A View to a Kill - Paris

The most obvious Bond location in the world is probably the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Despite the fact that it is the most popular tourist attraction in the world, it took Bond until A View to a Kill (14 films and 23 years) to visit Paris. Even though Moonraker was largely shot in studios in France and one scene, from the Moonraker factory, was filmed inside the Centre Pompidou (doubling for California), Bond himself had never actually visited Paris before A View to a Kill. For the establishing shot over the Eiffel Tower, the camera was placed at Avenue Gustave V de Suède, just below the famous view point at Place du Trocadéro.

Mi6 is investigating Max Zorin's Anglo-French combine, and Bond goes to Paris in order to meet with the French detective, Achille Aubergine who is hired by the French jockey club to investigate Zorin's winning streak in horse racing.

Bond is having dinner with Achille Aubergine at the Eiffel Tower. Evidently, Zorin does not care for Monsieur Aubergine's investigation since he sends May Day to Kill Aubergine at the restaurant. This scene was shot in studio, on a set constructed by the brilliant production designer Peter Lamont. The restaurant however, is based on Alain Ducasse's restaurant 'Le Jules Verne' that is located on the 2nd floor at the Eiffel Tower, the same floor as Bond's restaurant in the film.

Bollinger, seventy-five. A bottle of Perrier is also visible on the table.

                                    "-Qu'est-ce qu'il y à Monsieur?! 

                                                 -There's a fly in his soup!"

Needless to say, the Eiffel Tower is a spectacular landmark as well as a beautiful building, and a must see when in Paris. More accurately, it is impossible to miss during a visit in Paris, since it is visible from almost everywhere. You have the classic view from Place du Trocadéro, but a good way to enjoy the Eiffel Tower is to have a pic-nic on the big field Champ de Mars, on the other side of the tower. A field that used to be the training ground for the French army. From here you have an undisturbed view and less tourists.

Bond's visit to Paris in the film is a nod to the original Ian Fleming short story From a View to a Kill. In the beginning of the story, Bond is spending an afternoon in Paris, debating with himself about where to go and what to drink before dinner. Bond ultimately ends up at Fouquet's at Champs-Elysée, drinking Americano. Bond stipulates that he wants his Americano made with Perrier because "a good mineral water is the best way to improve a poor drink". A reference to this is probably the bottles of Perrier that can be seen on all the tables in the restaurant.

Spectre's Thunderball Headquarters - Paris

Thunderball starts off in Paris after the pre-title sequence. The Eiffel Tower is visible from an ordinary street in Paris when Emilio Largo parks his Ford Thunderbird. Largo is attending a meeting at the Spectre headquarters, well disguised behind a regular building close to the Eiffel Tower. When Largo parks in the taxi zone a French police officer shouts "No parking here!" only to apologise immediately when he recognises Monsieur Largo. Largo is well known and evidently feared, even in the police force. 

The Spectre headquarters are located at No. 35 Avenue d'Eylau in the fashionable 16th arrondissement of Paris. The street runs just behind Place du Trocadéro and is aligned with the Eiffel Tower, resulting in the "perfect view" over the famous landmark (Largo however seems less than impressed).

"Hey, no parking here! Åh, pardon Monsieur Largo."

The splendid Adolfo Celi as one of the best villains in the series.

The sign on the building, visible when Largo enters, reads: 'Centre International d'Assistance aux Personnes Déplacées' or 'The International Brotherhood for the Assistance of Stateless Persons' as an administrator declares in the office. Thus, Spectre's legitimate front organiasation is a centre for internationally displaced persons, i.e. refugees. An internationally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but still remains within his or her country's borders. How many displaced persons there are in France is a little unclear.

The filmmakers' idea for placing the Spectre headquarters in Paris comes from the original  Thunderball  novel. In the novel, Fleming locates the Spectre headquarters at Boulevard Haussmann in Paris. At the time of my visit, one of the apartments in the building was available for lease. So, if you are thinking about starting an upscale terrorist organisation aiming for world domination, this is the place to rent.

Interesting trivia about the location: the taxi zone where Largo parks in the film is still a taxi zone today, even though the sign has been replaced with a new one, and (for obvious reason) is turned the other way. A very nice restaurant called Di Vino is located on the other side of the street. It is highly recommended to stop here for coffee or a lunch. The terrace extends well into Avenue d'Eylau and from here you have a nice view over this spectacular location. The fact that the street looks much the same as it did in 1965 and that the taxi zone has been kept makes this a very enjoyable Bond location.