Not that Montenegro

A friend asked the other day, "didn't you visit Montenegro earlier this year? Was it a beautiful place?"

"Yes, it was. Why?"

"Because the new James Bond film features Montenegro and it looks stunning!"

"The place may look stunning in the film. Unfortunately, it is not Montenegro despite claiming to be so. Those scenes, as I read somewhere, were shot in Karlovy Vary, a beautiful Czech spa town which I didn't visit during the same trip, as well as Lake Como in Italy."

"Oh..."

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I haven't watched Casino Royale, nor do I intend to. But from the film's promo:

[The bad guy] is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns 007 to play against him, knowing that if [the bad guy] loses, it will destroy his organisation.

In Montenegro, the marathon game proceeds with dirty tricks and violence, raising the stakes beyond blood money and reaching a terrifying climax.

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Bond's Balkan fans amused by lavish Montenegro

Filming Locations for Casino Royale

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Montenegro is the world's youngest country. It declared independence from Serbia on 3 June 2006 after the 21 May referendum. Unlike the case of Croatia, this time Serbia accepted it without resorting to force. I visited Montenegro as a day-trip from Dubrovnik on 5 June.

joetsang's Central Europe trip: Montenegro