Location Guide - Casino Royale

 

Prague, Czech Republic
Young British security officer, James Bond, is sent on an assassination mission to Prague where the bent 00-section chief, Dryden is selling British security secrets to the highest bidder. Bond faces the MI6 agent at Danube House - a glossy office complex in the centre of Prague. In the dead of night, Bond commits his second kill and rises to the ranks of 007.

 

 

Uganda
Le Chiffre meets with Obanno and Mr. White, cutting a deal to invest his millions. In this humid and muddy rebel's camp Le Chiffre sells his services to the Ugandan rebel fighter.

 

 

Madagascar
Hot on the trail of a global terrorist ring, the newly promoted 007 is deployed to the island state. Joined by a junior agent, Carter, they attempt to capture and question a known terrorist and skilled bomb maker, Mollaka. Madagascar is the backdrop for a grueling chase that tests 007's agility and skill. The pursuit takes Bond from a run-down shanty town to a gigantic building site on the rugged coast.

 


 

London, UK
After devastating his surroundings and making British newspaper front pages in pursuit of the bomb maker, Bond is summoned back to the UK. M is furious after a meeting with the Home Secretary at the famous Houses of Parliament and Bond is grilled in her Canary Wharf apartment where she instructs him to take a leave of absence.

 

 

New Providence Island, The Bahamas
Bond, still intrigued by Mollaka's terrorist connections, pursues the source of a text message to the Ocean Club - on the western shore of the island. Here he tracks down Dimitrios, the terrorist middleman, and learns of his next attempt to hire a second bomber.  007 ditches the beautiful Solange in his beachfront villa in favour of following her husband. 007 would later return to rendezvous with his disgruntled boss at Albany House, where he is debriefed and sent to do battle with Le Chiffre at the card tables.

 

 

Miami, USA
Following Dimitrios, Bond winds up in Miami International Airport where the middleman offloads a suspicious duffle bag to an unknown assassin. Bond must stop the next bomb from taking out the world-wide launch of Skyfleet S570 - their brand new, next generation aircraft. On the searing tarmac of Miami International 007 has to pull out all the stops to prevent the disaster!

 


 

Casino Royale, Montenegro
Bond and treasury officer, Vesper Lynd, travel to the gaming tables of Casino Royale. Here 007 must counter Le Chiffre's last efforts to recover lost funds. In the lavishly ornate Casino and quaint mountain-town, Bond must bankrupt the terrorist and feed him to his own wolves. First Vesper and then Bond are captured by the villain's goons and taken to the Montenegro quayside. The pair escape after the arrival of Mr. White and are whisked away to Italy.

 

 

Lake Como, Italy
Bond and Vesper are given rest and recuperation time at MI6's facility in the villa Balbianello - set on the stunning shores of Lake Como, Lombardia. Bond and Vesper continue to unwind on a river cruise to Venice where they consider leaving their respective jobs for good. Bond returns to the shores of Lake Como and Villa Gaeta when vengeful 007 at last catches up with Mr. White.

 

 

Venice, Italy
The pair spend the night at the Cipriani Hotel on Giudecca Island before a staggering turn of events leads 007 to a grueling chase through the narrow streets of San Marco, across the famous Accademia Bridge and finally to a deserted Venetian house where he must face Mr. White's goons and save Vesper from herself...

 


Shooting Casino Royale
The 21st James Bond film began shooting on the 30th of January 2006 at Barrandov Studios, Prague, where much of the film's interiors were captured - including M's apartment and the complex gambling sequence. The Czech Republic also played host to the frontage of the impressive Casino Royale, doubling for Montenegro. The first unit shot at the Kaiserbad Spa in Karlovy Vary to can the impressive exteriors of the casino. Stahov Monastery in central Prague stood in for the interiors of the Houses of Commons where M fumes from the boardroom after the Madagascar incident. Finally, the crew relocated to the Ministry of Transport premises in Prague in order to capture exteriors for the Miami-based "Body Works" exhibition.

 

Above: "Casino Royale" see's 007 jet set from Britain to Africa, Europe to the US and Bahamas...

The first unit relocated to the sunny Bahamas for much of February and March in 2006 in order to capture scenes on the island of New Providence and Coral Harbour. The Bahamas doubled for Madagascar, which featured in the opening sequence of "Casino Royale". An abandoned hotel construction site in Coral Harbour was kitted out for the second unit to shoot the amazing free-running sequence. 007 himself, and indeed the Bond crew, was already familiar with the balmy Bahamas as the island nation played host to Bond in several other adventures including: "Thunderball" and "For Your Eyes Only".

While the second unit toiled on in the heat, the first unit journeyed to the luxury estate Albany house (owned by pro-golfers Ernie Els and Tiger Woods). Here the Craig and Dench shot scenes in which they discover the body of Solange and brief for 007's trip to Montenegro.


Above: Jet set from the word go. Bond travels from Prague to Madagascar and back to London.

In late June '06, the first unit crew moved to Italy where the they shot idyllic scenes on the shores of Lake Como (a location made famous by George Lucas' Star Wars) and moved on to Venice where landmarks such as St. Marks square, the Academy of Music, and the Grand Canals are utilised as a backdrop for "Royale" finale.


Above: Up close and personal on the US side of 007's journey. After arriving in Coral Harbour, Bond journeys to The Ocean Club on the far shore of New Providence; from there, onboard the last flight to Miami, just in time to stop a bomb; back again to meet with M and receive further instruction...

Whilst the first unit shot on location, the second unit returned to the UK and 007's home, Pinewood Studios. In the gigantic 007 Stage, the crew filmed sequences for the flooding house. Production wrapped on Casino Royale on the 21st of July and on the 30th, while crew striked the Venice set, a gas fire broke out in the 007 soundstage. No one was injured and the disaster had no impact on the "Casino Royale" release date, the famous soundstage would need to be rebuilt from scratch

Fan Facts
In a recent survey conducted by MI6, 2006's "Casino Royale" ranked as the film with the most impressive and fondly remembered locations overall - collecting an impressive 30% of votes from the fans. It's no surprise to think that the film that transported fans everywhere from the exotic Bahamas to untouched Montenegro would rank highly among dedicated Bond enthusiasts.