Sophia Michaels
We watch the James Bond movies for a lot of reasons. The action scenes, the quippy dialog, and the gadgets, all make for great moments. Another reason we love the movies is all of the locations the superspy visits in the movies, like the ones on this list.
From Europe to Asia to The USA, you never know where a Bond film is going to take viewers, but here are some of our favorite and most exotic places he’s traveled in the series.
Jamaica
Jamaica will always have a special place in the hearts of James Bond fans. The very first Bond film starring Sean Connery as 007, Dr. No, takes place almost entirely on the Caribbean island. Dr. Julius No’s house is set on “Crab Key”, a fictional island near Jamaica, but all the filming for that location and most of the movie was done in Jamaica. Daniel Craig’s Bond even retires to Jamaica, where he’s found at the beginning of No Time To Die.
Turkey
James Bond finds himself in Turkey a couple of times in the series. First, in From Russia With Love 007 finds him in Istanbul after having been lured to the Soviet embassy there in a trick that Bond foils. His most notable trip to Turkey is the epic motorcycle chase scene on the roof of the famous bazaar in Istanbul in Skyfall.
Switzerland
James Bond has visited Switzerland twice in the series. The first time he traveled to the mountainous country was in the lone movie starring George Lazenby, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969, when he discovered his arch-enemy Blofeld in a mountaintop hideout. The real location is Piz Gloria, which is a restaurant. He also followed the titular character in Goldfinger there, following him on some dramatic mountain roads.
Miami
Is there anything cooler than the Fontainebleau Hotel on South Beach in Miami in the 1960s? Playing cards while sitting by the pool at one of the most luxurious hotels of its day was certainly exotic for most people at the time, and still is today! Bond getting one over on the cheating Auric Goldfinger in Goldfinger makes it that much cooler! 007 returned briefly in Casino Royale, but only made it as far as the airport.
Macau
Macau has been an exotic location for hundreds of years. The gambling mecca was established as a Portuguese colony in the 16th Century and is still a very popular place for gamblers, it’s even bigger than Las Vegas. Roger Moore’s version of James Bond first visited Macau in The Man With The Golden Gun and later returned to a fictional island near the Chinese city in Skyfall, to the hideout of one of the best villains in the series, Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), in the series, though it was filmed on Hashima Island in Japan.
Venice
Italy is a very common location for James Bond to find himself in. So far, he’s been to Italy eight times in the film series. Two of those visits were to Venice. His most dramatic trip to Venice occurred in Casino Royale where Vesper tragically meets her demise in a collapsing mansion. Bond had previously been to Venice in Moonraker.
Corfu
The Greek island of Corfu is one of the great vacation spots in the world. Famous for its beaches and its nightlife, it’s a natural location for a James Bond film. Bond travels to Corfu to find Milos Columbo (Chaim Topol) there in For Your Eyes Only. It is, to date, the only time 007 has been seen in Greece. If you’re in it for the travel, For Your Eyes Only is a great movie to watch, as Bond is really all over the place in it, from the beaches here to the Alps and beyond.
India
Even though India was part of the British Empire for many years, it gained independence before James Bond went to work for Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Still, he finds himself on the subcontinent in Octopussy, as he chases down the titular character (Maud Adams) and villain Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan). Octopussy’s home is one of the coolest locations in the series, The Lake Palace in Udaipur, which is a hotel today.
Rio de Janeiro
Moonraker is not generally thought of as the best of the Roger Moore James Bond films, but it sure has some exotic locations. One of those, Rio de Janeiro, is one of the rare times Bond visits South America. The most famous scene in Rio is on the cable car up Sugarloaf Mountain when the henchman Jaws (Richard Keil) bites through the cable. Yeah, maybe that’s one of the reasons it’s not as fondly remembered.
Shanghai
It’s a little surprising to learn that James Bond didn’t travel to Shanghai until 2012’s Skyfall, but given the political climate of China in the late 20th century, it makes sense. 007 follows an assassin to the top of a building and they engage in a great fight that is beautifully shot with the many lights of Shanghai flashing in the background.
Gibraltar
A lot of hardcore Bond fans will argue that the Timothy Dalton-era The Living Daylight is two of the truly underrated films in the series. One reason is the intense opening scene that sees James Bond skydiving onto the Rock of Gibraltar on what he thinks is a training exercise but learns quickly that things have changed. It’s one of the best opening sequences in the series, and who gets to travel to Gibraltar?
Tangier, Morocco
Morocco is a natural for this list. Few places in the world evoke a sense of the exotic like the north African country. Bond has been to Tangiers twice, first in The Living Daylights and then later in the Daniel Craig era in Spectre.
Key West
The second, and final, Timothy Dalton Bond film, Licence To Kill, opens at a wedding for Felix Leiter in Key West, Florida. The self-proclaimed “Conch Republic” is the end of the road in America in a lot of ways, but it’s also one of the most interesting places in the country.
Monaco
The tiny principality of Monaco is a no-brainer for this list. Famous for its fancy casino and for being a playground of the rich and famous, you’d expect it to be a frequent location for 007, but it’s not. To date, the legendary spy has only worked in Monaco once, during Pierce Brosnan’s run as Bond. Of course, he did play baccarat at the casino.
Cuba
Few places close to the United States are still as exotic as Cuba. Due to political tensions since the 1960s, the communist nation is notorious for being hard to visit for Americans, but of course, that’s no problem for a British spy. James Bond has traveled to the island nation three times, first in GoldenEye in the Pierce Brosnan-era, then again in Die Another Day, and finally in the Craig era in No Time To Die in the memorable scene with Ana de Armas.
Bahamas
The Bahamas are a popular destination for James Bond. Three different versions of of 007, Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig have all visited the British protectorate. He traveled there first as far back as From Russia From Love, later in Licence To Kill, and then again in Casino Royale.
Space
Space may be the final frontier for Elon Musk and his fellow billionaires, but for James Bond, he visited space, the ultimate exotic locations way back in the 1970s. Hoping to cash in on the Star Wars craze, the James Bond series tried out a little science fiction in Moonraker, with mixed results.
Hong Kong
Given that Hong Kong was a British Colony and Protectorate for most of the 20th Century, it makes sense that a British spy would spend a fair amount of time there. Bond certainly has, traveling there in three films, You Only Live Twice, The Man With The Golden Gun, and Die Another Day.
Bangkok
You would think that Bangkok would be a regular destination for a British super spy, but James Bond has only traveled there once in the film series. Bond heads to Thailand in The Man With The Golden Gun, searching for the villain Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) and the trip produces some great humor and one of the best action sequences in the series with the corkscrew jump in a car over a river.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a gambling mecca for any serious gambler in the world. James Bond, being a serious card player, baccarat, mostly, would be right at home there. Interestingly, he’s only been there once. Pretty early in the series too, before the strip was even built. The scenes in Vegas feature Bond at the craps table and in a great car chase around the old downtown, on Freemont Street.
Egypt
On the rare occasions that Bond finds himself on the continent of Africa, it’s usually in North Africa. The Spy Who Loved Me is no exception as 007 travels to the pyramids in Cairo where he looks for the plans for a secret submarine. He meets Major Anya Amasova, played by Ringo Starr’s wife, Barbara Bach, there and has his first encounter with the henchman Jaws.
Japan
You Only Live Twice is a rarity in the Bond canon in that almost the whole movie takes place in one country. Instead of galavanting around the globe like he usually does, 007 spends most of the film in Japan. Like many of the early Connery-led films, it’s pretty dated and very un-PC, but it is still a very cool look into 1960s Japan as it was emerging from the decades after World War II as a global financial powerhouse.
Cortina d’Ampezzo
It’s hard to narrow down the coolest spots James Bond has hit in Italy over the years. He goes back again and again, from the beaches to the cities, and every in between. In For Your Eyes Only, he hilariously drives a Lotus on the icy roads in the Alps to the ski town of Cortina d’Ampezzo. It’s a stunning backdrop to some amazing action and one of the most beautiful places he’s been in the series.
Paris
For a man that loves all the finer things in life that France has to offer, the super spy doesn’t spend a lot of time in that part of Europe. A rare exception is in A View To A Kill when he travels to Paris and dines at the famous Jules Verne Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. There he and a French detective are attacked by May Day (Grace Jones). Bond manages to escape, but his dining partner is not as lucky.
Sardinia
The Spy Who Loved Me has Bond all over the Mediterranean, first in Egypt, then later on the island of Sardinia. It’s in Sardinia that he discovers one of the more outlandish villain hideouts of the entire series. The evil Karl Stromberg (Curd Jürgens) lives and does his business in a weird, alien-looking contraption that seems to be underwater most of the time but can emerge from the depths and sit above the waves as well.
Siena
If you’ve never read up on the city of Siena in Italy, you should. The walled city is divided into 17 districts, called the Contrade of Siena. Twice a year, those districts compete against each other in a horse race in the town’s square. It’s a spectacle that has to be seen to be believed and in Quantum Of Solace, you can see it. Not only is Bond in Siena for work (and some light torture), he’s there during one of the two times a year the races are held. It’s a magnificent scene in an otherwise polarizing movie.
As long as they are making James Bond movies, everyone’s favorite spy will be traveling to far-flung, exotic locations and we’ll keep watching for all those places, as they’ve become one of the hallmarks of the unstoppable series.
