In every James Bond movie, the suave spy travels the world, bedding beautiful women and beating up bad guys. You know who else travels the world? National Geographic. Although not quite as dangerously, and with gadgets that run more to the camera and notebook.

The latest Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, doesn’t rise much above the mediocre mark, but it’s still good world-traveling fun. Here’s a guide to the movie’s locations, Geographic-style:

Early in the movie, Bond visits Siena, Italy, during the Palio, a twice-a-year horse race held in the town’s central piazza. Of course, by “visits” I mean “chases a bad guy and breaks a lot of glass.” National Geographic’s first story about the Palio appeared in the August 1926 issue, still to be found in some grandparents’ basements; here’s a photograph from a 1988 story on the race. Falling off horses, as one of the riders does in the movie, is a pretty standard part of the Palio – the jockeys ride bareback, and a riderless horse can still win the race.

Bond’s travels include a number of visits to London. Everyone knows it always rains in the movie version of London, and this movie’s London follows the trend. How much does it rain in real-world London? Ok, about half the time, according to this BBC chart on London weather, which shows 11 to 15 “wet days” a month. National Geographic Traveler can tell you all about visiting the city yourself. (Take an umbrella.)

In Bregenz, Austria, Bond takes in an opera. By “takes in” I mean “kills people at.” The opera in question was a real production of Puccini’s Tosca at the Bregenz Festival, where the audience watches performances outdoors on a stage that floats on Lake Constance. You missed your chance to see Tosca at this year's festival, but one imagines the 2009 Bregenz Aida could also be quite stunning.

Much of Quantum of Solace takes place in Bolivia’s high desert. You’re in luck – National Geographic has had a lot to say about Bolivia recently. Why do women wear those little bowler hats? See here. The spy might have had a different experience if he’d hooked up with some Bolivian women wrestlers—now that is a Bond girl. Various locations stood in for Bolivia during filming, including Chile’s Atacama Desert, subject of an August 2003 magazine story, “The Driest Place on Earth."

— Helen Fields

Comments