If you want escapism, then a good old James Bond film is hard to beat. A good-looking man going off on adventures, some clichéd baddies, and, most importantly, superb locations around the world. Yes, the sexist and misogynistic storylines make my toes curl every time, but if you have ever read any other material by Ian Fleming, I am afraid it was very much his style and a product of its time. But however much I roll my eyes at the depictions of the Bond Girls (Oh, James), I can’t but love a good Bond story. On any given rainy Sunday afternoon, especially when travel is not on the books, I love watching a movie, and usually, I choose them for their locations and then head off to Istanbul, Monaco, Jamaica, or India. But wherever I might travel, and whichever actor is doing the Bond honors, there is always one constant: London.

So, when I recently went to London, I searched out some previous James Bond film locations in honor of the latest film, No Time To Die, due to finally be released in October.  

I started where pretty much every James Bond story starts, in Vauxhall at the iconic MI6 building (left), also the headquarters of the real British Secret Intelligence Service. This is, in the movies, where the ‘00’ spies work, where M has her/his office, where Moneypenny keeps an eye out for Bond and, in Skyfall (2012), was partially blown up. 

Walking back toward the center of London along the Thames, Westminster comes into sight, and there are so many Bond film locations here. In Spectre (2015), Daniel Craig is seen running along Parliament Street, and the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, and the Westminster Underground station are in view.

A little further on just past Downing Street is the Old War Office (right), which stands in for the old MI6 headquarters in three James Bond movies — Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), and License to Kill (1889)

At the end of Parliament Street/Whitehall there is Trafalgar Square with the National Portrait Gallery, where in Skyfall Bond meets the new Q. In fact, the room they meet in is on level 2, Room 34, but alas, current renovations were my nemesis, and the gallery is closed until 2023. 

From Trafalgar Square, you can turn left and head toward Buckingham Palace, which was used in Die Another Day (2002) as the spot where Gustave Graves parachuted down. Just along the side of Pall Mall is the Reform Club, which was the setting of the fabulous fencing club in Die Another Day (2002), and in Quantum of Solace (2008) where M meets the Foreign Secretary. But as I am not a member, I was not allowed to inspect the private club closer. Shame.

I headed off from Trafalgar Square, and at the corner of Whitehall Place and Northumberland Avenue stands a small building with a black gate (left), which doubled as the entrance to the tunnels of the Underground in Skyfall (2012) (with Javier Bardem as baddie Raoul da Silva dressed as a policeman exits from).

Not far away, past Embankment Station, which also starred in Skyfall, is Somerset House, which in Golden Eye (1995) was a square in St Petersburg, while in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) it appears as the Ministry of Defence. Today, it is an arts venue.

Steps away, there is Covent Garden and the legendary Rules restaurant, which is not only the oldest restaurant in London but also the place where Spectre Moneypenny and Q inform M that they had located James Bond in North Africa.

A bit further along the Thames, connecting St Paul’s Cathedral and Tate Modern is the modern Millennium Bridge (right), where Moneypenny (in Spectre) walks across with St Paul’s behind her.

(Incidentally, the Millennium Bridge is also featured in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, for all you Potterheads.)

Further along toward Greenwich, following the flow of the Thames, lies the final big location, the O2 or Millennium Dome (right), which featured in The World is not Enough (1999) not only as a backdrop of a boat chase, but Bond also tumbles onto the roof of the dome. I did not have time to climb up, but you can, and the views are said to be spectacular from up there.

How to Tour

To see these and more James Bond locations in London, you can either go on self-guided tours, bus tours, or even a speed boat ride down the Thames. On another visit to town, I did the speed boat tour, and I highly recommend it. It’s the best way to see London and channel your inner James Bond. You’ll feel a little like a Martini afterward: Shaken but not stirred.