Along with dazzling destinations, armed henchmen and the obligatory vodka martini (shaken, not stirred), spectacular homes are an essential ingredient of any Bond film. To celebrate 60 years since Ian Fleming's character hit the big screen in Dr. No, we've brought together a selection of show-stopping properties that have featured in the films or deserve a part in one. From futuristic spaceship lairs to magnificent Mediterranean villas, click or scroll on for more...

What better place to start than with 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. He 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 and has subsequently 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, en-suite bathrooms, and garden showers.

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 steamy and 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’, which are thought to be the first human dwellings in Italy, dating back some 9,000 years.

Once home to the poorest residents, many of these amazing dwellings carved into the hillside have been transformed into atmospheric pockets of luxury. In fact, even before James Bond skid 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. However, if you fancy a truly upmarket underground stay, L’Hotel in Pietra is fit for any billionaire Bond villain in search of 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.

The otherworldly Elrod House, designed by architect John Lautner for interior designer Arthur Elrod, appeared in Diamonds are Forever – a Sean Connery classic from 1971 that sees him thrown into the home's pool after a fight with Blofeld’s henchwomen.

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 to spot approaching Bond villains. With five bedrooms and a separate guest house, there's ample space to host sophisticated soirees.

This ultra-modern mansion in Marrakech looks like the perfect Bond villain’s lair, which is precisely why it featured as Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s desert villa in Spectre. With Daniel Craig as 007 and Christopher Waltz as the head of a criminal organisation, the villa is the setting for the spy's arrival at his hidden base accompanied by Dr Madeleine Swann, played by Léa Seydoux.

Set in nearly five acres of parkland with views of the Atlas Mountains, the palatial property occupies a rather more hospitable location than the film portrays. For the film, the modernist house was superimposed into a huge crater called Gara Medouar – the perfect way to hide a mansion in a desert!

It may have been the home of a criminal mastermind in Spectre, but there's no reason why wannabe covert agents can't call this sleek space home too. We can just imagine Bond relaxing by the fabulous pool and taking a refreshing dip after a hard day undercover. Those stunning verdant gardens are about as far from an arid desert as we can imagine!

Crafted from glass, metal and concrete, the streamlined residence was designed by architect Imaad Rahmouni and was built in 2006. Encircled by an artificial river, from a distance, the property looks as though it's floating, adding an extra obstacle for any nefarious henchmen trying to break in.

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.

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. 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 is observing the enemy through binoculars 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.

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.

In this 2008 Bond film, Daniel Craig as 007 visits his old friend René Mathis, played by Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini, to persuade him to join an unsanctioned mission in Bolivia. Ever the suave operator, Bond approaches the house on a classic 1970s open-top speed boat.

Raised high above the sea, you can take a dip in the private pool while keeping a lookout for any suspicious boats approaching. The villa is now available to rent as a holiday home and has all the facilities you could want for a comfortable stay, including WiFi, satellite TV and air conditioning for hot summer nights.

This luxury hideaway features as the residence of drug dealer Franz Sanchez in Licence to Kill – Timothy Dalton’s last outing as 007. In the 1989 film, Bond has sweet-talked his way into being a guest of the villa and manages to get away with all sorts of covert sabotage before he escapes from the roof by helicopter. 

The true story behind Villa Arabesque is almost as exciting. Built between 1978 and 1982 for Baron di Portanova, a title more than worthy of a Bond character, this extraordinary house has been the setting for many amazing scenes. Overlooking Acapulco Bay, it's even hosted an off-duty James Bond actor...

The parties the baron and baroness hosted here in the 1980s were legendary, with celebrity guests including legendary Bond actor, Roger Moore and star of the silver screen, Sylvester Stallone. The vast 40,000-square-foot home has exquisite grounds too, with an amazing infinity pool enjoying jaw-dropping views.

Among the villa’s 28 rooms you'll find a discotheque – the Poseidon – with room for 200 guests to party amidst its lavish underwater-themed décor. The property also houses the Poseidon Grill, where 60 people can dine in style, along with the Camel Walk terrace on the roof, where James Bond flees via helicopter in Licence to Kill.

When it comes to grandeur, you don't get much more lavish than the master suite, which takes up almost a whole floor. While the fairytale décor has drawn comparisons to Aladdin, this villa makes the perfect fantasy lair – whether you're a hero or a villain. Elsewhere, there's a total of three swimming pools, a tennis court and a tranquil private beach.

Nestled in dense woodlands, this modern masterpiece is currently under construction in the wilds of New York. The striking mansion is the brainchild of the Aston Martin Design Team in partnership with S3 Architecture and though it's never been an official 007 residence, it looks as though it's been plucked straight out of the latest James Bond film. A 2,000-foot driveway meanders through the rocky outcrop to the 55-acre private estate – now that's how to make an entrance.

Listing pictures from Corcoran Country Living show the completed mansion's distinctive black cedar exterior, which almost camouflages the property into the surrounding rock formations – the perfect hidden home for a spy looking to lay low. As well as its architectural good looks, the residence is packed with gadgets befitting of Bond himself.

Encompassing 8,430 square feet, the prime piece of real estate offers swathes of floor-to-ceiling windows, while the state-of-the-art master suite cantilevers over the structure, as though floating amongst the trees. There are four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a plethora of entertaining spaces, from the lounge and bar to a custom-designed wine cellar for storing prized bottles of vino, perhaps collected during missions overseas...

Of course, it wouldn't be an Aston Martin mansion without a show-stopping garage. Accommodating three vehicles, the glass-framed garage faces out onto the living spaces so your supercars will never be far from sight. Elsewhere there's a geothermal swimming pool flanked by a stone terrace and an outdoor kitchen, as well as an agricultural food garden to help the new owner lead a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Designed by American architect Kendrick Bangs Kellogg for artist Beverly Doolittle and her husband, it was completed in 1993. Now owned by Facebook executive Matt Jacobson and his wife, the breathtaking interior was designed by John Vugrin and is every bit as sci-fi as the façade.

Crafted from concrete, steel, glass and copper, the hidden home sits on 10 acres of land so there's plenty of space to explore. With three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, it's the ideal wow-factor pad to host guests. From this quirky bedroom, you can see views of the rocky terrain outside, with the swathes of glazing mimicking the striking architecture of the roof.

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