Matera: A modern adventure in an ancient city
Located in southern Italy’s Basilicata region, Matera is a singular city renowned for its historic rock houses and cave dwellings, and it is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This fairy-tale setting stepped into the spotlight as an action-packed backdrop in the 25th Bond film, No Time To Die. The film’s opening sequence, which marks Daniel Craig’s final appearance as Bond, unfolds along Matera’s maze-like narrow streets. What begins as a search for peace with Bond’s love, Madeleine Swann, quickly spirals into chaos and danger. While crossing a high bridge to visit the grave of his former love, Vesper Lynd, Bond is caught in a sudden explosion and thrown into a relentless chase. Moments later, behind the wheel of the iconic Aston Martin DB5, he battles his enemies through Matera’s squares in a sequence that leaves little room to breathe. The now-legendary scene near Piazza San Pietro Caveoso, where Bond spins the DB5 in a full 360-degree turn and unleashes machine-gun fire from behind the headlights, stands as one of the most unforgettable moments of the modern Bond era. Throughout the chase, Matera’s sheer stone walls, stepped passageways, and the historic Sassi quarters become an uncredited yet unforgettable character in the film.
Scenes shot in Matera also feature striking behind-the-scenes stories. Filming a high-speed chase on the city’s narrow, slippery stone streets was anything but easy. To safely capture the jaw-dropping moment when Bond speeds up a steep ramp on a motorcycle and launches over a stone wall, the production team poured nearly 32,000 liters of soft drinks onto the streets. Once dried, the liquid left a sticky residue that helped the tires grip the slick stone, allowing the rider to clear a 7.6-meter ramp at 60 miles per hour and land safely. Following No Time To Die, Matera became an international magnet. According to a local guide, nearly one-third of visitors now come purely out of curiosity sparked by the Bond film. Having previously hosted productions such as The Passion of the Christ, Matera saw its fame multiply thanks to Bond, emerging as one of the brightest stars in the global “set-jetting” phenomenon.
Matera draws travelers in with its ancient atmosphere and cinematic fame. As you wander through the city’s “Sassi” district, it is easy to trace echoes of the film’s high-octane chase scenes. Along streets like Via Muro, you can walk the very routes Bond sped through, discovering historic cave churches and stone houses along the way. If you want to follow James Bond’s footsteps through Matera’s streets, the closest airport is in Bari. A flight to Bari makes reaching this spellbinding city straightforward. Then comes the real pleasure: strolling through Matera’s narrow lanes, feeling that a scene from the film might spring to life around every corner.
Cairo: Espionage in the shadow of the Pyramids
Cairo, the capital of Egypt, earned a special place in the Bond universe as a historic meeting point between East and West. The 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, in particular, captured the Cold War’s exotic espionage amid Cairo’s mystical settings. Bond, portrayed by Roger Moore, arrives in the city while pursuing stolen microfilm, setting the stage for a series of unforgettable scenes. The city’s most iconic silhouette, the Giza Pyramids, hosts one of the film’s defining moments. Bond and the Soviet agent Amasova attend the nighttime sound-and-light show staged in front of the pyramids. As the millennia-old structures glow under dramatic illumination, Bond secretly witnesses the murder of his contact. During the ensuing chase among these towering silhouettes, the infamous villain Jaws makes his first appearance, attacking Bond amid the pyramids’ eerie shadows. Filmed on location in the Giza Necropolis, this sequence still resonates today, as the same sound-and-light shows continue to be staged each evening in multiple languages. For Bond fans visiting Cairo, attending the nighttime show in Giza offers a chance to experience this legendary scene firsthand.
Bond’s Egyptian adventure does not end in Cairo; it stretches south along the Nile to ancient cities beyond. In The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond and Amasova follow a trail of clues to Luxor. There, the chase with Jaws continues among the colossal columns of Karnak Temple, one of the largest temple complexes ever built. Hidden in the darkness of the Great Hypostyle Hall, Bond navigates a deadly game of cat-and-mouse through a labyrinth of 134 towering columns. Constructed over two thousand years, Karnak is a vast city of temples, and the film’s sequence fuses the grandeur of the ancient world with Bond’s signature action. The Luxor scenes channel the mysterious aura of ancient Egypt into a modern spy story, making them among the most memorable moments in the Bond film legacy.
The film’s Egyptian high point unfolds far south of Cairo, near Aswan. In a scene where Bond works with the Soviets’ MI6 counterpart, the KGB, the meeting takes place at the Abu Simbel Temple. Against the backdrop of Abu Simbel’s colossal rock temple, built by Pharaoh Ramesses II and guarded by four monumental statues, Bond meets with M and Russian General Gogol on the banks of the Nile to map out their strategy. In reality, the vast temples of Abu Simbel are also celebrated as an engineering marvel, having been dismantled and painstakingly relocated piece by piece in the 1960s to save them from being submerged by rising dam waters.
Cairo, and Egypt more broadly, gifted the Bond universe with unforgettable imagery thanks to The Spy Who Loved Me. In the years since the film’s release, visitors to Cairo have found no shortage of places where they can trace Bond’s footsteps. Areas around the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar and Moezz Street still retain the same authentic buzz that recalls the marketplace scenes seen on screen. By visiting the Gayer-Anderson Museum House and the surroundings of the Ibn Tulun Mosque, it is possible to follow in the steps of 007 through the city. For Bond fans willing to venture further, taking a train journey from Cairo to Luxor to watch the sunset at Karnak, or flying from Aswan to Abu Simbel to explore the temples, offers equally compelling alternatives. If you want to experience this mystical Eastern city through Bond’s eyes, you can start your adventure with a flight to Cairo and find yourself standing at the crossroads of history and cinema, in the shadow of the pyramids.
Jamaica: The paradise where 007 was born
If one were to ask where the James Bond legend was truly born in the real world, the answer would unquestionably be Jamaica. This tropical Caribbean paradise was not only the source of inspiration for Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, but also the primary filming location for the very first Bond film. In the 1950s, as Fleming searched for a place to spend his winters and write his new spy novels, his friend Noel Coward suggested Jamaica. Fleming fell instantly for the island and went on to purchase land in the Oracabessa area on the northern coast, where he built his home, which he named GoldenEye. It was here, in 1952, that Fleming wrote the first Bond novel, Casino Royale, and he continued to write all subsequent Bond stories in this very house. It is even said that the name of the 007 character was inspired by birds Fleming frequently observed in Jamaica. This literary point of origin soon paved the way for a cinematic legend. In 1962, Bond was born on the big screen, and much of the first Bond film, Dr. No, was shot in Jamaica.
Dr. No made history as the first film to introduce Sean Connery as Bond and brought Jamaica’s natural beauty to the world’s attention. In the film, British agent 007 heads to the Caribbean to thwart Dr. No’s plans on the fictional island of Crab Key. This imaginary island was, in fact, a composite of several real locations across Jamaica. One such spot is where Bond comes ashore by boat with CIA agent Quarrel, filmed near lush waterfalls outside Ocho Rios. Then comes one of the most iconic moments in cinema history. Honey Ryder emerges from the sea and walks along the beach, where she encounters Bond. The scene was shot on a spellbinding Jamaican shore known as Laughing Waters Beach, with a small waterfall cascading in the background. Those falls are part of Dunn’s River Falls, just west of Ocho Rios, where fresh water flows directly into the sea, a natural wonder that still draws thousands of visitors today. The moment when Ursula Andress rises from the water, softly humming “Underneath the Mango Tree,” became one of the most enduring images of the Bond series, introducing millions to Jamaica’s turquoise waters and white sands. That nearly the entire first Bond film was shot in Jamaica cemented an unbreakable bond between 007 and the island, making them an inseparable duo in cinematic history.
After its first appearance during the Sean Connery era, Jamaica returned to the Bond universe. In the 1973 film Live and Let Die, Bond, portrayed by Roger Moore, is on another Caribbean mission. In the story, Bond travels to the fictional island of San Monique to dismantle a criminal network intertwined with voodoo. In reality, the San Monique scenes were all shot in Jamaica. One of the film’s most unforgettable moments is the sequence in which Bond escapes from a crocodile-infested farm by literally running across the backs of the crocodiles. These scenes were filmed at a real crocodile farm in Jamaica, with the help of renowned crocodile handler Ross Kananga. Live and Let Die also features a double-decker bus chase around Montego Bay and several high-energy scenes set on the island’s western coast. The Jamaican landscapes of the 1970s served as a vivid backdrop, adding color and texture to Bond’s tropical adventures.
Years later, as Bond was reimagined by different actors and new stories, the series returned to Jamaica as a quiet tribute to Ian Fleming’s legacy. In No Time To Die, we see 007 living in retirement in Jamaica after stepping away from active duty. In many ways, it was a full-circle narrative. Bond, who first arrived in Jamaica on a mission, now sought peace on the same island. For the film, Bond’s modest seaside home was set near Port Antonio. The production team built a wooden house by the ocean in the San San area near Port Antonio, creating Bond’s secluded retreat. Surrounded by palm trees and accompanied only by the sound of the waves, Bond enjoys his retirement there until his old friend Felix Leiter arrives to pull him back into action.
What makes Jamaica’s place in the Bond legend truly special is not only the films but also the real-life stories tied to the island. Ian Fleming’s home, which he named GoldenEye, still stands in all its glory and now operates as a luxury retreat. Known today as GoldenEye Hotel and Resort, the property offers guests an atmosphere rich in historical details, including Fleming’s original writing desk. On the island, the home of Fleming’s close friend Noel Coward, Firefly, can also be visited as a museum. For a Bond enthusiast visiting Jamaica, the to-do list is long. Climbing the cascades of Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, swimming at Laughing Waters Beach while imagining Ursula Andress emerging from the sea, wandering through Kingston’s club and harbor districts as seen in the films, and, of course, staying at GoldenEye to feel the breeze where Bond was born are just a few highlights. With its extraordinary natural beauty at every turn, the island invites Bond fans on a journey that is as cinematic as it is literary.
Scotland: The misty heritage of 007
Although James Bond often evokes exotic cities, tropical islands, or sprawling metropolises, the character’s core is rooted in Scotland. Although Ian Fleming did not initially include this detail in the earliest Bond novels, he was so impressed by Scottish actor Sean Connery’s portrayal of 007 that he later gave Bond a Scottish lineage. In the novel You Only Live Twice, Fleming writes that Bond’s father was Andrew Bond of Glencoe, Scotland, and that Bond spent his formative years at Fettes College in Edinburgh. On paper, then, Bond’s origins trace back to the misty Highlands of northern Britain. This literary detail found a powerful echo on screen years later. In the 2012 film Skyfall, Bond, portrayed by Daniel Craig, returns to his roots and travels to his childhood home in Scotland. Known as Skyfall Manor, this isolated estate stands as a lonely, melancholic structure amid Scotland’s sweeping mountains and marshlands. It is here that Bond hides M and prepares for a final reckoning with his enemies. Set against the breathtaking landscapes of the Glen Coe area, the finale became one of the most emotional and epic sequences in the Bond series. In reality, the manor was built on a site in England for production, while the surrounding road scenes and landscape shots were filmed in the real Glen Coe and the neighboring Glen Etive valley. The moment when Bond’s classic Aston Martin DB5 emerges through the mist, stops on a winding road, and he says “Welcome to Scotland” marks a spot along the Glen Etive road that visitors still seek out and photograph today. In Skyfall, Scotland’s raw wilderness becomes a character in its own right, a place where Bond confronts his past and reckons with who he is.
So, on paper, Bond’s origins trace back to the misty Highlands of northern Britain. This literary detail found a striking echo on the big screen years later. In the 2012 film Skyfall, Bond, portrayed by Daniel Craig, returns to his roots and travels to the family estate in Scotland, where he spent his childhood. Known as Skyfall Manor, this remote house stands alone amid Scotland’s sweeping mountains and marshy landscapes, marked by isolation and quiet melancholy. In the film, Bond hides M here and prepares for a final reckoning with his enemies.
Set against the breathtaking scenery of the Glen Coe region, this finale remains etched in memory as one of the most emotional and epic sequences in the Bond series. In reality, the structure created for Skyfall Manor was purpose-built on a site in England; however, the road scenes and surrounding landscape shots in the film were shot in the real Glen Coe and the neighboring Glen Etive valley. The moment when Bond’s classic Aston Martin DB5 emerges from the mist, stops on a winding road, and he says “Welcome to Scotland” marks a spot along the Glen Etive road that visitors still seek out and photograph today. In Skyfall, Scotland’s wild landscape becomes a character in its own right, the place where Bond comes face-to-face with his past.
Scotland has appeared in the Bond films not only in Skyfall but also on several other occasions. In the 1999 film The World Is Not Enough, after the MI6 headquarters in London is bombed, the service relocates its temporary base to Scotland. The film shows Bond and M planning operations at this provisional headquarters set within Eilean Donan Castle. One of Scotland’s most photographed historic landmarks, this medieval castle is woven into the Bond universe as an elegant and fitting reference.
Another cinematic use of Scotland is a surprising fact even for devoted fans of the series. In From Russia With Love, the final scene in which Bond and Tatiana flee by boat in Türkiye was not filmed in Türkiye at all but on Scotland’s Loch Craignish. Due to technical constraints at the time, the production team chose to film this action-packed boat chase in Scotland, presenting it on screen as Türkiye. In other words, even if we did not realize it, Bond’s path had already crossed Scotland as early as the franchise’s first films.
Scotland leaves a powerful impression every time it appears in the Bond series, with its harsh yet noble landscapes reflecting the character’s very spirit. Today, Bond fans visiting Scotland can join Bond-themed tours throughout the Highlands. Visiting the exact spot in Glen Coe where Bond pauses to take in the view in the film, breathing in the crisp air and feeling the Skyfall atmosphere down to the bone, is high on many travelers’ lists. If you want to follow Bond’s trail across Scotland’s misty hills, book a flight to Scotland and step into this extraordinary landscape. After all, for 007 the world is a stage, and Scotland remains one of its most dramatic backdrops.
In this third chapter of our journey through the Bond films, we explored Matera, Cairo, Jamaica, and Scotland. Each added its own distinct texture to the legend. James Bond’s world is, of course, far broader than these stops, yet with this adventure stretching from Matera to Scotland, we can declare “mission accomplished” for the Bond file. The appetite for discovery, however, remains. In another series, we will set out once more, following a different character and heading toward new cities and new stories.
