Bond villain lairs usually end up as burning sets, shattered miniatures or very expensive effects shots. A few are real James Bond film locations, and you can buy a ticket to them.
We ranked nine by how good a trip they are for a Bond fan: how close you get to what was on screen, how much there is to see now, and how much effort it takes. Some are the actual buildings. Others are the landscapes or real-world inspirations behind them, and we say which is which, because nobody wants to fly to Japan looking for Silva’s server room. Spoilers across the series. Travel details were checked in October 2026 and change often, so confirm before you go. No henchmen on site, as far as we know.
9 to 7: Expedition required
9. Blofeld’s Crater, Spectre (2015): Gara Medouar, Morocco
The “crater” is a horseshoe-shaped rock formation in the Sahara, carved by erosion rather than a meteorite. Blofeld’s sleek compound inside it was added digitally, so what you get is the rock, the desert and the silence. The place was a fortress long before Spectre moved in, and stretches of its old walls are still there. Just don’t expect a gift shop.
Getting there: It lies about 12 km west of Rissani, just north of the N12, and the last stretch is an unpaved desert track. Travelers report an ordinary hire car can manage it, but hire a local driver if you’re not confident off road.
8. Safin’s Island, No Time to Die (2021): Kalsoy, Faroe Islands
The cliffs at the northern tip of Kalsoy stood in for Safin’s island. The islanders have since put a memorial stone to James Bond next to the Kallur lighthouse, dated 1962 to 2021. A Bond location with its own Bond memorial is hard to beat.
Getting there: Take the ferry from Klaksvík to Syðradalur, then drive or take the bus to Trøllanes, the village where the trail starts. The walk to the lighthouse takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes each way and crosses private land, so there’s a mandatory hiking fee (DKK 200 per person without a guide when we checked) and the trail is open only at set times. Ferries fill up in summer and the path is narrow and exposed, so go with good weather and good boots.
7. Silva’s Island, Skyfall (2012): Hashima Island, Japan
Silva’s island was mostly built on a soundstage, but it was modeled on Hashima, and a few exterior shots show the real thing. Hashima is a coal-mining island off Nagasaki that once housed more than 5,000 miners and their families. During World War II, conscripted Korean civilians and Chinese prisoners of war were forced to work in its mines. The mine closed in 1974 and everyone left. The concrete apartment blocks are still standing, crumbling into the sea.
Getting there: Boat tours leave from Nagasaki and take about 50 minutes to reach the island. Landing is never guaranteed: if the sea is rough, the boat simply circles the island, and plans can change even after you’ve set off. If you do land, you stay with the guided group, because the buildings are unsafe.
6 to 4: Worth the plane ticket
6. Kamal Khan’s Palace, Octopussy (1983): Monsoon Palace, Udaipur, India
Kamal Khan’s hilltop palace is the Monsoon Palace, or Sajjangarh, built in the 1880s by the rulers of Mewar to watch the monsoon clouds roll in. The film used it for the distant shots of Khan’s lair and its entrance gate, while most of the interiors were shot elsewhere in Udaipur and at Pinewood. Today it’s one of the best sunset spots in a city full of palaces, and plenty of Udaipur guesthouses still screen Octopussy for visitors.
Getting there: It sits on a hill about 6 km west of the old city, up a steep, winding road through the Sajjangarh wildlife sanctuary. Go by car or taxi, since auto rickshaws aren’t allowed up the hill, and expect separate entry fees for the sanctuary and the palace.
5. Scaramanga’s Island, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974): Phang Nga Bay, Thailand
The mushroom-shaped rock where Scaramanga hid his solar mirror is Ko Tapu, a limestone pillar in Ao Phang Nga National Park. The beach island next to it, Khao Phing Kan, stood in for the rest of his hideaway. Locals and tour boats now call the whole spot James Bond Island.
Getting there: Boat day trips run from Phuket and Krabi. It is one of the busiest stops in the bay, so go early if you want a photo without forty strangers in it.
4. Elektra’s Hideout, The World Is Not Enough (1999): Maiden’s Tower, Istanbul
Elektra King held M prisoner here and put Bond in her antique garrote chair. The real Maiden’s Tower sits on a tiny islet at the mouth of the Bosphorus and has guarded the strait in one form or another for centuries. After its latest restoration it reopened in May 2023 as a museum, with a café and a balcony looking back at the city.
Getting there: Short boat crossings run from Salacak on the Üsküdar shore, and there’s a European-side service from the Karaköy area. Piers have shifted during waterfront works, so check the official site for the current departure point. The boat and the museum are separate tickets.
3 to 1: The best all-round visits
3. Drax’s California Mansion, Moonraker (1979): Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, France
Drax’s “California” home, the one he supposedly shipped over from France stone by stone, never left France at all. It’s Vaux-le-Vicomte, a 17th-century château whose gardens and builders inspired Versailles. Bond lands his helicopter in front of it, and the pheasant shoot was filmed near the Hercules statue at the far end of the gardens. It’s still privately owned by the same family that opened it to the public.
Getting there: It’s near Melun, less than an hour southeast of Paris, and open to visitors for most of the year. Walk to the Hercules statue and look back at the house. That’s the shot.
2. Zorin’s Estate, A View to a Kill (1985): Château de Chantilly, France
Zorin’s horse sale, his garden party and the stables where Bond snoops around were all shot at Chantilly. The Great Stables now house the Living Museum of the Horse, and the horse statues Bond walks past are still there. Inside the château you can walk the same hallway where May Day stops Bond in his tracks. Zorin’s business practices were questionable. His venue selection was not.
Getting there: Chantilly is just north of Paris, an easy day out from the city. Pair it with Vaux-le-Vicomte for a two-villain weekend.
1. Piz Gloria, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969): Schilthorn, Switzerland
The best Bond lair you can visit, because the place has fully committed. Blofeld’s mountaintop clinic is a real summit building nearly 3,000 meters up the Schilthorn, and the film’s producers helped pay to finish it in exchange for using it. Today it’s a revolving restaurant that turns slowly while you eat, with views of more than 200 peaks, plus an interactive exhibition called Spy World (it opened as Bond World 007) and a 007 Walk of Fame. You can stand where Bond started his ski escape and then order lunch.
Getting there: Take the cable car from Mürren via Birg to the summit. The cableway has been rebuilt in recent years, so check the operator’s timetable for connections and maintenance closures. And check the summit webcam before you buy a ticket, because on a cloudy day you’ll be revolving through fog.
Bonus: The ones we lost (one of them maybe just for now)
Trevelyan’s Satellite Dish, GoldenEye (1995): Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico
The giant dish where Bond and Trevelyan fight it out at the end of GoldenEye was the Arecibo radio telescope, supposedly in Cuba for the film. It was one of the largest radio telescopes in the world and a real tourist stop. Cable failures in August and November 2020 left it unstable, and on December 1, 2020 its 900-ton receiver platform fell onto the dish. The scene you remember is gone for good.
Kananga’s Crocodile Farm, Live and Let Die (1973): Falmouth, Jamaica
The crocodile-hopping scene was shot at a real crocodile farm in Jamaica, standing in for Louisiana. It was run by Ross Kananga, who did the stunt himself and gave the villain his name, and it later became the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village. It closed after Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica in October 2025, and we couldn’t confirm a reopening when we checked, so call ahead. Fingers crossed, because a Bond location that lets you hold a baby crocodile deserves a comeback.
Your move
Nine lairs, three continents and one memorial stone. Piz Gloria wins for the full Bond experience.