Travel Through Switzerland... by film

Growing up in a small town in the bucolic Finger Lakes Region, of Upstate NY, I found that, despite the serene beauty of the hills and lakes that surrounded me, I had always yearned to experience something larger... be more adventurous somehow.

When I was 16 years old, that yearning came full circle when our concert choir was selected to compete in the International Youth and Music Festival in Vienna, Austria. The Swiss Alps were a stop along the route on what was my first European foray. It was at that time, through the eyes of a young teenager, that the world truly came into view. 

The sheer beauty and enormity of that landlocked, mountainous country was life-altering. To this day, I'm more than slightly obsessed with adventure travel as well as with movies such as North Face…always wondering…could I? These movies set in Switzerland will inspire you to dream about your next trip and maybe strive for a taste of adventure, as James Bond and many others did.

FILMS FOR JAMES BOND FANS

Goldfinger (1964)
While investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve. Many action scenes were shot in various locations throughout the Alps.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
James Bond woos a mob boss's daughter and goes undercover to find out the true reason for Blofeld's allergy research in the Swiss Alps that involves beautiful women from around the world.

Goldeneye (1995)
James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow Agent formerly believed to be dead.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1997)
James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. Agent, whose lover he killed.

CLIMBING MOVIES

The Eiger Sanction (1975)
A man joins an expedition up the Eiger to avenge the murder of his friend in this film that was partially filmed in Kleine Scheidegg.

Touching the Void (2003)
The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985… shot in a variety of locations throughout Peru, France, and Switzerland.

North Face (2008)
Based on a true story, this film chronicles the 1936 attempt by two Germans to scale the Eiger's "wall of death."

DRAMA/ACTION

The Swissmakers (1979)
The most popular Swiss movie ever made showcases a group of foreigners trying to obtain Swiss citizenship… (original movie title – Die Schweizermacher).

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
In the longest-running film in Indian cinema (600 weeks in movie theaters), two young people fall in love on a trip to Switzerland.

Syriana (2005)
The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop for this intense, politically charged epic, starring Matt Damon and George Clooney, about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Three years into the Clone Wars, the Jedi rescue Palpatine from Count Dooku. As Obi-Wan pursues a new threat, Anakin acts as a double agent between the Jedi Council and Palpatine and is lured into a sinister plan to rule the galaxy.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Disgraced financial reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) finds a chance to redeem his honor after being hired by wealthy Swedish industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to solve the 40-year-old murder of Vanger's niece, Harriet.