Want to Enjoy a James Bond Inspired Trip? Here’s Our Top Tips

Want to Enjoy a James Bond Inspired Trip? Here’s Our Top Tips

Whether you’re a diehard fan of James Bond and 007 films or simply want to live a lifestyle like his, you can easily follow in his footsteps by traveling to the many destinations he himself has witnessed.

Whether it’s beautiful European cities like Venice and London, the rugged landscapes of the Highlands in Scotland, or the far flung islands of Norway and the Faroes, there are many places that have hosted Bond.

To better help you embrace your inner Bond, we have chosen our favorite 007 destinations where you can sip your Vesper martini shaken not stirred, maybe hire an Aston Martin for the trip, or gamble just as Bond loves to do in fancy casinos or wherever and whenever you wish with a simple click here. No matter which Bond destination you decide to visit for yourself, here are a few good places to start.

Scotland

It should come as no surprise that Scotland offers a number of places portrayed in Bond films, after all, Bond has Scottish heritage and as a youngster attended Fettes College in Edinburgh.

Viewers may recognize places like Cairngorms National Park, Glen Etive, and Glen Coe which were filming locations for recent Bond films like No Time to Die and Skyfall. The car chase scene in No Time to Die takes place in Cairngorms National Park, a truly authentic destination which not only impresses 007’s fans with its magnificence but all visitors to the Highlands.

Cairngorms National Park is the UK’s largest national park and home to most of Scotland’s highest mountain peaks. The park with its ancient Caledonian pine forest offers incredible skiing during the winter and abundant wildlife year-round which includes a free-roaming reindeer herd.

Visiting the Highlands without a guide is easy and a great place to enjoy both relaxation and adventure. Other places you may want to check out if you’re into Bond include the town of Aviemore which was used for No Time to Die, while Glen Etive and Glen Coe were seen in Skyfall. We recommend you drive the paved road to Loch Etive like Bond in Skyfall, with bonus points if you can manage to rent an Aston Martin to really feel like Bond.

Other places within Scotland that have been used as filming locations for various Bond films include Eilean Donan Castle and Loch Craignish.

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Italy

Italy has been visited by several different Bond actors including Daniel Craig, Sean Connery, and Roger Moore in Bond films that include older movies like From Russia with Love, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, and For Your Eyes Only, as well as newer Bond films such as Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Spectre, and No Time to Die.

Destinations like Venice, Sardinia, Lake Como, Siena, and Matera have all been used as filming locations. Italy was home to car chase scenes, motorcycle chases, rooftop chase scenes like those in Siena, and even chases down snow slopes in the ski resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites.

While many of us may be familiar with the landmarks and attractions of places like Venice and Lake Como, one of the really unique locations to visit is Sassi di Matera, a Unesco World Heritage Site that consists of a complex of fascinating cave dwellings.

In No Time to Die, viewers get a glimpse of the town of Matera, located in the picturesque region of Basilicata where Bond looks to “let go of the past” together with his beloved Madeleine,

Matera has everything for a great vacation including colorful streets, hiking, Italian wine, restaurants with delicious food, and the opportunity to relax on the shores of the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas. However, if you want to stay in the hotel where James and Madeleine rested, you sadly will find this impossible because it does not exist. The institution was created specifically for filming. But don’t worry, you can visit the Palazzo Gattini Hotel where the director and actors resided while filming.

One of the highlights of No Time to Die was filmed at the impressive bridge known as Ponte Acquedotto in Gravina in Puglia It hosted Bond’s spectacular jump from a bridge without any safety net when he was chased by the Spectre men.

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London

Bond fans can easily follow in the footsteps of 007 by visiting London. After all, despite traveling the world much of the time, it is London where Bond lives and is employed. London is also the birthplace of Bond’s creator Ian Fleming who was born in Mayfair. One can visit his home by seeking out the plaque that has been installed next to the residence.

There are many companies in London that offer Bond-inspired tours both on foot and by boat that visit various filming locations while offering secret Bond facts you may not know.

Spectre offers up many places and landmarks within London such as Westminster Bridge, Notting Hill, Admiralty Arch, and the MI6 (SIS) building which takes some hits in films like Skyfall and the World is Not Enough

You can see Daniel Craig using London public transport in Skyfall as well as the National Gallery where he first meets Q, while in The World Is Not Enough you may recall the high speed boat chase on the River Thames.

No Time To Die’s Cuba scenes also took place in London where they were recreated in Pinewood Studios just outside of London. And finally, you can come face to face with all the Bond actors by visiting the wax figures at Madame Tussauds London.

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Norway

Norway also features in No Time to Die, providing a stunning backdrop for the scenes that took place here. We know from the movie that the father of Madeleine, Bond’s beloved, comes from Scandinavia. Therefore, the film’s team aimed to show the audience a place hidden away from the world, where the girl’s family could conceal themselves from enemies, in particular from Saffin who was a man from Madeleine’s father’s past.

However, this is not the only location in Norway that can be seen in the film. The film features the world-famous Atlantic Ocean Road (Atlanterhavs Highway) that stretches along the Norwegian Sea. The filmmakers showcased the beauty of the 5-mile National Tourist Route that runs across an archipelago of islands and features many stunning bridges.

Just outside of Oslo, other Bond scenes were not only shot at Lake Langvann above Nittedal, but also at Lake Lutvann in the Østmarka wilderness area east of Oslo. Other scenes shot in Norway for various Bond films include a secret UN base in Tjøme portrayed in You Only Live Twice and Svalbard in Die Another Day.

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Faroe Islands

The stunningly beautiful and very green Faroe Islands features for the first time in a Bond film with No Time to Die. It is here where for the first time we see Bond die, saying farewell to Daniel Craig as Bond and making way for the next actor to portray the famous British Secret Service agent.

While the islands Bond visits in the film are supposed to portray the lair of villain Lyutsifer Safin played by Rami Malek somewhere between Russia and Japan, the Faroe Islands are in reality positioned in the North Atlantic between Norway and Iceland.  

With the release of No Time to Die and Bond’s Death on the island of Kalsoy in the Faroe Islands, the Faroe Islands created a real-life custom tombstone to memorialize Bond’s (Daniel Craig’s) death. The tombstone mimics the tombstones of Bond’s parents seen in Skyfall and can be visited near the Kallur lighthouse on Kalsoy Island.  

The Faroe Islands offer visitors and die hard Bond fans the chance to partake in a James Bond sightseeing excursion which visits places like Borðoy island, Kalsoyarfjørður Strait, and the village of Trøllanes on Kalsoy Island.

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Author: Michael Jerrard

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