If I talk about glamour and excitement and action in Europe then it is possible that what comes to mind is James Bond. And with good reason. Bond films have often shown the very best of Europe, from the wilds of Scotland to the glitz of Monte Carlo.
Sometimes the story is set in a location, but the location doesn’t exist, or a replica was built especially for filming. But sometimes real life and James Bond meet and you can stay at the hotels featured in the films and drive down the same roads. I wouldn’t recommend jumping off the same bridges though.
Casino Royale – Grand Hotel Pupp, Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad)
The 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig, centres around a Texas Hold’em tournament at the Hotel Splendide in Montenegro. The hotel used for the filming, however, is not in Montenegro. The Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, in the Czech Republic was used as the filming location.
Karlovy Vary is a Spa town in the Czech republic, not far from the German border. The town takes its name from Charles IV, the king of Bohemia in the 14th century. Karlovy being Charles in Czech, and Vary meaning springs or baths. Generations of the European Aristocracy, including Tsar Peter the great came to enjoy the waters here. The town had its golden age in the 19th and early 20th centuries when it was a favourite of the likes of Goethe, Beethoven and Chopin. At the time it was overwhelmingly German speaking and was known under the name Karlsbad (German for Charles’s bath). The Czech name has been the official one since the end of WWII but the Karlsbad (or Carlsbad) name stuck for its international renown.
Tourists come here for the spring water, that is said to have healing properties. There are over 80 springs in the town, although only 16 of them are for drinking. The drinking fountains are mostly found in the elegant colonnades around the town. Each has its own style, from the stone Mill colonnade built in Pseudo-Renaissance style to the exquisite white Market Colonnade in carved wood Swiss Style.
The Grandhotel Pupp, with its néo-baroque façade, is difficult to miss. The name Pupp is the family name of the owners, and has been the name since the late 19th century, although during the communist years it was renamed Grandhotel Moskva.
The public areas stand true to the James bond style, with vast chandeliers and an impressive staircase adorned with red carpet. There are stylish black and white portrait photographs around the hotel, some linked to the James Bond film. In the Becher’s bar, the style of which is more English club than traditional Czech, you can find a set of three portraits of Dame Judi Dench aka M.
Whilst the elegant dining room, with its painted ceilings and elegant drapes, keeps up the James bond glamour, some of the bedrooms lack the same level of sophistication. Some of the rooms are in a building opposite, so if you want the iconic building check when booking, and if you want glamour opt for a suite.
Vista Palace Hotel Monacco
The Vista Palace hotel is listed on line as the hotel in the James Bond Film GoldenEye. There are three problems with this. Firstly, the film didn’t show the hotel, but a view of Monte Carlo from a viewpoint near the hotel, secondly whilst the view is of Monte Carlo and Monaco the viewpoint is actually in France, and thirdly, and probably most importantly, the hotel no longer exists.
The site where once sat the Vista Palace Hotel, is now home to the Maybourne Riviera. This is a stunning new hotel on the triangular plot of the old hotel. >Although the hotel has no real link to James Bond, I feel he would approve. The cleverly designed triangular structure rises out of the rocks and oozes glamour. All the rooms are suites, and the rooftop restaurant has what has to be one of the most spectacular views of this coastline.
Eilean Donan – Scottish MI6 and Skyfall road
Not a hotel this time, but a filming location. Eilean Donan is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. It sits on a small island in Loch Duich, conveniently located for tourists as it is on the main A87 road to the Isle of Skye. It is an iconic castle that has been used in numerous movies including The New Avengers and Highlander as well as standing in for the MI6 scottish headquarters in the 1999 James Bond film The World is Not Enough.
Perhaps more emblematic for Bond fans is the road that can be found a couple of hours south of Eilean Donan. The small road, coming off the A82 just outside Glencoe follows the River Etive down to the northern tip of Loch Etive. This is the road that Bond drives down in Skyfall. Where M meets him and asks him if it is where he grew up.
The house, Skyfall Lodge, however, doesn’t exist. It was built as a film set in Surrey, England, and deliberately burnt down for the film. Glencoe House, the former home of Lord Strathcona, is a 5-star hotel not far from the Skyfall road, and provides an elegant alternative that I could see M at least approving of.
Palazzo Gattini Matera
The 2021 James Bond film No time to Die has a significant bit of the opening scenes of the film set in Puglia Italy. Although the scene was set in Gravina, only the viaduct which Daniel Craig jumps off is there, the rest of the scene was filmed in Matera, including the motorcycle stunt and the Aston martin chase. The motorcycle stunt was filmed on the steps of the ancient cathedral.
The hotel in the movie doesn’t exist, and the balcony scene was filmed on a scaffold at Belvedere di Piazza Giovanni Pascoli. From there you get a stunning view over the old rooftops of Matera.
The hotel in the movie might not exist, but the hotel where the cast and crew stayed during filming does, and honestly it suits the vibe perfectly. Palazzo Gattini was once the noble domain of the Gattini Counts. The Gattini were among the oldest and most powerful families of Matera. There is a tale of one of the Gattini counts being hunted down and killed by an angry mob, and that stable where he was cornered is now one of the hotel bedrooms. I cannot vouch for the veracity of the tale, but it does seem rather fitting for a Bond film crew to be staying there.
It is a luxury hotel, with a spa in the ancient cisterns and a rooftop terrace giving movie worthy views over the town.
James Bond filming locations in Europe
There are multiple filming locations across Europe for the James bond Franchise. From the revolving restaurant at Schilthorn Switzerland, used in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, to Villa del Balbianello in Casino Royale as well as multiple filming locations in Venice for different films.
There are other James Bond hotels too. Notably the Miramonti Majestic Grand Hotel which features in For Your Eyes Only but that is not open to guests at the moment following a closure in 2023 for non-compliance.
Basing a Europe trip around James Bond is not a bad way to see the continent, but I would advise against trying to do it all in one trip. Picking one or two hotels and visiting the filming locations near them would be a far more satisfactory experience.
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