Swiss Cinematic Universe

There is one thing I specifically like to do when I visit other countries. Where most people like to visit cultural landmarks, museums, and other famous places, my guilty pleasure is visiting the film locations of movies series or anime I've recently watched.

I remember a few years ago, Crash Landing on You, a South Korean drama, featured a famous scene by Lake Brienz in Iseltwald that generated such a massive tourism boom that it even featured on Swiss national TV. It overwhelmed local residents so much that local authorities had to set an entry cap and and an entrance fee.

As a big movie and series watcher, I always enjoy seeing my country featured on screen, even if it's just a few scenes in a Zürich bank in the first film of the Bourne trilogy which then I had to learn where actually set in prague, or during the montage depicting Oppenheimer studying and travelling abroad and meeting Werner Heisenberg in Zürich. And, of course, not forgetting the famous Mont Blanc referenced in the incredible anime Pluto. Lately, I also learned that Princess Leia's home planet, the planet Alderaan from Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, was shot in Grindelwald.

With that in mind, a few weeks ago I set out to assemble a list and the coordinates of different movies shot on location, and in the process I learned a few new facts and stories that I'll be able to share with my Letterboxd colleagues. I ended up creating a special pointpack to pull it all together.

But before you set out to discover these different gems hidden all around Switzerland yourself, here are a few fun facts to accompany your travels.

Interlaken and the Bernese Oberland apparently hold a legendary status in Indian cinema thanks to movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), and the region has added some spots that reference it's long-standing place in Bollywood history, like the bronze statue of legendary director Yash Chopra in Interlaken.

Another fun film I discovered is a Filipino production called Meet Me in St. Gallen. Having lived in St. Gallen for four years, it was absolutely lovely to finally see a place I know so well in a movie.

The final little fun fact comes from one of the most famous movie legacies of all. In 1969, the crew wanting to film their latest Bond movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, found the rotating mountaintop restaurant Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn still under construction, and decided to partially fund the completion of the restaurant's top floor just so they could use it as Blofeld's lair. Today, the location features a permanent interactive Bond exhibition and even serves "007 burgers."

But now it's time for you to explore the cinematic corners of Switzerland, be it on location or through the beauty of a 24mm lens.

Enjoy the Switzerland Cinematic References Pointpack, now available on SwissDiscover