Draco's estate - Herdado do Zambujal

On Her Majesty's Secret Service was filmed mainly in Portugal and Switzerland with a few of the very key sequences filmed in and around an estate called Herdado do Zambujal, a two hour drive outside of Lisbon. It is here that Bond and Tracy fall in love and ultimately celebrate their wedding at the end of the film.

The house is only seen briefly in the beginning of the film as Tracy arrives to Draco's birthday party. However, the exterior features more prominently during the wedding scenes. The wedding reception and the following party take place in front of Draco's house on the courtyard.

As Bond and Tracy drive away, Miss Moneypenny cries by the fountain in front of the house. She is however soon interrupted by M and Q.

"Ah, 007 never had any respect for government property!"

Several scenes, including Draco's birthday at the bull ring was filmed on and around this magnificent estate and much more will be covered from this classic and stunning location, given time. 

Tracy's death - Arrábida Natural Park, part 2

Bond and Tracy are driving off from the wedding in On Her Majesty's Secret Service to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, every true love of Bond has a very short life expectancy. The final scenes were filmed on the mountainside roads in the Parque Natural da Arrábida (Arrábida natural park), an hour south of Lisbon.

As Bond wants to remove the flowers from the car, he stops at one of the best view points in the natural park along the road N379-1. This view point is called Miradouro Portinho da Arràbida / Rampa de lançamento em madeira and also includes a para-glide ramp. For further directions to this locations read this earlier post.

As Blofeld approaches in the Mercedes, fräulein Bunt takes aim in the backseat with an automatic rifle and shoots a few rounds at Bond before the Mercedes disappears in the distance.

The shots fired apparently goes through the windscreen of the car and kills Tracy instantly. It is strange since Bond is supposed to have bullet proof windows on the car. Maybe, one of the shots went through the open side window, but it still does not explain the bullet hole in the windscreen.

Bond, supposedly throwing himself behind the car as fräulein Bunt opens fire, runs back to the driver seat. As Bond runs around the car, the magnificent view is seen in the background. The area seen in the background is part of Comporta and the long beach briefly visible is called Praia do Pêgo.

When Bond enters the car to pursue Blofeld he finds Tracy dead and a police motorcycle arrives at the scene. For some reason he does not pursue Blofeld but turns the engine off.

"There's no hurry you see. We have all the time in the world..."

Tracy's death - Arrábida Natural Park, part 1

For the final scene in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the director Peter Hunt searched Portugal for the perfect location to shoot Tracy's inevitable and tragic death. It is not an understatement to say that he found it. The road where Bond pulls over to remove the wedding flowers from the car, after a short drive from Draco's estate, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful Bond locations I have visited.

Through the windscreen of the Aston, a view point is visible to the left. This view point is still there and is a perfect place to stop the car and have a picnic lunch. You should really take your time at this location. There is not very much traffic on these roads, at least not in early May which was the time of our visit, although you have a few people stopping occasionally for photos. But if you stay long enough you will spend some time all alone at this location. 

Bond and Tracy are driving along the mountainside roads that lead from Setúbal through the Parque Natural da Arrábida (Arrábida natural park). This location is located in the Setúbal municipality approximately an hour drive south of Lisbon. This is a beautiful area and both the coastal road and the mountain roads are well worth a drive.

The easiest way to get to Setúbal is to drive across the bridge Ponte 25 de Abril and continue down the A2 highway out of Lisbon. In Setúbal, you should follow the N10-4 road going west. The spot where Bond pulls over is located along the road N379-1, a few kilometers from where the road intersects with N10-4. 

Bond and Tracy are overtaken by an Oldsmobile with some youngsters, right before stopping at the spot where Tracy will meet her faith. The road is quite narrow and stopping your car at the exact spot as Bond did in the film is not recommended and really not possible, especially as there is right right-hand traffic in Portugal, since 1928. Bond himself is driving as if it was left-hand traffic in 1969.

Say it with flowers! 

As Bond removes the flowers from the car, a Mercedes 600 Grosser approaches in the distance...

Schönbrunn Palace - Part 3

 As Bond and Kara pass the Schönbrunn Palace they witness a dancing competition or a demonstration of the Viennese Waltz to the tunes of Johann Strauss Jr's waltz Op. 333 titled "Wine, women and song". This piece of music was composed by Strauss Jr. in 1869 and the title was drawn from the old adage: "Who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long". This adage is probably a subtle nod to Bond who has enjoyed all three on numerous occasions over the years.

They ride through the garden in front of the palace only to arrive at their hotel located in another part of Vienna in the next scene. In the film the orchestra was located on the balcony above the dance floor. You can still recognize the characteristic green window shutters on the palace. The palace is of course open to the public and you can expect a great number tourists in the garden. 

The dance floor was created right in front of the palace facing the garden. Bond and Kara arrive from Obeliskenalle and continue down Lichte Allee in front of the palace. It is a shame that the outdoor scenes at Schönbrunn only last a minute or two. The full exterior of the rear side of the palace is never shown. During the end credits, the front exterior is pictured. Bond is visiting the palace on two further occasions in the film. He and Kara are attending the opera in the Schlossteater, and later Bond secretly attends Kara's ending performance in the same venue.

Seen on the other side of the palace garden, on a hill, is the Gloriette. This 18th century structure was erected during the reign of Emperor Joseph II and Empress Maria Theresa and functioned as a lookout point for the garden as well as a dining hall.

The Gloriette was built in 1775 and as well as being a festival hall it was the breakfast room for Emperor Franz Joseph I. The dining room, located in the middle of the gloriette, today houses a café. On the roof is an observation floor overlooking the garden and the city of Vienna. The view over the Palace and the garden is spectacular. Needless to say, if you are visiting Schönbrunn the Gloriette is a perfect place to stop for lunch.

Schönbrunn Palace, part 2 - The Palace Garden

In The Living Daylights Bond and Kara ride through Vienna in a horse carriage. On the way to their hotel, Im Palais Schwarzenberg, they pass the former summer palace of the Austrian Imperial family and the most famous tourist attraction in Vienna, the Schönbrunn Palace. Even though you never see the full exterior of the back side of the palace when they ride past it, the front exterior is pictured during the end credits.

Obeliskenallee

Bond's horse carriage arrive through the Obeliskenallee in the garden and continue on the Lichte Allee in front of the palace. Bond and Kara would return to Schönbrunn later the same evening to attend the opera performance of Le Nozze di Figaro which was filmed at the Schönbrunn Palace theater, the 'Schlossteater'. 

Schönbrunn Palace is definitely one of the most beautiful Bond locations in Vienna and a memorable experience. You have the best view over the palace and garden from the hill where the 'Gloriette' is located. Schönbrunn is one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria and apparently the palace and garden illustrate the tastes, interests and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs. Needless to say, a visit is a must when you travel to Vienna.

Today is Timothy Dalton's birthday and different sources claim that he was born either in 1944 or 1946. Why his birth year is unknown is not clear to me. 

Regardless of the fact that you do not want to be associated with the role, The Living Daylights is a solid Bond film that certainly belongs in the top ten list. Either way,

Happy Birthday Timothy