Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

The London Eye

London, England is a prominent location in the filming of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.  In this scene, the Fantastic Four save the London Eye from being destroyed:

The London Eye in the Fantastic Four  The movie was created in 2007.

The official website of the London Eye is here:  The London Eye  Tickets are 29 pounds per adult if you purchase them online.  If you purchase them in person they are 39 pounds each.  There are other more expensive options, such as a fast track ticket or ticket combined with a river cruise.  It is open from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the summer, and 6 p.m. in other seasons except on certain occasions.  You can book your tickets up to 5 months in advance.

The London Eye is located at Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7PB.  It is 443 feet high.  It is also known as the Millennium Wheel and was designed as part of a competition to design something to bring in the new millennium.  It opened in 2000.  It is on the edge of the Thames River and offers 360 degree views as it spins around.  It is the tallest observation wheel in the world.  It is on a slow rotation, with each ride taking about 30 minutes.  It rotates slow enough for passengers to climb in and out as it continues rotating.  

Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, and Westminster

Big Ben and Westminster also appear in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.  Big Ben is the world's most famous clock.  It is located in London, England along the Thames River.  Their official website is here:  Big Ben & the UK Parliament

You can book a tour of Big Ben & Elizabeth Tower up to 3 months in advance.  There are 334 steps in the spiral staircase inside the bell tower.  The tour takes 2 hours.  Tickets are 35 pounds for adults, and 20 pounds for children.  Big Ben is located at London SW1A OAA, United Kingdom.  It is right next to Westminster Palace.  You can see Big Ben at many places throughout London, probably the most picturesque place being from the Westminster Bridge.  This is where Big Ben often appears in movies.  There are also red phone booths spread through the street along Westminster where people stand in line to pose next to a phone booth with Big Ben behind them.  Big Ben was built in 1834.  

Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower

Walking on Westminster Bridge toward Big Ben and Westminster

Location of Big Ben, Westminster Bridge, and the London Eye

Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation

 Mission Impossible 6:  Rogue Nation

Tower Bridge appears in Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation at 1 hour 48 minutes into the movie. When Ethan Hunt is negotiating with Solomon Lane, as Benji Dunn has a bomb strapped to him, they are sitting right next to the Tower Bridge.  Tower Bridge is located at Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP, United Kingdom.  You can walk or drive across the lower portion of the bridge at any time, free of charge.  In order to go in the towers and walk across the upper walkways, including the glass floor, and see the engine rooms, you have to purchase tickets on their official website:  Tower Bridge  Tickets are 16 pounds for adults, and 8 pounds for children, and I'd recommend purchasing them at least one day in advance to be sure they don't sell out.  The Tower is open between 9:30 am and the last entrance at 4:30 p.m.  

Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, Westminster, and Westminster Bridge appear in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation at one hour 21 minutes into the movie.  Big Ben is located at London SW1A OAA, United Kingdom.  Their official website where you can book tickets to tour the tower is here:  Big Ben  

Tickets cost 35 pounds for adults and 20 pounds for children.  You can purchase them up to 3 months in advance.  There are 334 steps in the spiral staircase of the tower.  

walking on Westminster Bridge

 Superman II

The Eiffel Tower is featured in Superman II, made in 1980, when Superman rescues Lois Lane from the tower as the elevator is hurling from the top to the ground.  Here is the scene from the movie:  Superman II at the Eiffel Tower

  

The official website of the Eiffel Tower is here:  Eiffel Tower  You can book tickets 2 months in advance, and I'd recommend booking them as soon as you possibly can because they do sell out, especially for the summit.  Tickets cost 36 euro for the summit, or 23 euro for the second floor.  It opens at 9 am and closes at 11 p.m.  It is located at Av. Gustave Eiffel, 75007 Paris, France.

After nightfall, every hour on the hour, the Tower sparkles for 5 minutes.  This sparkle is copyrighted, so I'm not able to upload photos or videos of the tower sparkling.  It continues this light show until one a.m. when the lights turn off on the tower.

The Eiffel Tower and Olympic Rings in March 2025

Under the Eiffel Tower

View from the Eiffel Tower

Monuments Men

Two famous pieces of art that were stolen by Hitler's troops during WWII reside in Belgium.  The Ghent Altarpiece is hung in St Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, and Michelangelo's "Madonna and Child" resides in Bruges, Belgium.  The "Monuments Men" movie was released in 2014.  It follows the story of the men who were assigned to rescue works of art that were stolen from the Nazi's during WWII.  Two men lost their lives while trying to recover these pieces of art.  In the end, both the Madonna and Child and the Ghent Altarpiece are rescued by the Monuments Men and returned to their rightful places in Belgium.  This movie has an all-star cast, including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, and John Goodman.

Saint Bavo's Cathedral and the Ghent Altarpiece

The Ghent Altarpiece is also known as the Altarpiece of the Mystic Lamb.  It can be visited at Sint-Baafsplein 1, 9000 in Ghent, Belgium.  Their official website is here:  Saint Bavo's Cathedral  You can visit from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.  You can visit the Ghent Altarpiece for 12.5 euro.

Saint Bavos Cathedral where the Ghent Altarpiece is held

The Ghent Altarpiece is the most stolen piece of art in all of history, including being stolen by Nazi troops during WWII

Location of Saint Bavo's Catheral, or Sint-Baafskathedraal

Church of Our Lady and Michelangelo's Madonna and Child

The official website of Church of Our Lady is here:  Church of Our Lady in Bruges

You can visit the Madonna & Child for 8 euro.  It is open Monday through Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m. and on Sundays beginning at 1:30 p.m.  It closes at 5 p.m. every day.  It is located at Mariastraat, 8000 Bruges, Belgium.  Michelangelo created the Madonna & Child between 1503 and 1505.  

Church of Our Lady

The placard outside the Madonna roped-off exhibit

A small replica of the Madonna and Child is placed where children can see it up close and read about it

As you can see, the Madonna & Child statue is quite small - it is only 50" tall

Madonna & Child was Michelangelo's first work to leave Italy, and one of only very few 

Location of Church of Our Lady, or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk

Here are some clips of the movie "Monuments Men" that feature the Madonna & Child and the Ghent Altarpiece:

Clip of "Monuments Men" hiding the Ghent Altarpiece

Monuments Men Stolen Ghent Altarpiece scene

Finding the Madonna scene in Monuments Men

Ending Scene of "Monuments Men"

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Obviously, the Hunchback of Notre Dame is set at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.  We visited the Cathedral in November of 2024, only days before the Cathedral re-opened after the 2019 fire.  We weren't able to go inside at that point because it was still closed to visitors.  But luckily I was able to return in March of 2025 and tour the inside of the Cathedral with my daughter.  To get free tickets to tour the cathedral, visit their official website:  The Cathedral of Notre Dame  You can only book your tickets a few days ahead of your visit, and I recommend going on right at midnight because the tickets disappear in minutes!  The Cathedral is located at 6 Parvis Notre-Dame Place Jean-Paul II, 75004 in Paris.  The Cite on line 4 is the closest metro stop to the Cathedral.   It is open from 7:50 am until 7 pm.

One of the Rose Windows

Christ's crown of thorns on display in the Cathedral