Apart from Pinewood Studios and in and around London, Switzerland and the Alps form the highest density of Bond locations in the world.

Although the character of James Bond officially visits Switzerland in just 2 movies - Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service - more Bond film scenes were actually shot in this country than anywhere else.

The scenic landscapes of Switzerland and the stylish streets, restaurants, and hotels of Zürich, Geneva and Bern were used as backdrops for films where the plots were actually located in other countries.

The James Bond Club of Switzerland has compiled a list of all James Bond movies and their links to Switzerland, assigning a "Bond" score according to how much of the film was shot in this country or have some other link to Switzerland.

Out of the 25 Bond films made, 23 get a score of 1 "Bond" or more.

and one “Bond" each for:

• Thunderball (1965)
• Live and Let Die (1973)
• The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
• Moonraker (1979)

Here are some more interesting stories about the James Bond movies and Switzerland ...

James Bond was half-Swiss

In his 11th Bond novel, You Only Live Twice, author Ian Fleming introduces Monique Delacroix Bond - the mother of James Bond - from Canton Vaud in Switzerland, which explains why Bond speaks fluent French and why so many of his adventures take him to the Alps. In the film «Skyfall» her gravestone can briefly be seen.

The reality is that Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond novels, had attended the Tennerhof School in Kitzbühel (Austria) during his youth. He fell in love with the mountains and became an accomplished skier. He wrote short stories in which he featured as the hero – before going on to attend the University of Geneva. There he became fascinated by what lay behind the conservative façade of Swiss society and specifically where gold is stashed. 

From 1930 to 1931 he lived in the town of Coppet and in 1931 he was briefly engaged to a real-life Swiss woman from Canton Vaud: Monique Panchaud de Bottens - who undoubtedly served as an inspiration for the character of Bond's mother.

This engagement was against the wishes of Fleming’s mother who made him break it off by threatening to withdraw his financial support if the marriage went ahead. She also pulled strings to get her son a job at Reuters, where he impressed his colleagues and superiors with his writing skills. Not too long after, Fleming started to write a novel about a spy named Bond ...

In an 'obituary' for James Bond in You Only Live Twice, his Scottish father and Swiss mother is mentioned as well.

The original "Bond girl" was Swiss

Remember the scene in the first Bond movie, Dr. No (1962), when the character of 'Honey Ryder' emerges from the sea in a white bikini ... ? Honey Ryder was played by a 26 yr old Swiss girl from Ostermundigen - Ursula Andress.

In the movie, Andress was entirely dubbed because her Swiss accent was too strong. At the time of the film's release, her Swiss nationality was never even mentioned.

Quantum of Solace (2008) had a Swiss director

The 22nd Bond film was directed by the Swiss director Marc Forster, specially chosen by producer Barbara Broccoli.

Quantum of Solace also had a Swiss actor and included a few lines of dialogue in Swiss-German

Swiss actor, Anatole Taubman played the creepy Elvis, a henchman of the evil Quantum organisation.

Taubman was not entirely satisfied with his character, wanting to give it more depth. Director Marc Forster suggested letting Elvis speak Swiss-German while on the phone with his mother.

In the film, those who understand Swiss-German will hear the killer Elvis talking to his Mom about what to pack in his suitcase.

The character Elvis meets his end in an explosion that literally blasted the real-life actor's pants off, granting Elvis one of the most undignified deaths in Bond film history.

From Russia, with Love (1963) with Sean Connery

In the 1957 novel From Russia, with Love, James Bond fights his enemy, the SMERSH agent Donovan Grant, eventually killing him, while passing through the Simplon Tunnel as they both travelled on the Orient Express.

In the 1963 film, SMERSH became SPECTRE but the scene was filmed in Switzerland. It was Sean Connery's 2^nd appearance as James Bond.

According to an article in Life magazine, President John F. Kennedy listed From Russia, with Love as one of his ten favourite books.

Goldfinger (1964) with Sean Connery

The 3^rd Bond film, Goldfinger, was filmed in several locations in Switzerland - including the legendary Furka Pass for the famous car chase scenes.

The actors and film crew stayed in Andermatt where they are still remembered by elderly locals, and especially how Sean Connery managed to out-drink them at night.

During the filming of Goldfinger in July 1964, the cast and film crew stayed at the down-to-earth Hotel Bergidyll in Andermatt (still in existence).

When Connery compained about his bed being too short, the hotel owner suggested he try lying at an angle !

In the film, the exterior of the Pilatus Aircraft Factory at Stans served as Goldfinger's “Auric Enterprises” although interior scenes were filmed at the Pinewood Studios in the UK.

The factory building is surrounded by newer ones, yet it is still recognisable - as is the hill behind, from which Bond spies on the complex. Nobody knew who James Bond was when the film was made in 1964.

This factory complex manufactures the Pilatus Porter PC-6 - the pilotless plane intercepted in mid-air by Pierce Brosnan' skydiving Bond during the opening sequence of GoldenEye (1995).

Furka Pass (near Andermatt) - where the famous car chase sequence was filmed.

As James Bond in his Aston Martin DB5 chases Goldfinger's Rolls Royce on the mountain road full of switchbacks and hairpin bends, he is honked at by a white Ford driven by Tilly Masterson who is also trying to catch up with Goldfinger, seeking revenge for her sister.

This iconic 6-minute film scene provides viewers with glimpses of the spectacular Swiss landscapes. The road today is unofficially kown as “James Bond Street”

Key features in the car chase scenes are the Hotel Belvédère (still there but sadly closed down) ...

… and at “Km 47” where Bond got out of his Aston Martin DB5 to wait for his quarry who were purchasing apples from some children.

How the scenes were filmed in 1964

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) with George Lazenby

A movie with a lot of Switzerland locations in it - actually about 70% of the film, including all the outdoors scenes, was shot in the Bernese Oberland area between October 1968 and May 1969.

The main filming locations were at Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen where the most iconic location from this movie is - Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn; some other scenes were shot in Bern and at Saas-Fee.

The stock car race was filmed during 12 days on an ice track between Stechelberg and Lauterbrunnen. The film producers insisted on having 1,500 live audience members for this scene, posing a logistical challenge. But thanks to the Swiss Post and their fleet of postbuses, loads of film-extras could be dropped off on the set every day.

Schilthorn (Piz Gloria)

In the film, the revolving restaurant served as the evil Blofeld's clinical research institute. Bond (disguised as Sir Hilary Bray) is taken up to Piz Gloria, Blofeld’s mountain-top hideout (supposedly near St Moritz but in reality above Lauterbrunnen, near Interlaken).

In Ian Fleming's novel of the same name, Blofeld's lair was described as a "fortress situated atop a Swiss mountain accessible only by helicopter and cable car". The filmmakers were jubilant when they came across a half completed restaurant on the Schilthorn Mountain.

At the time of filming the restaurant was under construction and was on the verge of banktuptcy. The spectacular location was just too perfect so a deal was reached whereby the film company could use the cable car for six months in exchange for financing the completion of the mountaintop station.

After the film's release in 1969, the name Piz Gloria stuck, and the helicopter landing pad became a viewing terrace.

The famous ski chase scenes were filmed on the slopes below the Schilthorn and at Saas-Fee.

Production was hampered by weak snowfall which was unfavourable to the skiing action scenes and filming ended up running 56 days over schedule.

Bond and Tracy ski jump over snow-covered Swiss chalets to escape their assailants

Tschingelgrat (near Lauterbrunnen)

The film's avalanche scenes were due to be shot in co-operation with the Swiss army, which annually uses explosions to cause avalanches to prevent snow build-up - but the area chosen had naturally avalanched just before filming.

The final film result then was a combination of stock footage and images created by the special effects crew, and an actual man-made avalanche created on the Tschingelgrat. 150 kgs of explosives packed in 6 steel buckets were set off to create the avalanche over a distance of 300 meters. Approx 200'000 m³ of the glacier was broken off in the process.

The Spy who Loved Me (1977) with Roger Moore

The opening sequence of this Bond movie sees 007 on assignment in Austria being pursued on skis down a mountain by Soviet agents. He manages to shoot one of them from his ski pole while skiing in reverse.

Suddenly he is confronted by a cliff face. All looks lost when Bond soars off the edge plunging thousands of feet in the air before releasing his parachute in the colors of the Union Jack.

Although the plot takes place somewhere in Austria, the actual skiing scenes were filmed on the slopes of Piz Bernina during January 1977 while the jump was filmed at Asgard Peak on Baffin Island, Canada.

The exact moment when the landscape transitions from that of the Swiss Alps to the Canadian mountains is barely noticeable. The shots in Switzerland feature many snow-capped peaks, but as soon as the switch to Canada happens, the mountains in the background become more barren and rugged.

Bond shoots a pursuer from his ski pole while skiing in reverse.

Suddenly he is confronted by a cliff edge.

Bond soars off the cliff plunging thousands of feet in the air before releasing his parachute in the colors of the Union Jack.

A View to Kill (1985) with Roger Moore

The 14th Bond film, and Roger Moore's last appearance as 007. Roger Moore lived on for many years in Crans Montana, Switzerland where he died in May 2017.

He used his "Bond" persona in adverts for the Swiss Railway company.

The opening scene of A View To A Kill (1985) supposedly takes place in Siberia but was actually filmed at the Piz Scerscen Glacier near Corvatsch (St Moritz) in the Engadine.

Instead of being chased on skis, Bond escapes on a snowboard -- helping to set a trend for this new winter sport.

GoldenEye (1995) with Pierce Brosnan

This film is best remembered for its opening scene, considered to be one of the most iconic action scenes of all time, in which James Bond swan dives from a dam wall supposedly somewhere in Russia to escape from pursuing Soviet agents.

The dramatic scene was actually filmed at the 220 m/720 ft high Contra Dam in the Swiss Val Verzasca.

At the time of filming, this was a defining moment for both the Bond franchise and for Pierce Brosnan's future in the films.

It was Brosnan's first appearance as James Bond and there had been a 6-year-long break between the previous James Bond film and GoldenEye.

If this film hadn't done well at the box office, it would have been the end of the whole Bond franchise.

Luckily the opening scene stunt was so thrilling that it got everyone hooked on the movie.

Even today, more than 25 years after the film was released, it's still argued that this is the best opening of any James Bond movie.

A 70-ton crane was erected to hold the bungee rope far enough away from the concrete dam face to prevent the stuntman smacking into it on his way down. The stunt was done in one take since it was such an extremely dangerous scene to film.

Today, at the same spot is Europe's highest Bungee Jump for wannabe Bonds. A local trekking company lets you recreate the bungee jump - but jumping parallel to the dam face instead of straight out in front.