Villefranche-sur-mer, part 2

Domino arriving at the old port

A large part of Never say never again was filmed in Villefranche-sur-mer on the French riviera. The first scene, filmed in the center of the village, shows Domino arriving at the old harbor with a speedboat from Largo's yacht that are anchored in the bay. When she gets ashore she is followed by Bond to "La centre de la santé". Bond following Domino and the view from the villa is covered in part 1.

The old harbour where Domino gets ashore is located at 'Quai de L'Amiral Courbet' in the center of Villefranche-sur-mer. The same pier is used today by launches from the large cruise ships that anchor in the bay, bringing in passengers for a days stroll in the village. Along the quay and the 'Promenade des Marinières' you can find a lot of great restaurants and cafés and it is a good idea to have lunch or a few drinks here.

The view over the marina and the Mediterranean is magnificent here in the heart of the French riviera. This location, namely the old harbor, has also featured in an episode of ''The Persuaders!'' among many other films. Sir Roger and Tony Curtis are having drinks by the quay in the episode "the gold Napoleon", ordering an americano and a lemonade respectively.

Promenade des Marinières

On the other side of the village at Port de la Darse, or the new harbour, the final scene of the Fatima Blush car chase was filmed. Bond is chasing Blush on his Q-bike (most of the other scenes were filmed in Menton) and the chase ends when Fatima drives her Renault into an old warehouse in Port de la Darse. Bond is lured to follow her only to get caught by a closing gate inside the building.

You can find the old warehouse on the street 'Chemin du Lazaret' that runs alongside the marina. Inside you can also find the metal gates that traps Bond so it is fair to assume that even the interior scenes, including the dialogue between Bond and Fatima were filmed on location. At least the ending with Leiter "coming to the rescue" was filmed inside this building.

On the other side of the marina is the spot where Bond jumps his motorcycle over the water. Hard to say exactly where but the house with the yellow facade is recognizable from the film. Bond is probably coming from 'Promenade des Proffesseurs' and jumps over to 'Chemin du Lazaret' before he drives into the warehouse after Blush.




Bond's villa can also be found in Villefranche-sur-mer, in the gated community just above the village.

Unfortunately, I have not visited the villa yet so no close ups are avaliable. But  the house is visible from the village. You recognize the red facade in the left picture. It is on the balcony of this villa that Bond observes Domino and Largo aboard the Flying Saucer in the Villefranche-sur-mer bay.

Between the old harbor and Port de la Darse is the Citadel located, an old fort where the exterior shots of Largo's Palmyra (supposedly in north Africa) were filmed. The Citadel and Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild (the interior scene of Palmyra) will be covered later.

Early morning sun over Port de la Darse