s Church.
– Mönckebergstraße in Hamburg, Germany. There is the town hall in the middle of the photo and wall of Saint Peter’s Church on the left.
The scene with Bond driving and talking on the phone was filmed nearby at Ballindam street.
– Hapag-Lloyd AG headquarters at Ballindam street in Hamburg.
While he was driving, different buildings were visible in background on the other side of the Inner Alster Lake, also called Binnenalster. There was i.e. Heinrich Hertz Tower.
– Fairmont Hotel at Binnenalster and Heinrich Hertz Tower in background.
Restaurant umbrellas obstructed the view, while he was passing by the Inner Alster Lake.
James Bond arrived to Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg at Holzdamm street.
– Entrance to the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg at Holzdamm street.
His arrival to the hotel was noticed by Richard Stamper (Götz Otto) standing on the roof of the building on the opposite side of Holzdamm street.
– Hotel Atlantic (on the left) at Holzdamm street in Hamburg.
James Bond left the room and climbed the ladder. As you can see in the next photo the ladder was not there anymore in 2019, when I was visiting Hamburg.
– Hotel Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg.
The following car chase sequence was filmed at car parking in London. The scene with BMW 750 at the highest level of parking was filmed back in Hamburg on the top of multi-storey car park at Lange Mühren street. When I was there in 2019 the whole building was covered as you can see in the photo. In the film there was fake big ‘ATLANTIC HOTEL’ sign mounted on the roof. In reality the hotel was located about one kilometer away. At the end BMW 750 jumped over the street and crashed into the AVIS rental.
– Multi-storey car park at Lange Mühren street. View from Steinstraße. in the lower right corner of the photo you can see the roof of the main railway station.
The sequence was filmed at the Mönckebergstraße where it intersects with Steintorwall. It is one of many examples how film world differs from reality. The scene on the roof of the parking was filmed on the top of multi-storey car park that is partially visible on the left in the photo below. The car jumped from the top of the building that is on the right in the same photo.
– Mönckebergstraße. View from Steintorwall street. In the foreground there is a the descent to the underpass leading to the Hauptbahnhof U-Bahn station.
– The storefront that doubled for AVIS rental.– The storefront that doubled for AVIS rental.
– Glass roof above the entrance to Europa Passage shopping center.– Facade of the Elbphilharmonie.
Information sources: – ‘James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy’ Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011 – ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ audio commentary, Tomorrow Never Dies Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation 2006
At the beginning of ‘Moonraker’ James Bond (Roger Moore) arrived to California in USA to visit Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) in his residence. After shot discussion with main villain 007 went with Corinne Dufour (Corinne Clery) to meet Dr. Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) in her office.
Exterior and Grand Salon of Californian residence was filmed at the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte around 50 km southeast of Paris. Glass corridor and Dr. Goodhead’s office at its end were filmed in Centre Georges Pompidou located in the Beaubourg area in Paris. Below you can see a few photos with that extraordinary building.
Centre Georges Pompidou – view from Rue Beaubourg.
Centre Pompidou – view from Place Georges Pompidou.
Centre Pompidou – view from Place Georges Pompidou.
Centre Pompidou – view from Place Georges Pompidou.
Media representatives were waiting for Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) at the Buckingham Palace in London. There was also his assistant, Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike), waiting for her boss. Right on time he appeared in the sky with Union Jack parachute. He landed between them, answered a few questions and together with Miranda Frost went by car to receive his knighthood from the Queen. James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) was standing in the crowd and just looking at the villain.
– Buckingham Palace in London.
– Buckingham Palace in London.
– Buckingham Palace in London.– Sculptures at Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace in London.
That sequence was filmed in April 2002. Film crew got permission to work around the Buckingham Palace for one day only, until lunch time.
There was parachute jump of 3 stuntmen planned for the scene. To fly helicopter less than 1 kilometer above the Buckingham Palace it was necessary to get special permissions from Anti-Terrorist Units. Executive Producer Anthony Waye said that according to the script the scene was supposed to be filmed at the House of Parliament. About 2-3 weeks before filming it was decided to try to shoot at the Buckingham Palace. When they were trying to get permissions, Queen Mother died and all the offices were closed for 10 days. Permission to shoot there was received less that a week before planned filming day.
– Buckingham Palace in London. View from Spur Rd.
– Buckingham Palace in London.
About 250 members of the film crew arrived on the set very early that day. Actress Rosamund Pike said that she had to wake up at 4 a.m. At 6.30 a.m. filming could begin as sun was rising.
At first the scene with parachuting Gustav Graves was filmed. Three stuntmen, who were made up to look like the villain in the film, were ready for the jump. They were flying in a helicopter with pilot Mark Wolff, who has flown helicopters for 8 previous James Bond films (Interview with Marc Wolff).
– Buckingham Palace in London.
The first jumper was the team leader Allan Hewitt. Film director Lee Tamahori was happy with the shot. He decided to film second jump as backup. There was no time for third stuntmen to jump.
– UK parachute from ‘Die Another Day’ at ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic in 2023.
Afterwards the scene with Gustav Graves landing in the crowd was filmed. Actor Toby Stephens was suspended under the arm of crane 40 feet in the air. It was moving down so it looked like Stephens was parachuting.
– The square in front of the Buckingham Palace in London.
Film crew had to clean the area before 9.30 a.m. as the Life Guards began preparations for the Changing of the Guard.
Film crew moved to the park behind Canada Gate to complete filming the scene. At that time hundreds of tourists were gathering to see Changing of the Guard.
– Canada Gate at Buckingham Palace.
– Canada Gate at Buckingham Palace.
About an hour before end of filming, Pierce Brosnan arrived on the set. In his brief appearance in the scene he was standing in the crowd and looking at his rival getting into Range Rover.
At the end the scene with Miranda Frost and media representatives waiting for Gustav Graves was filmed. In the film it was shown before all other scenes filmed that day.
Sources: – ‘Die Another Day’ audio commentary, „Die Another Day” Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006 – ‘Just Another Day’, dir. Roger Penny, A Special Treats Production, 2002
James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) arrived to Splendide hotel in Montenegro. 007 received keys to Aston Martin DBS parked in front of the hotel. Soon after check-in they both went to a meeting with their MI6 contact person – Rene Mathis (Giancarlo Gianni) in a small village in Montenegro.
The sequence was filmed in Loket in Czech Republic that is located very close to Karlovy Vary that was another ‘Casino Royale’ filming location (read ‘Casino Royale’ in Karlovy Vary).
Scenes with 007, Vesper Lynd and Rene Mathis were filmed in a heart of Loket’s Old Town at T.G. Masaryk street that resembled a square around the Column of the Holy Trinity. Below you can see part of the street from which Aston Martin DBS arrived. While taking the photo I was standing next to the Column of the Holy Trinity that was visible in the scene with Bond and Vesper arriving to the village.
– T.G. Masaryk street in Loket.
– Aston Martin DBS from Casino Royale at ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic in 2023.
James Bond parked the car in front of the building with a bright facade (on the right in photo below).
– Náměstí T. G. Masaryka in Loket.
– Náměstí T. G. Masaryka in Loket.
Restaurant zone where James Bond, Vesper Lynd and Rene Mathis where sitting and talking was located between Hotel Goethe and Hotel Bily Kun. You could see the facade of the hotel with its name behind Matthis in one of the scenes. It was the only facade not modified for the film. There were montenegrin letters on other buildings.
– Hotel Bily kun in Loket.
There is beautiful castle in Loket. It is worth to climb the tower with great view.
– Castle in Loket.
– View from the castle in Loket.
Between roofs you can see the facade of the Hotel Bily Kun that was seen in the film.
JAMES BOND 