James Bond’s favourite haunts

published 13 November 2015

768-Murren-Piz-Gloria — Dine in Blofeld's lair in the Piz Gloria summit restaurant, Switzerland

Mexico City

Spectre, the latest addition to the James Bond spy franchise,opens with DanielCraig's (pictured)Bond making a speedy exit from the fictional hotel El Presidente, played by the real-life Gran HotelCiudad de Mexico. But you should stick around, says The Times's Julia Brookes. The hotel is "a glorious example of Mexican art nouveau, with a stunning Tiffany stained-glass ceiling and knockout views of the Zcalo, the city's gigantic main square".

From £98 per night. See: GranHoteldelaciudaddeMexico.com.mx.

Hamburg

Tomorrow Never Dies boasts "one of the all-time greatest car chases" through Hamburg, says The Huffington Post. But you don't have to be a member of the jet-set to follow in Bond's footsteps Germany's second city is the "perfect low-cost getaway". Just hope your stay at the Hotel Atlantic proves less exciting than that of Pierce Brosnan's Bond in the film he has to fight off the evil Dr Kaufman in his suite.

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From £160 a night; Kempinski.com.

Vienna

Vienna takes a starring role in The Living Daylights, says Deborah Stone in the Daily Express the first of two films to cast Timothy Dalton in the lead role. Bond and"his girl", assassin Kara Milovy, go on a horse and carriage tour of the Austrian capital, taking in the Schoenbrunn Palace, Palais Schwarzenberg and the Giant Ferris Wheel. When you've had your fill, hop back on the boat. AmaWaterways offers a seven-night Melodies of the Danube river cruise, calling in on Vienna.

From £1,399 per person.Contact: AmaWaterways.co.uk.

Udaipur

Roger Moore as 007 infiltrated villainKamal Khan's lair inthe 1983 film, Octopussy disguised as a crocodile. In reality, the hideout is the ultraluxurious Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan a hotel that "is steeped in lavish, historic Indian style", says the Daily Mail's Naomi Leach. "Seemingly floating on Lake Pichola, it's a riot in marble," says Julia Brookes in The Times, "where guests can dine on a marigold-decked royal barge and take yoga classes at sunrise."

From £488 per night (no crocodiles required). See: TajHotels.com.

Mrren

Despite assuming the role of Bond just once, George Lazenby pulled off "one of the most famous skiing set pieces in the Bond canon", says Chris Leadbeater in The Daily Telegraph. On Her Majesty's Secret Service sees 007 "racing down" from arch-baddie Ernst Blofeld's snowbound bunker in St Moritz, Switzerland. Only St Moritz is actually Mrren ski zone in the Bernese Oberland, and Blofeld's mountain-top lair, the Piz Gloria summit restaurant (top picture).

From £1,115 per person for seven nights at the Hotel Eiger in Mrren, including flights and ski pass; Inghams.co.uk.

The Bahamas

Sean Connery reprised the role of Bond in 1965's Thunderball, which sees 007 travel to Paradise Island in The Bahamas to recover stolen nuclear weapons. His quest takes him to Love Beach, where he encounters the beguiling Domino. And if you fancy "a stay in the footsteps of Connery's charming Bond", says Naomi Leach in the Daily Mail, the island is home to the exclusive One&Only Ocean Club.

From about $700 a night. Contact: OceanClub.OneAndOnlyResorts.com.

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.