Along with dazzling destinations, armed henchmen and witty one-liners, spectacular buildings are essential ingredients of any Bond film.

From baronial mansions to magnificent Mediterranean villas and glamourous 'Bond-villain lairs', we've brought together a selection of show-stopping properties that featured in the films or have an undeniable connection to James Bond.

Click or scroll on for more but beware, there may be spoilers ahead...

The otherworldly Elrod House was designed by architect John Lautner for interior designer Arthur Elrod. You can see it here, almost hidden on a craggy Californian hilltop, in Diamonds are Forever – a Sean Connery classic from 1971. 

Built in 1968, the luxurious concrete residence with its conical dome is perched on a hillside a mile outside of Palm Springs – the perfect viewpoint for Blofeld's stooges to spot an incoming Bond. 

Beneath the iconic dome, a dramatic 60-foot circular living room oozes elegance and style, with a black herringbone floor and atmospheric rock formations that come right into the room.

Swathes of glass frame sweeping views of the breathtaking valley below – as we can see from this scene in which Bond attempts to fight off two of Blofeld's henchwomen.

Bond was less than impressed at being thrown into the pool, but we'd love to take a dip in the circular structure – particularly with that incredible view!

Elsewhere, there are five bedrooms and a separate guest house, so there's ample space to host sophisticated soirees.

Back in 1971, Connery was snapped between takes relaxing in the home's iconic living room. He's sitting in a classic 1969 Gaetano Pesce 'Up' chair.

These days there's a state-of-the-art gym adjacent to the main living space, which leads out onto a concrete terrace flanked by palm trees. We can't imagine a more idyllic place to work out.

What could be more iconic than the home of James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming? The author’s Jamaican paradise, known as the GoldenEye estate, is the idyllic location in which Fleming penned every one of the 14 James Bond books and you can actually stay there…

Named after a naval operation Fleming was part of in 1942, the GoldenEye villa was imagined just four years later when he discovered the picturesque town of Oracabessa Bay in Jamaica.

Fleming is said to have sketched his ‘dream villa’ on a desk blotter and so the island paradise inspired three James Bond books – Dr. No, Live and Let Die, and The Man with the Golden Gun – all set in Jamaica.

Fleming's original villa boasts three bedrooms, each with a tropical garden bath area and a garden shower, a private pool, a private beach and tropical gardens.

Visitors will also be treated to a dedicated staff—which includes a butler, housekeeper and a cook—for the ultimate carefree Bond experience.

Following Fleming’s death in 1964, Chris Blackwell – Island Records founder and location scout for Dr. No – bought GoldenEye.

Blackwell has since added 25 acres to the original estate, including several stunning beach-front villas, private lagoon huts and numerous lagoon cottages – all with king-size beds, ensuite bathrooms and garden showers and bathtubs.

It’s easy to see why GoldenEye has attracted creatives of all types, including Noel Coward, Sting and Bono, who wrote the theme song to the GoldenEye film while staying at the resort.

Fleming himself is said to have suffered from writer’s block, but we can certainly see how he found inspiration for Bond’s exotic adventures while kicking back on his own secluded Caribbean beach.

Without doubt, the stand-out location in James Bond's most recent adventure No Time to Die is the historic Italian town of Matera.

Among the high-octane car chases and exploding memorials, you’d be forgiven for becoming distracted by the breathtaking Basilicata town with its curious Sassi ‘cave houses’, thought to be the first human dwellings in Italy, dating back some 9,000 years according to The Guardian.

In No Time to Die, James Bond and Dr Madeleine Swann – played by Léa Seydoux – stay in an incredible cave suite in the historic city. Sadly for fans of the film, the luxurious abode was a set, constructed near the Piazzetta Pascoli in the Sassi area of Matera.

Once home to the poorest residents, many of these amazing dwellings carved into the hillside have been transformed into atmospheric pockets of luxury.

Even before James Bond sped his Aston Martin through its dusty streets, by 2017 a quarter of houses in the town were available to rent on Airbnb, according to the University of Siena. L’Hotel in Pietra, pictured, is fit for any billionaire Bond villain in search of secure underground headquarters.

Despite its rustic construction, each of the boutique hotel's six stone-carved rooms offers a surprising softness. Perhaps credited to the simple modernity of the décor, with white linen-draped four-poster beds, in-room whirlpool tubs and mood lighting that conjures an air of intimacy and romance.

The hotel even offers a ‘wellness’ suite, entirely carved into the rock on two levels. The top floor is home to a king-size bed, writing desk and designer furniture, while the lower level is equipped with a hot tub and a sauna – ideal for pampering after a gruelling MI6 mission. 

The town itself is perfect for fans of the franchise to explore even more striking locations featured in Daniel Craig’s last-ever appearance as Fleming's Bond.

Gravina in Puglia is home to the famous Roman bridge that James jumps off during the movie, while Sapri in the south-west of Italy offers a change of pace with the Spiaggia Aell’Arco Magnp beach, where filming of No Time to Die reportedly took place over two days.

At the beginning of the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, Sean Connery as 007 makes a daring pursuit of the SPECTRE operative Colonel Jacques Bouvar, using a jetpack and his trusty Aston Martin DB5.

The chase takes place in and around a sumptuous French castle, which gives us a good insight into the wealth and influence of this global criminal organisation.

Steeped in history and built by fine craftsmen, the castle is as beautiful today as it has ever been. The spectacular 16th-century Château d’Anet in northern France was built by King Henri II for his mistress Diane de Poitiers in 1548. 

The exquisite chateau is a prime example of French Renaissance architecture and was built and designed by famed architect Philibert de l’Orme.

The chapel houses the tomb of Diane de Poitiers and its magnificent interior hints at the grandeur of the chateau. 

Today, the magnificent building is a tourist attraction rather than a stately residence. After sections of the château were demolished in the late 18th century, only one wing remains.

Luckily, other buildings on the site survive, including the royal chapel, the imposing main gate featuring a fascinating clock that shows the phases of the moon and the funeral chapel where Diane is laid to rest.

The exterior has beautiful rolling gardens designed by Jacques Mollet of the famous French gardening dynasty, along with intricate statues, including this one depicting Diane de Poitiers as Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting and nature. References to the deity appear repeatedly throughout the estate.

Thunderball isn’t the château’s only starring film role – it also featured in The Pink Panther Strikes Again in 1976.

The pool and gardens of the luxurious Villa Sylva appeared in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.

Roger Moore as 007 observes the enemy by the pool in the villa before he's caught by armed henchmen and escorted to meet the boss, Cuban hitman Hector Gonzales. Of course, it's less than a minute before he's fought his way out using little more than his MI6 training and a parasol.

On the silver screen, the villa was located in Spain. In reality, however, the property is found on the tranquil east coast of Corfu. You can play at being a Bond villain yourself as the lavish residence is available to rent as a holiday home.

The movie home is in a spectacular location with uninterrupted views of the Ionian Sea and the island of Pontikonisi.

If you want to make a quick getaway, Corfu Town with its airport and harbour is only 10 minutes away, plus you'll find a myriad of restaurants and cafes a stone's throw away from the property's front door.

For entertaining your friends – or perhaps your enemies – there’s this fabulous 753-square-foot terrace where you can enjoy a meal or cocktails over tranquil vistas of the sea.

There’s also a guest house, three gardens and a private 52-foot-long pier – ideal for making a speedy escape when the henchman close in.

Inside the main house, you'll find two master bedrooms and four twins – all with ensuite bathrooms – a large open-plan living and dining area, plus a reading room where you can plan your next move.

The guest house offers a further double bedroom and twin, both with private bathrooms. No stranger to the big screen, the house also featured in The Executioner starring George Peppard and Joan Collins in 1970.

When you think of Skyfall, this iconic stag statue will likely spring to mind. It stood majestically on the stone gate post at the entrance to the long drive approaching James Bond's ancestral home in the franchise's 23rd film. 

Known in the film as Skyfall Lodge, the imposing home stands shrouded in mist on the shores of a loch in the Scottish Highlands. Except... it doesn't. The house was actually a set built on Hankley Common in Surrey, England – almost 600 miles from the Highlands.

In Skyfall, Bond and M drive to the spy's childhood home in his iconic silver Aston Martin DB5. Having fallen into disrepair since the death of his parents, the house is solely inhabited by a gruff caretaker, Kincaid, played by the late Albert Finney. 

Despite its foreboding exterior, you could imagine with a bit of love and in better weather, the mansion would be a dream home to escape to.

When Bond and M step inside, you'd be forgiven for wishing the house was real. Despite the dust, its large rooms, grand stonework and wood-panelled walls leave a lasting impression. 

As Bond makes his way around the house, we see enormous open fireplaces, a baronial dining table, an abandoned piano and – most intriguing of all – a system of secret underground passageways. 

Eventually, the supervillain Raoul Silva – played by Javier Bardem – catches up with the pair, leading to a showdown at Skyfall Lodge. 

The sequence ends with the old house going up in flames, so we can see why director Sam Mendes chose to build a set rather than film at a real house – the owners might have had something to say about it being burned down.

Covered in heather and somewhat bleak, you can see why Hankley Common was a good substitute for a wild Scottish moor. The 1,384-acre site is part of a larger Special Area of Conservation and Scientific Interest and is home to numerous walking trails.

Aside from Skyfall, the common has appeared in two further Bond films – The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day, both starring Pierce Brosnan.

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