Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald Your superior 4 * hotel with a direct view of the Eiger. He is accompanied by his assistant, Oddjob (Harold Sakata), and the pair are followed by Bond through what was supposed to be an off-road mountain pass near Geneva. It connects Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri. A hotel built where? The world learned how to wear a white suit like a Bond, and, as for the man himself, well he went to attend some unfinished business laying in a bathtub. 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Furka Pass, Switzerland. Except for diamonds perhaps. Find all the transport options for your trip from Interlaken to Furka Pass right here. James Bond is back! The rooms inside are just as they were in the 1880s, but are no longer vintage delights, but old and poorly maintained. Unable to compete and sustain itself, it closed its doors. Footbridge inside the ice cave (Eisgrotte am Rhonegletscher) on Furka Pass, Alps, Valais, Switzerland. Belvedere Hotel can be seen in the top left part of the image. James Bond pursues Goldfinger through the Furka Pass in Switzerland In 2000, a new tunnel was built, bypassing the route to the Belvédère, which only made things harder for business. Operation Grand Slam is underway and Bond is sent to investigate. Furthermore, the road is inaccessible during harsh winter days so the hotel is closed for almost five to six months each year. Play As. A small fun fact: On a part of the route the chase for the James Bond Film Goldfinger was filmed. Something else was also forever made famous by this scene–something that strangely appeared in the middle of nowhere, in the snowy mountains of Switzerland at an altitude of almost 8,000 feet: the Belvédère Hotel. The historical road over Furka Pass was built in 1867. High quality images of abandoned things and places. And when cars were still a dream to-be-made reality, and Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, and Mustangs, not even a wildest imagination of those who dreamed of wheels. Right along the very trafficked pass to a world wide landmark. Then again, all things must come to an end and nothing good lasts forever. James Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5 – the gadget-laden transport of the world’s most famous secret agent. Shortly after, Shirley Bassey, with her magnificent voice, announced the title and with that, MI6’s new mission kicks off, one that takes the debonair secret agent to Fort Knox on the trail of Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe). The Furka Pass links Andermatt in the Canton of Uri with Gletsch in the Canton of Valais. Licensed under CC. Truthfully, no one really knows for sure how and why it was built. We are in the parking lot outside the entrance to the glacier and look towards the South. People used to pay a lot to enjoy its beauty while the sun is up, and enjoy the silence during the nights. At the time of its completion in 1867 it was the longest pass road in Switzerland. Well, the 11,000-year-old glacier has retreated over the last 100 years or so to become a full mile shorter. This is the pass that featured in Goldfinger. On the Valais side of the Furka Pass, you should definitely take the opportunity to stop and enjoy the view of the fantastic Alpine panorama. Idly standing at the curve along Furkastrasse, below the historic Rhone Glacier in Obergoms (Oberwald), the canton of Valais, Switzerland. Jack Berryman and his assistants fly a box kite 9 feet high, which lifts a little girl off the ground. Which means that the icy scenery beneath the hotel terrace is all gone now. A part of it was filmed on Furka Pass, in Switzerland, between Realp in Canton Uri and Oberwald in Canton Valais. No” (1962), “From Russia with Love” (1963), “Goldfinger” (1964), “Thunderball” (1965), and “You Only Live Twice” (1967). Goldfinger was spectacular at the box office both in the U.K. and the U.S., and grew to be many people’s favorite Bond over the years. To add to this, due to increased temperatures during the summers, it lost a lot of its thickness, so the ice cave that used to be at the bottom of the glacier, many meters under the ice, nowadays is “just an outcrop above, preserved by covering the ice in canvas sheets.”. The building has shifted on its foundation due to the receding glacier. Auric Goldfinger: Ah, welcome to AuricStud, (gesturing toward a horse). The Hotel Belvedere was built in 1882, in the centre of a hairpin bend on the beautiful Furka Pass that was created in 1867. Licensed under CC. Realp is the roll-on, roll-off station for car transit by train through the Furka mountain. There is hope that maybe it will become potentially a museum or some other treasure. Very sad that this amazing place should be abandoned. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Abandoned Hotel Belvédère in Furka pass, Switzerland. Who doesn’t love to drive swiss mountain passes. It was outdated in case of an emergency having no ‘good’ exit routes in case of an accident. The nostalgia behind this hotel leave many wondering what fate lies in its future. Today they park at the Hotel Belvédère and walk about 200 metres to the entrance of the ice grotto, which is re-drilled each year. He appeared again as Bond in “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971) and “Never Say Never Again” (1983). The 3-star hotel Belvedere in Wengen (1275m above sea level) invites you for active holidays in the impressive mountain world of the Bernese Oberland. The historical road over Furka Pass was built in 1867. The Furka Oberalp Bahn line through the Furka Tunnel bypasses the pass. Although the glacier itself is of whitish, grayish color, the tunnel magically glows with an aqua tint. Rome2rio makes travelling from Interlaken to Furka Pass easy. The hotel industry is tough to begin with. And when cars were still a dream to-be-made reality, and Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, and Mustangs, not even a wildest imagination of those who dreamed of wheels. In 1907, the hotel had 90 beds. The historical road over Furka Pass was built in 1867. The scene was actually shot not too far from Geneva, approximately a 125 mile drive from the city, in the heart of the Furka Pass (Furkastrasse). You can find it with these coordinates. A lot of fun was had. It is rather uncanny, isn’t it? With a length of 42km it connects the cantons Uri and Wallis. The pre-title teaser sequence. Belvedere Locarno Comfortable, chic & friendly Located on the hill which overlooks the city of Locarno, the Hotel Belvedere - the only 4-star-superior hotel in Locarno - offers a breathtaking view on the mountains and Lake Maggiore, making it the ideal place for a wonderful stay in Ticino all year round. Enjoy your vacation in the Jungfrau region at the foot of the world-famous Eiger. Since the main attraction is slowly disappearing, naturally, so is the business that kept its doors open. And there it was. “Goldfinger,” just as any other James Bond movie, was mostly shot in real locations. Where is the Hotel Belvedere located? As the story unveils, Auric Goldfinger, the prime suspect, travels to Switzerland in his yellow-black Rolls Royce. Furka Pass, with an elevation of 2,429 metres, is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri. An Aston Martin DB5 and a Ford Mustang climbed this scenic driving road, located in the Uri/Valais region of Switzerland. Went to Switzerland a few years ago and rode this pass (me Ducati 1299s, him MV Agusta F4). Posted by 28 days ago. The hotel was built back in 1892 and now stays closed, but still, I would say that it is one of the most beautiful locations for a hotel in whole Swiss Alps. Some say the road to the hotel is the scariest they’ve ever driven with steep cliff drop-offs on every corner. 396 votes, 27 comments. Rome2rio is a door-to-door travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Close. Or maybe it was meant to be a resting place for the mountain workers, but, in no time, the charming location and what it offers in terms of isolation and excellence inspired the elite to climb the scenic road. Since the opening of the modern-day Furka pass road 150 years ago, thousands of tourists have come to see the unique mountain panorama around the Rhone Glacier. Be prepared to capture the sites like the Rhone glacier, the Schöllenen Gorge, numerous valleys and small Swiss villages. Not only that but from the 1890s onward, an ice chamber inside the glacier has been carved out, re-drilled and maintained as a walkable tunnel. GPS coordinates are for the hotel. Up in the sky in the back of beyond. Belvédère Hotel: The abandoned jewel of the Swiss Alps that played a part in “Goldfinger,” and was a favorite stop for Sean Connery. Driving down the pass you will spot some of the points that Goldfinger's Rolls Royce and James Bond in his Aston Martin DB5 drive by during the movie scene on the Furka.. Coming in via the Grimsel Pass watch out for a boulder with the inscription "Kil 47"on the right-hand side of the Furka Pass. It’s 1964. Re-opening may be possible but it seems as that the decline in tourist to the shrinking Rhone Glacier has put a strain on the very old hotel. 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Furka Pass, Switzerland - Hotel Belvédère, located in the Furka Pass of the Swiss Alps, was once a thriving hotel. James Bond: Certainly better bred than the owner. It is here that the famous drive scene takes place, one where James Bond is being shot at from above. He’s a powerful billionaire and a bullion dealer who is suspected of gold smuggling and assumed to be plotting “the crime of the century.” A sinister plan to obliterate the world economy. Hotel Belvédère, a hotel in the Furka Pass of the Swiss Alps, was once the perfect spot for travelers looking to explore the Rhône Glacier. They served Schneider Weisse beer on draught, always a … Belvedere Hotel can be seen in the top left part of the image. Photo Credit Dutch National Archives,CC BY-SA 3.0 nl. N46°34’32.3” E008°23’25.5” Hotel Belvedere on the Furka pass. And then there is the Rhône glacier right next to it. Abandoned Hotel Belvedere at Furka Pass, Switzerland. 2 2. I think that Hotel Belvedere is the most iconic place on Furka Pass. The jewel in the mountains that opened its doors for visitors in 1882, more than 80 years before Goldfinger, Bond, and Tania Mallet passed it in 1964. Connery himself, unfortunately, could not attend the premiere and watch himself rising out of water with a duck on top of his head as a disguise, plants C4 explosives inside a drug lord’s secret lab, only to step gallantly into a Latin club above right after, well dressed in that off-white, ivory dinner jacket adorned with a slick bow-tie and a red carnation on the left lapel as the icing on the cake called the elegance of Bond. MissMoody > Houses buildings architecture > Belvédère Hotel, Furka Pass, Switzerland. Hotel Belvedere on the Furka Pass, Switzerland. It is said that Sean Connery, who adored the place and was a regular customer, insisted on the location. Hotel Pension Belvedere / Hotel Glacier Du Rhone Gletsch. So this might answer the question as to why it was built. Nothing special really. According to a report by Kinematograph Weekly that surfaced about a week later, Sean Connery’s co-star Honor Blackman was nearly tackled to the ground from fans who tried to reach her when she arrived for the premiere–in a gold dress, naturally. Re-opening may be possible but it seems as that the decline in tourist to the shrinking Rhone Glacier has put a strain on the very old hotel. We scored it 10 last time and, once again, it was hard to fault. It has stood a test of time having been here for over 135 years. Furkapass is one of them. The small and tidy spot to rest one’s head was the perfect place for travelers to view the Rhône Glacier, which stood some 600 feet away from the hotel. The Furka Pass Credit: Getty ... Back in 1964, the Hotel Belvedere was very much alive and functioning – a swarthy pit-stop on the western half … A hotel built where? Only 200 steps away, it offers a spectacular close-up view of an icy scenery like no other place on Earth.