FRANCE – Paris, Pont d’Iéna, Pont Alexandre III & Palais de Justice // A View To A Kill (1985)

In “A View To A Kill” Bond tries to catch a parachute assassin with a choped down Renault – while taking the scenic route along the Seine. The chase doesn’t work out, but your visit should!

Why Bond was here

Microchip tycoon Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) wants to flood Silicon Valley to destroy his rivals. And he has a passion for horses. To foil Zorins plans Bond visits the villains horse park in France  – and needs some intel first. He meets a French contact at the Eiffel Tower, only to see him get killed by May Day (Grace Jones), the bodyguard of Zorin. Bond pursues her down the tower and along the Seine. While May Day operates a parachute, Bond hijacks a car and tries to catch up.

How you gonna get there

Getting to the Eiffel Tower is an easy task – as it is the main attration in Paris (for further intel read our Eiffel Tower article right here). But there are some more landmarks to see when the chase ensues. 

• Bond gets into a Renault taxi in front of the Eiffel Tower and drives down the steps at Pont d’Iéna – the bridge that connects the Eiffel Tower with Trocadéro at the other Seine riverside. 
• He then drives eastwards on Quai Branly towards Pont de l’Alma – where a barriere cuts the Renaults roof.
• The car chase ends at Pont Alexandre III, where May Day lands on a boat and Bond jumping down the bridge to … miss her.

You can easily combine all three bridges in a walking tour along the Seine – it’ll take around 20 to 30 minutes. The Quai Branly at the riverside is closed for cars, people use it to stroll along or take a morning run. 

Good to know
After the chase, Bond is taken in by the police. Later on, M gets him out at the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cite. They then drive of in M’s limousine – again over Pont Alexandre III, this time with the famous Hôtel National des Invalides visible in the background.
Definitely go to the Palais de Justice – easily reachable with metro exit “Cité” – because some famous Paris landmarks are just around the corner: Pont Neuf and the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris with its eerie gargoyles. Also the beautiful neighboorhood Saint Germain de Prés is just to the south with its boutiques and cafés. We recommend ordering macarons at La Durée or eating a baguette at one of the beautiful patisseries next to Église Saint-Sulpice. If you are around also spare the lush Jardin du Luxembourg a visit – one of Paris’ finest parks.

If you – just as us – can’t get enough from walking along the Seine, we recommend a stroll from Île de la Cite westbound. Walk all the way from Quai de Conti up to Quai d’Orsay and endulge in the beauty of Paris’ rich architecture and street vendors offering old comics and paintings along the way. And if the sun comes out: There is always an ice cream shop nearby!

© 2021 Huntingbond (1,3), © 2006 Sony Pictures, Danjaq LLC and United Pictures Inc.