Car chase through Rome - The Vatican

After attending the Spectre meeting at Palazzo Cadenza (actually filmed at Blenheim Palace in England), Bond is exposed by Blofeld and escapes in his Aston Martin. Hinx pursues him through the midnight streets of Rome. After driving down Via della Conciliazione, which is the wide street leading up to the big Piazza San Pietro in front of the St Peter's Church, Bond takes a right in front of St Peter's Church.

When taking the right turn, Bond is driving down the street called Largo del Colonnato, that runs alongside the Bernini's colonnade, which is the large wing that expands from St Peter's church.

When taking another right turn, Bond and Hinx continue along Via del Corridori and the large stone wall that runs alongside the street.

Bond drives through the first archway on the left hand side in the wall and continues down Via del Mascherino.

Bridge of Sighs - Venice

For the final scenes in From Russia With Love, Bond and Tania are traveling down a canal in Venice after disposing of Colonel Klebb in their hotel room. They are riding in a taxi boat on the canal Rio di Palazzo and pass under one of the most famous bridges in Venice - the Bridge of Sights.

Bond and Tania right below the Bridge of Sighs - Ponte dei Sospiri

Bond and Tania are travelling down the canal in a taxi boat, not in the traditional gondola, since they are leaving town, probably heading for the airport. As they continue down Rio di Palazzo they go under another bridge from where they are being filmed by two tourists. From this bridge you have a nice view over the Bridge of Sighs.

Standing on the bridge on Riva degli Schiavoni overlooking the location

The Bridge of Sighs connects the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Palazzo Ducale (the Doge's Palace). It was built between 1600 and 1603 and was designed by Antonio Contino (whose uncle Antonio da Ponte had designed the Rialto Bridge in Veince).

The view from the bridge was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment, when taken from the Doge's palace to the prison across the canal. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron as a translation from the Italian "Ponte dei sospiri" in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of the beautiful lagoon before being taken down to their cells.

View over the bridge from the other side, towards the lagoon

Despite several scenes being filmed on location in Venice for the film's finale, none of the principal cast were there during filming as their scenes were shot in studio.

Pagi Village

A central part of the car chase in For Your Eyes Only takes place in and around the village of Pagi in Corfu. As Bond and Melina are driving into the village, they pass one of the old churches in the western part of Pagi, covered here and continue down the road where they pass a few colored houses.  

Bond and Melina are driving into Pagi from the north on the road Eparchiaki Odos Arkadades-Agiou Georgiou. This road is actually leading up to the crossing with the "low road", but from the wrong direction. If you continue down this road, you will arrive at the low road, but from the wrong direction. It becomes apparent when you compare the two pictures above that a few of the houses were being built, or at least renovated, at the time of filming. It is the facade of the yellow house in the middle (in the picture above) that has the scaffolding in front of it.

Corfu Town - Gonzales' fly-by

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Corfu Town

Before flying over Paleokastritsa and arriving at Melina's parents yacht, anchored in Kalami Bay, Gonzales flies the seaplane over Corfu Town and the old fortress in the first scene. An overview of the centre of the town, which today is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site is briefly visible as Gonzales flies over.

You have the most beautiful view over the city from the top of the old fortress.

The big open field is the cricket field, a hangover from the British rule which spanned for 50 years during the first half of the 1800's. Corfu still has an official cricket team.

Gonzales' first fly-by over Corfu town sets the scene and the tone of the movie. You immediately feel the warm climate of the Greek islands.

"With that in mind I have already contacted our usual friend in Greece. Da."

                  - General Gogol, ordering the recovery of the A.T.A.C. transmitter - 

Tango at the Casino

In Never Say Never Again, Largo hosts a charity ball at the casino in Monte Carlo. Bond attends uninvited and after winning over Largo at a rather stupid video game called "Domination", Bond settles for one dance with Domino instead of the 267,000 dollars he won. Largo observes the dancing couple from the second floor above as Fatima Blush comes up leaning against the balustrade.

                     "-They move well together don't they?"
        -Today you have anothzer chance. Zhis time, you'd better not fail..." 
                                  - Blush and Largo -

Largo and Blush are standing right above the entrance to the gambling hall, located to the left as you enter the main casino building. The pattern on the floor is very recognisable.

The famous tango scene were filmed in the main entrance hall, just beneath where Largo is watching. Bond and Domino are dancing as the guests are sitting around small tables next to the dance floor.

The large wall painting behind the opposite balustrade (opposite from where Largo is standing) is different from the wall painting behind Largo, it is thus possible to establish that Largo were standing above the entrance to the casino hall, that is to the left from the main entrance.

The wall painting seen in the picture below is the painting seen behind Largo.

Menton Motorcycle Chase - Rue Longe

During the motorbike chase in Never Say Never Again, Bond is lured away from his villa in Villefranche-sur-mer by Fatima Blush, after she has killed Bond's ally, Nicole. After chasing Fatima's Renault 5 Turbo down the roads of Villefranche-sur-mer, Bond ends up in the small town of Menton, close to the Italian border. Here, still in pursuit of Blush, Bond speeds down the famous steps of Saint-Michel in the old part of the city.

As Bond is driving down the steps, Blush is seen driving down Rue Longe that runs below the steps and separate the upper part with the last few steps that continues down to the beach road called Quai Bonaparte. Just before the last steps of the upper part reach Rue Longe, Bond jumps down with the motorcycle and continues the chase down Rue Longe. This narrow street will eventually lead to Rue des Logettes and Place du Cap where Blush's henchmen are waiting in two cars to capture Bond.

Blush is driving around in her Renault 5 Turbo. 

These steps are a historic monument, constructed in the mid 1700's. Bond and Blush later come out on a larger square, where Blush's henchmen are waiting in two cars and Bond becomes the hunted. The tunnel where Bond later is captured, but manages to escape, is only a short walk away from this location, along the beach.

After driving around Menton, Bond and Blush again end up in the port of Villefranche-sur-mer, namely Port de la Darse, where the motorbike chase finally ends and Blush is blown to pieces by Algernon's pen.

Hôtel de Paris - Monte Carlo

GoldenEye

In Goldeneye during Bond's visit to Casino Monte Carlo, the magnificent Hôtel de Paris is visible in the background as Bond drives up to the casino. The hotel was also briefly visible in Never Say Never Again twelve years earlier as Connery walks into what is called "Casino Royale" in the film. Bond has however never actually stayed in that hotel. The Hôtel de Paris is located in the heart of Monte Carlo, right next to the casino at the convenient address Place du Casino.

Hôtel de Paris was opened in 1863 but is today undergoing a total renovation that is scheduled to continue until 2018. During this renovation, the entire south section of the hotel (the round part of the building as seen in Goldeneye) has been demolished, which is apparent in the picture above.

The Persuaders! 

Although Bond himself has never stayed at the Hôtel de Paris, it was nevertheless the destination for Lord Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde in the first episode of The Persuaders!. After the iconic car chase from Nice airport where Brett and Danny are speeding along the coastal road, they end up in front of the Hôtel de Paris, just like the invitation from Judge Fulton had stated.

"Please be my guest it's going to be a ball!!!"

Only one actual scene was shot inside the hotel, and that was Roger Moore's entrance when he walks through the lobby. Everything else, sadly, appear to have been shot in studio. The hotel lobby is amazingly beautiful and well worth a visit even if you are not staying in the hotel. Anyway, Le Bar American and the restaurant Le Louis XVI located inside the hotel on each side of the lobby, are probably two of the best establishments in Monaco. A drink in the bar is simply a must.

Roger Moore as Lord Sinclair makes an entrance. 

Blowing up the Russian Consulate - Part 3

After blowing up the Russian consulate and stealing the Lector decoder in From Russia With Love, Bond and Tania escape through Kerim's secret passage underneath the consulate. The building, doubling for the Russian consulate in the film is located in the Şişli district in Istanbul, along Halaskargazi Caddesi number 161.

The house and the surrounding garden still looks the same as it did in 1963 and the surrounding fence and the entrance gate have not been changed although the gate has been given some new paint. This is one of a few fairly untouched locations in Istanbul.

As the firemen rush up to the house, a small part of the path in the garden is visible, as well as the actual building behind the smoke. This path, made up from small round stones is in the style of classic "pebble mosaic", a style that probably originated in ancient Greece and became widespread in the Byzantine Empire. This path can still be found on location today and the house does not appear to have been changed that much either.

During filming, the crew had major problems with crowds that flocked the streets, something that is apparent in several scenes filmed around the consulate and elsewhere in Istanbul. The firetruck during the filming of the burning consulate probably contributed to even more spectators. Thus, a lot of the people seen in the top picture were probably not hired extras.

Bond first arrives at the consulate late in the film, in a taxi. The taxi stops outside the entrance gate at Halaskargazi Caddesi and at the same time, the Şişli  mosque is visible in the far background. More on the long street and the mosque have been covered here in an earlier post.