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Eight films · 1996–2025 · on location

Mission:
Impossible

Tom CruiseHamburg, July 1996, on the first film’s press tour

The films call Pulpit Rock Kashmir and dress an empty department store as Abu Dhabi Airport. Burn the briefings, pull off the masks, and what is left is a set of real cliffs, roofs and squares you can stand on.

Behind: the Burj Khalifa above Downtown Dubai, 2015. Tap the photograph to lower him.

Message 01 / 05

Dubai. Swing across, climb and rappel down the outside of a tower 828 metres high.

Where it was filmed is under this paper.

A new message is waiting.

The fuse

Eight films.
56,899 km of fuse.

Light it and the spark runs film by film, from Prague in 1995 to a South African canyon, through every place on this page that has an address. Measured as straight lines between them, the cord is 56,899 km long.

Charles BridgeBare Island FortXitangBurj KhalifaVienna State OperaArc de TriompheTate ModernPreikestolen Grand CentralRauma Railway and Kylling bridgeHelsetkopenSpanish StepsDoge’s PalaceIsfjordenBlyde River Canyon

The fuse is not lit.

  1. 1996Mission: ImpossibleCharles Bridge · Pinewood Studios
  2. 2000Mission: Impossible 2Bare Island Fort
  3. 2006Mission: Impossible IIIXitang
  4. 2011Ghost ProtocolThe Burj Khalifa
  5. 2015Rogue NationVienna State Opera
  6. 2018FalloutThe Arc de Triomphe · Tate Modern · Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock)
  7. 2023Dead Reckoning Part OneGrand Central, Birmingham New Street · The Rauma Railway and Kylling bridge · Helsetkopen · The Spanish Steps · The Doge’s Palace
  8. 2025The Final ReckoningIsfjorden, Svalbard · Blyde River Canyon

Pinewood Studios is a private studio, so it is named here but not plotted.

Pull the mask

Every mission
wears a disguise.

Four places the films named and never visited. Peel off the latex to see where the cameras really were.

Masks off: 0 of 4

A flat-topped rock ledge hanging high over a fjord
Preikestolen above the Lysefjord, 2013. Svein-Magne Tunli · CC BY-SA 3.0

The film said

Kashmir

Still masked

Kashmir

Drag the tab up, or press it.

Sources
A curved mirrored building front above a station concourse
Grand Central above Birmingham New Street station, 2015. Sunil060902 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The film said

Abu Dhabi Airport

Still masked

Abu Dhabi Airport

Drag the tab up, or press it.

Sources
A studio gateway with a sign and gatehouse
The entrance to Pinewood Studios, 2026. Ajay Tegala · CC BY-SA 2.0

The film said

The Channel Tunnel

Still masked

The Channel Tunnel

Drag the tab up, or press it.

Sources
A stone railway arch bridge over a green river gorge
Kylling bridge over the Rauma, May 2025. Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) · CC BY-SA 4.0

The film said

A bridge blown to pieces

Still masked

A bridge blown to pieces

Drag the tab up, or press it.

Sources

Hellesylt, Sunnmøre

Off the edge
of Helsetkopen.

Cruise rode a motorcycle off the cliff edge and parachuted down to the valley floor. The crew spent 27 days on the mountain, which could be reached only by helicopter.

Ramp 250 m · 18 m high at the edgeCliff 1,246 m

On the ramp. Engine running.

Scaffold
280 tonnes
Built in
13 days
On the mountain
27 days
Helicopters a day
13
A steep green mountain with a sheer cliff face above a valley
Helsetkopen from Husøya, Hellesylt, June 2025. Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) · CC BY-SA 4.0

In 13 days they built a 250-metre scaffolding ramp from 280 tonnes of staging, 18 metres high at the edge. Eight cameras filmed the jump, with 13 helicopters a day in the air: the location manager calls it the largest aerial shoot in history.

See the cliff from the valley at Hellesylt, or join a guided hike to the top. Visit Norway lists both.

Sources

Street level

Roofs, ramps
and a roundabout.

Six places in Europe and London, every one of them open to you, from the bridge of the first film to the palace party of the seventh.

Cars and scooters sweeping round the Arc de Triomphe
Traffic circling the Arc de Triomphe. Jan Remund · CC BY 2.0

Place Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris

The Étoile

Fallout staged a car and motorcycle chase around the Arc de Triomphe and through the side streets. The French leg of the shoot ran to nearly 40 days and involved some 5,000 local crew and supporting artists.

Reach the arch by the underpass from the Champs-Élysées, never across the roundabout.

Sources

A yellow Fiat 500 at the top of Trinità dei Monti.

A wide flight of stone steps rising to a twin-towered church
The Spanish Steps up to Trinità dei Monti, 2014. Perituss · CC0

Piazza di Spagna, Rome

The Spanish Steps

In Dead Reckoning a yellow Fiat 500 is reversed down the stairs of Trinità dei Monti.

You can be fined €250 for sitting on the steps.

Walk them, don’t sit: sitting on the steps can cost a €250 fine.

Sources
The arcaded stone front of the Vienna State Opera under a pink dawn sky
The Vienna State Opera on the Ring at dawn, 2019. Moahim · CC BY-SA 4.0

Opernring, Vienna

Vienna State Opera

Rogue Nation shot stunt scenes on the roof of the State Opera.

The Ringstrasse was closed for four days for the shoot, and more than 400 people worked on it.

During filming Cruise said it would be fantastic to premiere the film in the opera house; the world premiere was held there.

Tom Cruise in a dark suit on a red carpet under a Mission: Impossible banner, fans holding up phones in the foreground
Tom Cruise arrives at the Rogue Nation premiere in Vienna, July 2015. János Korom Dr. · CC BY-SA 2.0

Standard guided tours take about 40 minutes; adults €18. Buy online, or on site from 30 minutes before.

Sources
The pink and white Gothic arcades of the Doge’s Palace beside the lagoon
The Doge’s Palace from the water. Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0

Piazza San Marco, Venice

The Doge’s Palace

The White Widow hosts a candlelit party in the Doge’s Palace.

The director said they wanted to shoot the palace in a way that had never been done before.

Ethan grieves on the terrace of the Gritti Palace, with Santa Maria della Salute behind him.

A museum on St Mark’s Square; book a timed ticket. Ponte Minich is a ten-minute walk north-east into Castello.

Sources
Wiener Staatsoper

Vienna State Opera guided tour

Vienna · Adults €18 · under 27 €14

About 40 minutes through the house whose roof Rogue Nation used, in six languages. Backstage tours run on some Sundays.

Book a tour
The Gritti Palace

The Gritti Palace, Venice

San Marco, Venice

On Campo Santa Maria del Giglio. In Dead Reckoning Ethan grieves on its terrace, with the Salute across the water. Pictured: Ponte Minich, another Venice location.

Check rooms
A tall square brick chimney rising above a brick building
Tate Modern’s chimney from the South Bank, 2017. Robert Lamb · CC BY-SA 2.0

Bankside, London

Tate Modern

Fallout’s rooftop chase ends with Cruise coming out of the top of Tate Modern’s chimney.

On the way he ran over the roof of St Paul’s Cathedral and across the Blackfriars rooftops, and broke his ankle on a jump between buildings.

The film uses the take in which he was hurt.

The collection is free. Open 10am–6pm Sunday to Thursday, to 9pm Friday and Saturday.

Sources
A stone bridge lined with statues under a pink dawn sky
Charles Bridge at sunrise, 2015. mendhak · CC BY-SA 2.0

Old Town, Prague

Charles Bridge

The first film was shot in Prague in 1995.

The Czech Film Commission lists Charles Bridge first among its Prague locations, with the National Museum, Kampa Island, Old Town Square and Barrandov Studios.

A footbridge over the Vltava between the Old Town and Malá Strana. Go at dawn for the statues without the crowd.

Sources
Tate

Tate Modern

Bankside, London · Free · 10am–6pm, Fri–Sat to 9pm

The building whose chimney ends Fallout’s rooftop chase. The collection is free.

Plan a visit
A flat-topped rock ledge hanging high over a fjord
Preikestolen above the Lysefjord, 2013. Svein-Magne Tunli · CC BY-SA 3.0

Lysefjord, Rogaland

Kashmir is
in Rogaland.

Preparation, filming and clean-up took eight days, 2–9 November 2017, with an average crew of 140. About 120 tons of equipment came in by 10 helicopters over 800 flights; nothing could land on the rock, so everything was lowered.

On 1 August 2018 about 2,000 people watched the film on the rock, starting at 11pm.

Only on foot: a mountain hike from the Preikestolen trailhead. Wear boots; there is no fence at the edge.

Sources
A stone railway arch bridge over a green river gorge
Kylling bridge over the Rauma, May 2025. Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Romsdalen, Møre og Romsdal

The bridge that never fell

Cruise and Esai Morales fight on the roof of a moving train on the Rauma Railway. The bridge is 60 metres above the River Rauma.

Ride the line from Dombås to Åndalsnes, 1 hour 40 minutes. Kylling bridge is beside the road at Verma.

Sources
A wide Arctic bay with a glacier front and dark mountains
Borebukta, off Isfjorden in Svalbard, 2011. Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0

Svalbard

The Arctic

The Final Reckoning filmed in Svalbard for ten days in March 2023. Planes filmed from above, and ships went to Borebukta and Ekmanfjorden in northern Isfjorden.

Summer boat trips run into Isfjorden from Longyearbyen.

Sources
Preikestolen BaseCamp

Preikestolen Fjellstue

Rogaland

A lodge a short way from the Pulpit Rock trail, with rooms looking over Refsvatnet or the forest. Breakfast is included; free cancellation to 72 hours before.

Check rooms
Visit Norway

The Rauma Railway

Romsdalen · 1 hour 40 minutes

Dombås to Åndalsnes, past Kylling bridge, on the line of the train-roof fight. Visit Norway also lists guided hikes up Helsetkopen.

Plan the trip
The needle of the Burj Khalifa rising far above the towers around it
The Burj Khalifa above Downtown Dubai, 2015. Laika ac · CC BY-SA 2.0

Downtown Dubai

828 metres,
on the outside.

Cruise was filmed outside the tower over about three and a half weeks in October 2010. He swung across, climbed and rappelled down the outside, followed by a camera crane and a helicopter crew.

In the boldest shot he leaps from an open window and runs sideways across the building.

The observation decks inside are open to visitors; book a timed slot, and expect sunset to cost most.

Sources
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Burj Khalifa observation decks

Dubai

Live marketplace results for timed tickets to the decks inside the tower Cruise climbed. Check what each includes.

Live marketplace results · prices change by time slot

Compare tickets
White-walled houses with dark roofs along a canal with boats
Xitang, Zhejiang, 2023. Chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Jiashan, Zhejiang

The run, Xitang

A scene of Tom Cruise running through the lanes of a canal town was filmed in Xitang in 2005. The scene helped put Xitang on the tourist map.

A canal town between Shanghai and Hangzhou; walk the covered lanes early or late.

Sources
Sandstone fort walls on a small rocky island joined to shore by a wooden bridge
Bare Island Fort, La Perouse, 2010. Adam.J.W.C. · CC BY-SA 2.5

La Perouse, Sydney

The island fort, Sydney

The island was the location for action sequences in Mission: Impossible 2. The fort was built in the early 1880s to protect Sydney’s back door and stayed in use until 1908.

Walk the wooden bridge from La Perouse; the fort itself is seen on a NSW National Parks guided tour.

Sources
Round-topped rock towers above a deep green canyon
The Three Rondavels over Blyde River Canyon. Claudirene · CC BY-SA 3.0

Mpumalanga, South Africa

The biplanes, South Africa

Blyde River Canyon is the backdrop to The Final Reckoning’s aerial sequence. The Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal back the middle stretch of the plane sequence.

Drive to the Three Rondavels viewpoint on the canyon rim; it is part of a nature reserve.

Sources
NSW National Parks

Bare Island Fort

La Perouse, Sydney

The 1880s fort on Botany Bay used for action in Mission: Impossible 2, reached by a wooden bridge from La Perouse.

See tours
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Xitang day trips

Zhejiang

Live marketplace results for trips from Shanghai to the canal town of Mission: Impossible III.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare trips
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Blyde River Canyon and the Panorama Route

Mpumalanga

Live marketplace results for day tours to the canyon behind the biplane chase.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

Mission complete

This page will not
self-destruct.

The places stay. 15 of them are open to you, from a bridge in Prague to a canyon rim in Mpumalanga; Pinewood is named but not mapped.

A line of actors and the director in front of a cinema screen, Tom Cruise speaking into a microphone at the right
Cast and crew of Fallout at a screening in July 2018, among them Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, Henry Cavill, Vanessa Kirby and Christopher McQuarrie. Greg2600 (Flickr) · CC BY-SA 2.0

Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and the Fallout companyAt a screening of Fallout, July 2018

Where it is now

15 places you can visit, in four areas. Pinewood Studios is a working studio, so it is named but not pinned.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A footbridge over the Vltava between the Old Town and Malá Strana. Go at dawn for the statues without the crowd.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Standard guided tours take about 40 minutes; adults €18. Buy online, or on site from 30 minutes before.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Reach the arch by the underpass from the Champs-Élysées, never across the roundabout.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Walk them, don’t sit: sitting on the steps can cost a €250 fine.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A museum on St Mark’s Square; book a timed ticket. Ponte Minich is a ten-minute walk north-east into Castello.

  1. A stone bridge lined with statues under a pink dawn sky
    Charles Bridge at sunrise, 2015. mendhak · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Old Town, Prague

    Charles Bridge

    The first film was shot in Prague in 1995.

    A footbridge over the Vltava between the Old Town and Malá Strana. Go at dawn for the statues without the crowd.

    Sources
  2. The arcaded stone front of the Vienna State Opera under a pink dawn sky
    The Vienna State Opera on the Ring at dawn, 2019. Moahim · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Opernring, Vienna

    Vienna State Opera

    Rogue Nation shot stunt scenes on the roof of the State Opera.

    Standard guided tours take about 40 minutes; adults €18. Buy online, or on site from 30 minutes before.

    Sources
  3. Cars and scooters sweeping round the Arc de Triomphe
    Traffic circling the Arc de Triomphe. Jan Remund · CC BY 2.0

    Place Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris

    The Arc de Triomphe

    Fallout staged a car and motorcycle chase around the Arc de Triomphe and through the side streets.

    Reach the arch by the underpass from the Champs-Élysées, never across the roundabout.

    Sources
  4. A wide flight of stone steps rising to a twin-towered church
    The Spanish Steps up to Trinità dei Monti, 2014. Perituss · CC0

    Piazza di Spagna, Rome

    The Spanish Steps

    In Dead Reckoning a yellow Fiat 500 is reversed down the stairs of Trinità dei Monti.

    Walk them, don’t sit: sitting on the steps can cost a €250 fine.

    Sources
  5. The pink and white Gothic arcades of the Doge’s Palace beside the lagoon
    The Doge’s Palace from the water. Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Piazza San Marco, Venice

    The Doge’s Palace

    The White Widow hosts a candlelit party in the Doge’s Palace.

    A museum on St Mark’s Square; book a timed ticket. Ponte Minich is a ten-minute walk north-east into Castello.

    Sources

Stay

Sleep near the stunt.

A lodge by the Pulpit Rock trail, and the Venice hotel whose terrace Ethan grieves on.

The Gritti Palace

The Gritti Palace, Venice

San Marco, Venice

On Campo Santa Maria del Giglio. In Dead Reckoning Ethan grieves on its terrace, with the Salute across the water. Pictured: Ponte Minich, another Venice location.

Check rooms
Preikestolen BaseCamp

Preikestolen Fjellstue

Rogaland

A lodge a short way from the Pulpit Rock trail, with rooms looking over Refsvatnet or the forest. Breakfast is included; free cancellation to 72 hours before.

Check rooms

Go there

Climb, ride, walk in.

The opera house, Tate Modern, the Rauma line, the Sydney fort, and tickets and trips for Dubai, Pulpit Rock, Xitang, Svalbard and the canyon.

Wiener Staatsoper

Vienna State Opera guided tour

Vienna · Adults €18 · under 27 €14

About 40 minutes through the house whose roof Rogue Nation used, in six languages. Backstage tours run on some Sundays.

Book a tour
Tate

Tate Modern

Bankside, London · Free · 10am–6pm, Fri–Sat to 9pm

The building whose chimney ends Fallout’s rooftop chase. The collection is free.

Plan a visit
Visit Norway

The Rauma Railway

Romsdalen · 1 hour 40 minutes

Dombås to Åndalsnes, past Kylling bridge, on the line of the train-roof fight. Visit Norway also lists guided hikes up Helsetkopen.

Plan the trip
NSW National Parks

Bare Island Fort

La Perouse, Sydney

The 1880s fort on Botany Bay used for action in Mission: Impossible 2, reached by a wooden bridge from La Perouse.

See tours
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Burj Khalifa observation decks

Dubai

Live marketplace results for timed tickets to the decks inside the tower Cruise climbed. Check what each includes.

Live marketplace results · prices change by time slot

Compare tickets
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Preikestolen hikes

Stavanger

Live marketplace results for guided hikes and fjord cruises to Pulpit Rock. Check each itinerary.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Xitang day trips

Zhejiang

Live marketplace results for trips from Shanghai to the canal town of Mission: Impossible III.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare trips
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Isfjorden boat trips

Svalbard

Live marketplace results for summer boat trips from Longyearbyen into the fjord of The Final Reckoning.

Live marketplace results · summer season

Compare trips
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Blyde River Canyon and the Panorama Route

Mpumalanga

Live marketplace results for day tours to the canyon behind the biplane chase.

Live marketplace results · itineraries change

Compare tours

What’s on

This winter.

Fallout with its score played live in Lucerne in January, and Turandot, the opera of Rogue Nation, in Vienna in February.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

Two posters and two scores.

Original one-sheets for the first two films from our store, now sold, and the scores by Danny Elfman and Lorne Balfe.

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Mission: Impossible (1996)

An original 1996 US one-sheet, rolled, mint: the Prague film.

Sold out · archive reference

View poster
Printed Originals · Our poster store

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

An original 2000 US one-sheet, rolled, mint: the Sydney film.

Sold out · archive reference

View poster
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Mission: Impossible: Music from the Original Motion Picture Score

Danny Elfman · CD, Point Music, 1996

Elfman’s score for the first film.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy
eBay · Ad / affiliate

Mission: Impossible – Fallout: Music from the Motion Picture

Lorne Balfe · 2 CD, La-La Land Records, 2018

Balfe’s score for the Pulpit Rock film.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The debrief

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

16 of 16 places · 16 of 16 Moments

  • Charles Bridge

    Old Town, Prague

    • Prague, 1995

      The first film shoots on location in Prague.

  • Vienna State Opera

    Opernring, Vienna

    • The opera roof

      Stunt scenes are shot on the roof of the State Opera.

  • The Arc de Triomphe

    Place Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris

    • The Étoile

      A car and motorcycle chase circles the Arc de Triomphe.

  • The Spanish Steps

    Piazza di Spagna, Rome

    • The Fiat

      A yellow Fiat 500 is reversed down the steps.

  • The Doge’s Palace

    Piazza San Marco, Venice

    • The party

      The White Widow hosts a candlelit party in the palace.

  • Tate Modern

    Bankside, London

    • The chimney

      The rooftop chase ends at the top of Tate Modern’s chimney.

  • Grand Central, Birmingham New Street

    Birmingham

    • Abu Dhabi Airport

      An empty department store becomes Abu Dhabi Airport.

  • Pinewood Studios

    Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire

    • The Channel Tunnel

      The train finale is shot on a stationary locomotive set; the tunnel is computer-generated.

  • Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock)

    Lysefjord, Rogaland

    • Kashmir

      Pulpit Rock plays the cliff of the Kashmir finale.

  • Helsetkopen

    Hellesylt, Sunnmøre

    • The jump

      Cruise rides a motorcycle off the cliff and parachutes down.

  • The Rauma Railway and Kylling bridge

    Romsdalen, Møre og Romsdal

    • The roof fight

      Hunt and Gabriel fight on the roof of a moving train.

  • Isfjorden, Svalbard

    Svalbard

    • The Arctic

      Ten days of filming from planes and ships in Isfjorden.

  • The Burj Khalifa

    Downtown Dubai

    • The climb

      Cruise swings, climbs and rappels down the outside of the tower.

  • Xitang

    Jiashan, Zhejiang

    • The run

      Cruise runs through the lanes of the canal town.

  • Bare Island Fort

    La Perouse, Sydney

    • The island

      Action sequences are filmed on Bare Island.

  • Blyde River Canyon

    Mpumalanga, South Africa

    • The biplanes

      The canyon is the backdrop to the aerial sequence.

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