Grandhotel Pupp
Karlovy Vary, Czechia
Fellner & Helmer and earlier builders
Architecture on screen · Action
Big scenes.
Real buildings.
From impossible climbs to elaborate heists, meet the buildings and engineered places behind the action.
Explore by movie
13 films · 18 documented locations
Casino Royale
2006 · Martin Campbell
Czech spa architecture and Italian lakeside villas stand in for several places in Bond’s story.
Imperial Spa — Lázně I
Karlovy Vary, Czechia
Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer
Villa del Balbianello
Tremezzina, Lake Como, Italy
Architect not established; commissioned by Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini
Villa La Gaeta
San Siro, Lake Como, Italy
Gino and Adolfo Coppedè
Skyfall
2012 · Sam Mendes
One of Bond’s most memorable meetings needs little more than a gallery, a bench and a painting.
National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom
William Wilkins; later extensions by several architects
GoldenEye
1995 · Martin Campbell
An Alpine dam and a grand casino supply two very different kinds of Bond spectacle.
Verzasca Dam — Contra Dam
Vogorno, Ticino, Switzerland
Giovanni Lombardi and engineering team
Casino de Monte-Carlo
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Jules Dutrou; later Charles Garnier and Henri Schmit
Mission: Impossible
1996 · Brian De Palma
A museum in Prague becomes part of the embassy setting in the opening mission.
National Museum, Prague
Prague, Czechia
Josef Schulz
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
2011 · Brad Bird
A skyscraper’s real height becomes the defining obstacle in an action set piece.
Burj Khalifa
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Adrian Smith at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Explore Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol locations & sources →
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
2015 · Christopher McQuarrie
An opera house and a Baroque palace become stages for covert international action.
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll
Blenheim Palace
Woodstock, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor
Explore Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation locations & sources →
The Dark Knight
2008 · Christopher Nolan
An immense postal building becomes the bank at the centre of the film’s opening robbery.
Old Chicago Main Post Office
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Graham, Anderson, Probst & White
The Dark Knight Rises
2012 · Christopher Nolan
An Elizabethan landmark supplies the rebuilt Wayne family home.
Wollaton Hall
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Robert Smythson
John Wick
2014 · Chad Stahelski
A compact Manhattan commercial building becomes the front door to an elaborate fictional institution.
1 Wall Street Court — Beaver Building
New York City, United States
Clinton & Russell
John Wick: Chapter 2
2017 · Chad Stahelski
Roman ruins turn an evening gathering into a monumental architectural scene.
Baths of Caracalla
Rome, Italy
Roman imperial architects and engineers
Die Hard
1988 · John McTiernan
A new Los Angeles office tower becomes one of cinema’s most famous corporate headquarters.
Fox Plaza
Century City, Los Angeles, United States
William L. Pereira & Associates; Scott Johnson and Bill Fain
Ocean’s Eleven
2001 · Steven Soderbergh
A real resort and its fountains anchor the geography of an elaborate Las Vegas heist.
Bellagio
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Atlandia Design / DeRuyter Butler; Jerde design involvement
Ocean’s Twelve
2004 · Steven Soderbergh
A Lake Como villa supplies a lavish home for a rival thief.
Villa Erba
Cernobbio, Lake Como, Italy
Angelo Savoldi and Giovanni Battista Borsani
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Browse every cinema genre and film
Real architecture, with the credits open.
A growing, researched collection of action filming locations, organised by movie. Each location links to evidence from building owners, film commissions, heritage organisations or production interviews. This is a curated, expanding collection, not a complete inventory of every film location. Genre boundaries overlap: each film appears here for the kind of story it tells.
Architectural photographs show the real buildings. Movie frames and production stills appear in separate, clearly labelled sections where verified images are available. Some scenes combine a location with sets and visual effects; the location notes explain that distinction. Construction dates refer to the building, while dates beside film titles are release years.
Open a location for its sources and individual photograph credits. Architectural photographs retain their linked reuse licences. Movie frames and production stills carry separate film and photographer credits. Many places remain homes, workplaces or memorials: a filming credit does not imply public access.
Research edition · 31 October 2026