Top Ten James Bond Landmarks

Every James Bond fan knows that a common feature in a Bond film is its locations. Bond’s adventures take him all over the globe. In fact, an interactive map, at The Guardian, provides readers with an overview of these locations.

With summer in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, along with vacation plans, now is a good time to check out good James Bond vacation spots. But let’s be specific: not just vacation spots, but actual landmarks. What are the best James Bond ones to visit?

To make this list, the landmark has to be strongly tied to Bond, as opposed to being a tourist

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attraction on its own–so, sites like the Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate Bridge (used in A View to a Kill) or St. Mark’s Square (Casino Royale) don’t count. These are sites a little more off the “beaten path” or more closely connected to Bond.

Away we go…

10. Elrod House, (Diamonds Are Forever)

This home, located just outside Palm Springs, was used for the exteriors and interiors of Willard Whyte’s home in Diamonds Are Forever. Recently purchased for $8 million, the house can be located at 2175 Southridge Dr.

9. Hashima Island (Skyfall)

This abandoned island off the coast of Japan has recently become a more popular tourist destination, so its place on this list is tenuous. But we’ll still consider it more of a “Bond site” than a simple tourist one. Though Skyfall only used the exterior of Hashima Island, the layout of the island itself is remarkably similar to the one created at Pinewood Studios for the filming.

8. Eilean Donan Castle (The World Is Not Enough)

There are many buildings around the world where Bond films have been set. So why does this one stand out? Simple. It was used for SIS’s temporary headquarters in The World Is Not Enough…and we certainly needed a site from the U.K. on the list, right? The castle, located in Scotland, was also used in the 1986 film Highlander.

7 Peahi (Die Another Day)

The Maui breaks at Peahi, also knows as “Jaws” (isn’t that appropriate?), doubled as the coastal waters along a North Korea military base in Die Another Day. It is here that Bond and two other operatives surf large waves, as they attempt to infiltrate the base. Surfing legends Laird Hamilton, Dava Kalama, and Derrick Doerner performed the surfing, on what are considered some of the most dangerous surfing conditions in the world.  Peahi is located near the town of Paia on Maui’s north shore.

6 Bregenz Seebuhne (Quantum of Solace)

Bond fans will certainly recognize this opera house,  with its floating stage, on the shore of Lake Constance in Switzerland. Here, Bond eavesdropped on a private conversation between members of Quantum, leading to a shootout, during a performance of Tosca.

5. Verazca Dam (Goldeneye)

This filming location (also known as Contra Dam) is not for the faint of heart, especially if one wants to truly live the James Bond experience. It was here (the site doubling as Archangel) that Bond bungee jumped from the top of a dam to infiltrate a Russian weapons facility. Today, tourists can perform the same bungee jump–a distance of 700 feet.

4. Holy Trinity Monastery at Meteora (For Your Eyes Only)

This real-life monastery in Greece posed as a fictional, abandoned one in For Your Eyes Only, where villain

Aris Kristatos is holding the ATAC. The monastery is known for its location: the top of a fist-shaped rock, over 1,000 feet high. In the film, James Bond (Roger Moore) attempts to scale the rock to find and retrieve the ATAC. In real-life, one can reach the peak via back roads and stairs.

3. The James Bond Wrecks (Thunderball and Never Say Never Again)

Underwater scenes for two Bond movies were filmed along the southern end of Nassau. In both cases, props were left, sitting on the ocean floor. One is a plane from Thunderball and the other a boat from Never Say Never Again. Scuba divers know this location as the “James Bond Wrecks,” and it is considered one of the best diving locations in the Bahamas.

2. Khao Phing Kan (The Man with the Golden Gun)

While a popular tourist destination, this island was rarely visited until it was used as Scaramanga’s island home in The Man with the Golden Gun.  Today. the island is more popularly known as “James Bond Island.” How cool is that?

1 Piz Gloria (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)

Piz Gloria could be a tourist spot in its own right, considering its place on top of Schilthorn. However, the famous Swiss restaurant acknowledges, even celebrates, its connection to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, in which it was featured as Blofeld’s research facility. The restaurant first opened in 1967, just prior to filming, and it has been known as a Bond location ever since. In fact, some of the restaurant’s food items are “stamped” with the 007 logo.

Thanks for reading!