TOP 10 Bond locations
The exotic locations in the Bond films are as famous as the girls and the martinis. With Bond 25 heading to Croatia, we take a look at some of 007’s iconic settings
1 DR NO (1962) LOCATION: Dunn’s River Falls, Jamaica. BOND: Sean Connery. BOND GIRL: Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) VILLAIN: Dr Julius No
(Joseph Wiseman) James and Honey Ryder avoid No’s henchmen by hiding underwater at Dunn’s, using bamboo canes as snorkels. Today there’s no hiding place as it’s a hugely popular tourist attraction where visitors scramble up the 180ft high, 600ft long terraced cascades. dunnsriverfallsja.com. GET THERE The Moon Palace Jamaica Grande is
three miles from Dunn’s and a quick walk to the lively town of Ocho Rios. Seven nights’ all-inclusive starts at €1,803pp with Virgin Atlantic flights for September 3–30 departures from Gatwick, plus $1,500 resort credit per room with Thomas Cook. Kids (up to aged 17) stay and eat free when sharing a room with two adults for all-inclusive stays up to December 23 and between January 4 and October 31, 2018. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 2 ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (1969) LOCATION: Piz Gloria revolving restaurant, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland BOND: George Lazenby. BOND GIRL: Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg). VILLAIN: Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) Apart from the group of a dozen smitten women, no wonder Bond liked it here – at 9,744ft the view is dizzying with a 360-degree vista of the magnificent Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks. Today Piz Gloria is happily cashing in on its Bond moment with a 007 walk of fame and interactive exhibition. The views are just as they were in 1969 – stirring. Treat yourself to a martini at the bar and drink them in. schilthorn.ch GET THERE Piz Gloria can be reached by cable car from the mountain village of Murren. Inghams has a seven-night half-board stay at
the three-star Hotel Alpenruh in Murren from £859pp including flights and transfers. mirror.co.uk/ 3 traveltop10 SKYFALL (2012) LOCATION: Glencoe, Scotland. BOND: Daniel Craig. BOND ‘GIRL’: M (Judi Dench). VILLAIN: Raoul Silva
(Javier Bardem) The setting for the death of Bond’s boss M had to be brooding and solemn, and Glen Etive, at the head of Glencoe, ticks those boxes. While you can visit the single track road where M and Bond stood and looked at the misty mountains while talking about his orphanhood, don’t expect to see the Skyfall mansion or chapel – that was a set in Surrey. Shanghai’s skyscraper Pudong district also makes a memorable appearance. visitscotland.com. GET THERE: Thirty miles from Glencoe, the 18th century Oyster Inn at Connel is on the southern shore of Loch Etive and has
stunning views over to Mull and Lismore. B&B in a double starts at €109 4a night. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974) LOCATION: Phang Nga Bay, Phuket, Thailand BOND: Roger Moore BOND GIRL: Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland) VILLAIN: Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) The location for Scaramanga’s base, Khao Phing Kan, is still called James Bond Island. Boat tours run from the marinas in Phuket and Krabi. Bangkok also starred, notably in a thrilling boat chase on the khlongs, the network of canals criss-crossing the city. A boat tour or public ferry on them is a great way to see Bangkok. tourismthailand.org GET THERE: Save up to €489pp on a 10-night five-star trip to Thailand with Hayes & Jarvis now from €1,639pp. Stay three nights room-only at the Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort, then seven nights’ B&B at the Renaissance Phuket, with Heathrow flights with Thai Airways departing on November 16. Includes a James Bond
5Island trip. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 A VIEW TO A KILL (1985) LOCATION: San Francisco BOND: Roger Moore BOND GIRL: Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) VILLAIN: Max Zorin
(Christopher Walken) The seventh and final outing for Moore features Walken as an impressively deranged baddie, but Grace Jones steals the show as his henchwoman May Day. San Francisco’s glorious Golden Gate Bridge is the setting for the climax as MI6’S finest and Zorin fight to the death in an airship. Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the city’s chief tourist attractions, also features. A boat tour of the bridge and Alcatraz from the wharf is memorable. sftravel.com GET THERE Stay at the Holiday Inn Fisherman’s Wharf where a four-night break with Virgin Holidays starts at €994pp including Virgin Atlantic flights on September 8 from Manchester. 6 mirror.co.uk/traveltop10
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999) LOCATION: London Docklands and Millennium Dome BOND: Pierce Brosnan BOND GIRL: Dr Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) VILLAIN: Renard
(Robert Carlyle) The thrilling early boat chase was filmed in Docklands where the Sunday Mirror has its HQ. You can still spot the footbridge at Millwall Outer Dock and Glengall Bridge at Millwall Inner Dock, under which Bond’s boat dives as it closes. Other sights include where he does a rollover at the Royal Victoria Dock in Canning Town and the tiny Ornamental Canal at Wapping Lane, where he drenches a couple of traffic wardens. The chase climax sees Bond on the Millennium Dome – now the O2
Arena. visitlondon.com. GET
THERE Check into the new 39-storey Novotel Canary Wharf, with capital views across the city. Rooms from €136 per night (Friday to Sundays) and €257 (Monday to Thursdays). 7 mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967) LOCATION: Himeji Castle, Kobe, Japan BOND: Sean Connery BOND GIRL: Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) VILLAIN: Blofeld (Donald Pleasance) Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay for this spectacular story featuring a space rocket base inside a volcano. When 007 visits Japanese spy chief Tiger Tanaka’s ninja training school, the
location was Himeji’s magnificent 14th century hilltop fortress, one of the finest castles in Japan. Expect crowds. himejicastle.jp/en GET
THERE Inside Japan Tours’ Seven Night Taster tour includes Himeji, Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. It leaves Tokyo on September 10. Prices start at €1,900pp for three-star B&B and includes three meals and some entrance fees. Flights out to Tokyo and back from Kyoto are not included but can be arranged. Book 8by August 31. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963) LOCATION: Basilica Cistern, Istanbul BOND: Sean Connery BOND GIRL: Tatiana Romanova (Daniela
Bianchi) VILLAIN: Donald Grant
(Robert Shaw) The Basilica Cistern is an elaborate water storage system built in the 6th century. In the film it was a secret waterway used by local agent Ali Kerim Bey and Bond to get under the USSR consulate to spy through a periscope. It’s open to tourists and is close to the Hagia Sophia. You explore on walkways between the 336 huge columns. It’s worth the queues to get in. yerebatansarnici.com. GET THERE: Just a five-minute walk away, four-star Armagrandi Spina Hotel has views over the Bosphorus. In October, two nights’ B&B starts at €163pp including BA flights from Heathrow. Book by August 20. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10
9 LICENCE TO KILL (1989) LOCATION: Florida Keys BOND: Timothy Dalton BOND GIRL: Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) VILLAIN:
Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) The Keys figure hugely in the 16th 007 – his CIA pal Felix Leiter marries at St Mary’s Star of the Sea Church in Key West, drugs kingpin Sanchez is freed from an armoured car on the bridge, and the writing is on the wall for Bond at the Ernest Hemingway Museum when M revokes his licence to kill. We also see 007 at Key West airport. It’s a fine destination for a relaxing fly-drive out of Miami. fla-keys.co.uk. GET THERE: Purely America has seven-night fly-drives in the Florida Keys from €1,245pp. Includes three nights in Islamorada at Amara Cay and four nights in Key West at The Gates Hotel, with Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow to 10Miami and car hire. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10 OCTOPUSSY (1983)
LOCATION: Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. BOND: Roger Moore BOND GIRL: Octopussy (Maud Adams) VILLAIN: Prince Kamal Kahn (Louis Jourdan) Much of the film was beautifully shot in Udaipur, with the Monsoon Palace as the exterior of Khan’s palace. Octopussy’s palace was filmed at the magnificent Taj Lake Palace hotel on Lake Pichola. Bond travels there via the Taj Mahal at Agra. tourism.rajasthan.gov.in/udaipur GET THERE Cosmos has a 14-night Highlights of Northern India tour from £1,590pp including flights from across the UK. mirror.co.uk/traveltop10