‘Casino Royale’ follows James Bond (Daniel Craig) after he has gained 00 agent status and earned his license to kill. The head of MI6, M (Dame Judi Dench) assigns him and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) a new mission. Agent 007 must stop Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a private banker who funds terrorists across the globe, from winning a poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro. In case he wins, Le Chiffre will maintain his status in the criminal business. With some help from their allies, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and Rene Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini), Bond and Lynd eventually join the poker game. As every James Bond fan knows, there’s always more to it, and defeating Le Chiffre will not be the end but a beginning.
Apart from the action-packed scenes and a thrilling plot, ‘Casino Royale’ also comprises of top-notch locations in almost every other scene. Here are all the filming locations of ‘Casino Royale.’
Casino Royale Filming Locations
‘James Bond’ series rarely ever compromises with the sets. So, it may not come to you as a surprise if we tell you that almost every setting you see in ‘Casino Royale’ is a real place. The crew ensured very limited scenes are shot in studios. Various scenes were filmed at different locations in Italy, Czech Republic, UK, and the Bahamas. Let’s get to know more about all the places where Agent 007 takes you.
Italy
Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) is associated with a criminal organization in the film. He lives in a grand villa. In reality, this estate is known as Villa Gaeta and is located in Lake Como, Lombardia. The scenes of Villa del Balbianello in ‘Casino Royale’ were filmed in two locations in Lombardia: Lenno and Tremezzina.
The scene where Bond fastens a yacht was filmed at Cipriani Hotel, Giudecca Island. An outdoor scene was filmed at Conservatory of Music Benedetto Marcello or Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello. It is a real location in Venice popular by the name: Academy of Music. The Grand Canal, and St. Mark’s Square in Venice were chosen to film the closing scene.
Czech Republic
‘Casino Royale’ opens with the arrival of Dryden, a corrupt MI6 chief. It was filmed at the Danube House in Karlín, Prague. Another one of the initial sequences was filmed near Vltava River. A library of Strahov Monastery in Prague was made the set for the House of Commons in ‘Casino Royale.’ The Miami Body Worlds exhibition in the movie takes place in the Miami Museum. This was recorded at two separate locations of Prague: the Military Museum in Zizkov and the Ministry of Transport in Quay of Ludvík Svoboda, New Town.
You’ll be surprised to know about the Grand Venetian Hotel. What looks like the reception and stairway of this hotel is, in fact, a part of the National Museum in New Town, Prague. Some indoor scenes were filmed at Modrany Studios and Barrandov Studios in Prague.
According to the plot, Casino Royale is situated in Montenegro. But most of the shooting of Montenegro took place in the Czech Republic. The outer side of Casino Royale was filmed at Kaiserbad Spa in Karlovy Vary. Likewise, the shots of outer Montenegro Railway Station were taken at Mill Colonnade, Karlovy Vary. Hotel Splendid in ‘Casino Royale’ is known as Pupp Hotel in the actual world. A majority of the road scenes were filmed on Palackého Street in Mladá Boleslav.
England
While two opening scenes were filmed in the Czech Republic, the crew decided England to be the destination for the cricket ground shot, another one of the initial scenes. It was filmed on Playing Field, Eton College, Eton, Berkshire. Later on, this scene was removed before the release. MI6’s chief, M’s home is originally Canary Wharf in Isle of Dogs, London.
The car chase scene after leaving Casino Royale looks like a running road. However, it was filmed on Millbrook Test Track, Bedfordshire. The Venetian Piazza may give you the feel of Venice but its shooting took place in Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire.
The Bahamas
Bond returns to the Bahamas to the villa of Dimitrios couple (Simon Abkarian and Caterina Murino). Their beach-facing estate is originally Albany House in West Shore. The chasing scene across the construction site was recorded on an under-construction hotel, Coral Harbour.
The film gives an outside view of the Madagascar Embassy. It was taken at Buena Vista Hotel and Restaurant, Nassau. The scene where Bond reaches a deserted motel in Madagascar was filmed at Coral Harbour, New Providence Island, Bahamas.
On several occasions, the crew finalized more than one country to represent a place. For instance, the hospital where Agent 007 recovers, after being severely tortured, was shot in Italy and the Czech Republic. The exteriors of this hospital were filmed in gardens of Villa Balbianello, Lake Como, Lombardia, Italy. The inside scene was filmed in Old Soviet Military Hospital, Planá, Tachov District, Czech Republic.
Similarly, the scene with a sinking house is also a real location known as Al Palazzo Lion Morosini, Cannaregio 5700 in Venice. The central event, ie, the submerging of the house and Bond trying to rescue Vesper Lynd was filmed in Paddock Tank, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK.
Some scenes of Miami International Airport were filmed at Vaclav Havel Airport Prague in the Czech Republic others in Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. The shooting of exteriors happened in Dunsfold Park Aerodrome, Dunsfold Park, Dunsfold, Surrey, England, UK. At last, the interiors were captured in Nassau International Airport of the Bahamas.
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