James Bond's On Her Majesty's Secret Service

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Switzerland is pretty amazing, but a couple of amazing places that I visited while in Switzerland are featured in a 1969 James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."  Piz Gloria is a rotating restaurant high in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland and it is featured, both inside and out, in this James Bond movie.  You can ride the extensive cable car route, the Schilthornbahn, to visit and eat at this rotating restaurant and see "Spy World" and lots of other James Bond references.  It is very expensive to visit Piz Gloria, but it is definitely worth it!  I would go again if I am in Switzerland again someday!

Bern, Switzerland

A couple sites in Bern are featured for just a second in the movie.  One is the bear pit that is now Bear Park in Bern.  The bear pit as shown in the movie still exists, although the main attraction for seeing the bears now is on the hill known as Bear Park, or BarenPark.  Also shown briefly in the movie is the Nydeggbrucke, which is a bridge that cross the Aare River so that you can reach the bear park.  We walked across that bridge in May of 2024 when visiting Bern.

Shot from the 1969 movie

Shot from the 1969 movie

The Bear Park in May of 2024, on the hill beside the Aare River.  If you look closely near the middle of the photo you can see a bear on the hill.

My grandson looking at the bears from the Nydeggbrucke, the bridge that crosses the Aare. (2024)

Above the bear park looking down at one of the bears that resides there, in 2024

Shot from the 1969 film of the Nydeggbrucke, bridge over the Aare in Bern, Switzerland

Piz Gloria

The Schilthornbahn is a cable car ride that will take you from Stechelberg, Switzerland, to the Schilthorn Peak where Piz Gloria is located.  It is very expensive to ride the cable car, which is a series of 3 cable car rides and is the steepest cable car ride in the world.  You ride the first series from Stechelberg to Murren, the second from Murren to Birg, and the last from Birg to Schilthorn.  You can watch a video of our ride up to Piz Gloria here:

Schilthorn & Piz Gloria

In the 1969 film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," James Bond is posing as a genealogist and visits Blofield's secret lab where he is planning to cause mass genocide with the help of many unknowing women.  This lab is the Piz Gloria.  If you have seen the movie and you visit Piz Gloria, you will see many places you recognize in the movie.

The Schilthorn back in 1969, shot from the movie

Schilthornbahn in May of 2024

Piz Gloria high on the Schilthorn Peak, shot from the 1969 movie

1969 shot from the movie

1969 Shot from the movie

2024 shot from inside the cable car, of Piz Gloria on top of the mountain

Approaching Piz Gloria in 2024

Piz Gloria in 2024 through the windows of the Schilthornbahn

The Skyline View Platform of Piz Gloria, shot from the 1969 movie

Shot from the 1969 movie

The Skyline View Platform in May of 2024

Piz Gloria behind me from the Skyline View Platform in 2024

The views in every direction are spectacular, although very cloud-covered when we were there

The Piz Gloria is 2970 meters above sea level, or 9,744 feet

view of the Skyline View Platform from inside the Piz Gloria

2024 - there is a James Bond cut-out on the platform, representing the movie's curling match

My grandson looking at the view from the platform from a telescope

A photo and information about the curling match from the movie, which was played on the deck

The curling match on the platform with the Piz Gloria in the background, 1969

Another shot from the movie with Piz Gloria in the background, 1969

This staircase from the movie is iconic and very recognizable when you visit Piz Gloria.  This is a shot from the 1969 movie

This unique staircase from 1969 still existed almost exactly the same in 2024.

1969

Heading up the stairs in 2024

2024

The iconic stairway in 2024 with pieces of rock displayed inside many of the circles of the "Golden Lattice."

The "Alpine Room" from the 1969 movie, which is now the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant

This view from the 1969 movie is very similar to what you'll see today when eating at the Piz Gloria

The Piz Gloria in 2024 at the brunch buffet - the seating area rotates a full 365 degrees in about 45 minutes.  The inside where the buffet is, does not rotate.

Sitting beside the window in 2024 at the brunch buffet - the Piz Gloria rotated completely around by the time we were done eating breakfast.

Piz Gloria in 2024

In this photo from 2024 you can see the vents just as in the 1969 shot of James and the girls eating dinner

This section of the movie, showing the brainwashing by Blofield, is now recreated in the bathrooms of the Piz Gloria!  If you do nothing else when visiting Piz Gloria, you must visit the bathroom!  Inside the stalls are screens such as this one from the movie, and they play audio clips from the movie.  I've included videos of them in my above video from our visit to Piz Gloria.

James Bond skiing from the Piz Gloria in the 1969 movie.  You can't actually ski down from the Piz Gloria, as far as I know, although you can ski down from Murren, which is one of the stops on the way down to Stechelberg.

Shot from the movie in 1969 with Stechelberg below.  This view can be seen when riding the cable car down from Piz Gloria.

2024 ride down from Piz Gloria to Stechelberg

2024, perhaps in the very spot where James Bond was climbing down in the 1969 movie

Helicopters surrounding the Piz Gloria in 1969

This explosion was a visual effect created by pyrotechnics and a removable base on the Piz Gloria.  The building did not actually blow up.  

This is a shot from the window of our cable car of what I believe could have been the small hut shown in the 1969 movie, approaching from a different angle.  Here is 2024:

And here is the 1969 movie shot:

The skyline Walk in Birg is free to visit on your cable car ride if you get off in Birg.  This is a shot from the 1969 movie.

I didn't see if these actual glass walls and mirrors still exist in Piz Gloria, but they are very similar to the screens on the ceiling in the bathrooms

Shot from the 1969 movie of the Birg ski area

This was in Murren, one of the cities on the way up the mountain, from the 1969 movie

I'm not sure of the exact location of that particular building, but here are some from 2024 that looked similar to what is shown in the movie:

Murren in 2024

Murren in 2024

Murren in 2024

Murren in 2024

Especially this one looks similar to the one shown in the movie

While visiting the Piz Gloria, be sure to go downstairs to Spy World, which includes a bobsled and helicopter simulation, and video clips and photos from the James Bond movie, and much more.  They definitely make the most of being a James Bond filming site!  

If you're in Switzerland, definitely don't miss out on visiting Piz Gloria!  Even if you haven't seen the Bond movie, it is still very much worth the time and money for this very unique experience!

Location of Piz Gloria from Google Maps

One thing that I will say about eating at the Piz Gloria, is that hopefully you have a strong stomach and can handle the slow motion of the restaurant while eating.  A lady who was dining there when we were visiting could not handle the motion, and she threw up near us.  Apparently she couldn't handle her food shaken, or stirred...  :)  

You can read more details about my visit to Piz Gloria in my blog post here:  Schilthorn & Piz Gloria