From Russia With Love - Venice

For the final scenes in From Russia With Love, right before we find Bond and Romanova in the boat taxi passing under the bridge of sighs covered earlier, the camera pans over the Grand Canal as a flock of pigeons fly by. This scene is actually not related to the following scene with Bond and Romanova in the boat and was probably only added to show some Venice locations.

After the pigeons fly away from the quayside the camera pans over the canal and the San Marco district on the other side of the canal.

The camera pans over the Grand Canal

The Gritti Palace Hotel seen to the far left

This scene was filmed in the southern part of Venice, namely on the most southeastern tip on the Dorsoduro District. The camera was rigged on the quay of Fondamenta Salute, right in front of the iconic church, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.

For obvious reasons Venice has not changed much since 1963 and the time for filming From Russia. This part of the canal and the facades are still very recognizable. The large light brown building in the picture above, also visible in the film, is the Gritti Palace hotel.

The easiest way to get to this location is to take the Vaporetto (bus boat) to the station "Salute".