The Palacio Estoril Hotel - Portugal

In On Her Majesty's Secret Service from 1969, Bond is taking a few days off from his current assignment to track down Blofeld, an operation called Bedlam. Mi6 has no information about Bond's whereabouts and Moneypenny is searching for him through their contacts in Amsterdam, Madrid and Cairo, all with negative replies. In reality, Bond is holidaying in Portugal.

Bond is staying at the Palácio Hotel in Estoril on the Portuguese riviera, a short 30 minute drive from central Lisbon. Located in Cascais, one of the richest municipalities in Portugal, the five star Palácio Hotel is still one of the finest on the coast. It was built in 1930 and it is located only a five minute walk from the famous Casino Estoril, the casino which sign supposedly is reflecting in the hotel swimming pool in the film.    

             "-Your baggage sir? 
-In the boot. Take care of those clubs."

During the Second World War Portugal was neutral, which resulted in several royal families went into exile in Estoril, leading to the Portuguese Riviera around Estoril becoming known as the "Coast of Kings". The Hotel Palácio became the hotel of choice of numerous members of European royalty as well as both British and German spies and military personnel.

Visible in the film are several signs from various automobile clubs in Europe, including the Automovel Clube de Portugal, the Automobilclub von Deutschland and the Royal Swedish Automobile Club - Kungliga Automobil Klubben. These same signs can still be found on location on either side of the magnificent entrance to the hotel, as seen in the film.

The signs of Automovel Clube de Portugal ACP (below), the Automobilclub von Deutschland AvD, the Royal Swedish Automobile Club, KAK (Kungliga Automobil Klubben) and the Automobile Club d'Italia (above left) as well as the Automobile Club de France (above right) are all seen in the film and can still be found on location today.

In the film, the hotel is probably supposed to be located in France, given that the corresponding scenes from the novel unfolds in a fictive village called Royale-les-Eaux, a seaside resort close to Le Touquet on the Atlantic coast north of Paris. Furthermore, at the Baccarat table in the casino, Francs is used rather than the Portuguese escudo, which was the currency before the Euro in Portugal. However, the location of the hotel is somewhat unclear, since the hotel manager is named Manuel and it is obvious that he does not speak French to the bellboy in the hotel. 

From a Bond perspective, this is definitely one of the coolest hotels you can stay at, together with for instance the Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary or the Peninsula in Hong Kong.

Read more about the hotel's history or make reservations on the hotel website here.

Through Cascais again - Bond in Portugal

Bond's Aston seen to the far left

The small coastal town of Cascais featured in the pre-title sequence of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, covered here earlier, where Bond is seen driving down a coastal road in his Aston Martin DBS. The same curve in Cascais is seen again, very briefly, following the main title sequence, this time with Bond driving in the opposite direction.

Why Bond is seen driving in both directions on this road is unclear. It is possible that the intention was that you would believe that this is another road. However, it is fairly obvious that these scenes were shot in the same location.

Right next to this location is a fortress located, named Fortaleza da Nossa Senhora da Luz and the citadel of Cascais, which was part of the strategic defence of the coast.

This scene is partly integrated in the beautiful main title sequence and is seen just before Bond arrives at Hotel Palacio in Estoril. The action starts to play through the sand in the hourglass as the clock is counting backwards.

The road that Bond is seen driving down in Cascais is called Avenida Dom Carlos I and is located in the central part of Cascais, easily found along the coast.

Bond on holiday - Cascais and Estoril

In the pre-title sequence of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969, Bond is on holiday and, much to M's displeasure, is nowhere to be found. In the first scene M asks Moneypenny if she has checked with communications to which she says that the replies from their Cairo, Madrid and Amsterdam inquiries are all negative. No one has been able to locate 007. Bond, apparently working on a case known as "Operation Bedlam", has been trying to track down Blofeld for over a year and M is less than impressed.

In the following scene, Bond is seen driving his Aston Martin down the roads of a coastal town, supposedly located somewhere on the French Riviera with palm trees and beach visible in the background. However, this scene was filmed in the fashionable town of Cascais in Portugal.

 The road Parada da Artilharia Anti Aerea intersects with Avenida Dom Carlos I

This location can be found in the central part of Cascais along the beach road Avenida Dom Carlos I. Bond is first seen driving out from the small road Parada da Artilharia Anti Aerea, next to which is a parking lot. Bond then continues down Avenida Dom Carlos I along the sea. In the next scene Bond is found on the coastal roads outside of Cascais and Estoril, where he encounters Tracy for the first time.

This curve where Bond is driving down is still very recognizable with the parking lot to the right, and the distinct palm trees. However, the yellow house seen in the film has been replaced with a newer building.

This is the only scene that was filmed in Cascais. The rest of the action around the coast was set on the roads close to the Guincho beach further northwest of the town and in the other famous coastal town called Estoril, where Bond checks in to the famous Hotel Palacio later in the film.

Cascais is a coastal town and a municipality approximately 30 kilometres west of Lisbon. It is one of the richest municipalities in Portugal which gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal family in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The former fishing village is still a popular vacation spot, especially for golfers, although the former glory of the Portuguese Riviera has faded slightly since the middle of the 20th century and the time for Bond's visit.

"What we want is a location fix on 007. Number 10 is making ugly noises about operation Bedlam".
                                                      - M to Q -