Mission: Impossible III was filmed in Rome and Caserta (both standing in for the Vatican), in Shanghai and the canal town of Xitang in China, and on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia. J.J. Abrams directed the 2006 film, in which Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) goes after arms broker Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman). This guide covers 19 stops. Eight in Prague and three in London carry scenes from the original Mission: Impossible (Kittridge, Claire, Golitsyn), so they are grouped at the end as franchise extras. Exact pins are in the Go On Set app. The stops run from the Vatican sequence outward.
In this guide
- Where was the Vatican Wall scene filmed?
- Where was the Vatican palace party filmed?
- Where were the Vatican gates filmed in Rome?
- Where was Saint Peter's Square scene filmed?
- Where was the River Tiber chase filmed?
- Where was the Shanghai street chase filmed?
- Where were the Shanghai canals filmed?
- Where was the bridge-tunnel convoy attack filmed?
- Where was Tower Bridge filmed in London?
- Where was the London train station phone call filmed?
- Where was the British pub scene filmed?
- Where was the Charles Bridge run filmed?
- Where was the Old Town Square meeting filmed?
- Where was the Prague safe house filmed?
- Where was the Mala Strana car explosion filmed?
- Where was Golitsyn's scene filmed on Kampa Island?
- Where was the American Embassy filmed?
- Where was Max's apartment filmed?
- Where was the IMF safe house hotel filmed?
- How should you plan a visit?
- Quick answers about Mission: Impossible III filming locations
Vatican Wall
The Vatican Wall stretch runs along part of the perimeter of Vatican City, the independent city-state surrounded by Rome. Ethan Hunt and Declan Gormley (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) stage a diversion on the busy Roman streets alongside the wall, buying Ethan the cover he needs to climb over and get inside undetected. You see the wall from the city side, as the film does.
Royal Palace of Caserta
The Vatican interiors were not shot in Rome. The Royal Palace of Caserta, in Caserta, Campania, stands in for the Vatican Palace. The Bourbon-Two Sicilies family built it in the 18th century as their main residence. It is the largest royal residence in the world by volume, with four internal courtyards, frescoed halls and fountain-filled gardens, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The palace has also appeared in Lawrence of Arabia and the Star Wars prequels.
In the film, Ethan, disguised as a priest, enters after scaling the wall and slips into a party attended by Davian. Declan drifts through a fresco-lined room dressed as a tourist. Zhen (Maggie Q) arrives by driving her Ferrari into the courtyard. Caserta is a separate day trip from the Rome stops.
Vatican gates in Trevi
The gate arrival was filmed in the Trevi district of Rome, a short, narrow street in a neighborhood of gelaterias, souvenir vendors and the Trevi Fountain. It appears as The Vatican in the film. Zhen walks through the gates with Declan, disguised as a gate guard, waving her in. The team is infiltrating a private party to kidnap Davian, who is there to sell a mysterious item called the Rabbit's Foot. Piazza Barberini and Bernini's Triton Fountain are close by.
Saint Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square is the plaza in front of St. Peter's Basilica, framed by Bernini's colonnades and just west of the Borgo neighborhood. Declan crosses it in a quick change from delivery man to tourist, heading toward the Vatican to cover the infiltration by Ethan, Zhen and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). It is an open public square and still hosts papal ceremonies, so crowds are the norm.
River Tiber
The River Tiber carries two sequences. The 406-kilometer river runs through central Rome past Castel Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Basilica. First, Luther swims under Ponte Sant'Angelo and cuts through a security grate to get into Vatican City. Later, with Davian captured, Ethan speeds Declan, Zhen and Luther away from the Vatican down the Tiber, passing the Italian Supreme Court Building as they shake pursuit.
The river is in plain view across the city. Ponte Sant'Angelo and the Supreme Court Building are the two landmarks to look for.
Oriental Pearl TV Tower
In the film, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower area plays a Shanghai street. The tower sits in Pudong at the tip of Lujiazui, across the Huangpu River from The Bund. Completed in 1994, its stack of illuminated spheres is one of the best-known parts of the skyline. Luther drives through the streets, racing to help Ethan, who is escaping a heavily guarded building where the Rabbit's Foot is kept. The tower has viewing platforms and a revolving restaurant.
Xitang Ancient Town
Xitang Ancient Town plays the Shanghai canals. It is a water town in Zhejiang, not far from Shanghai, with narrow cobblestone streets, hundreds of arched bridges and waterfront teahouses and homes. This is where Ethan stands on a rooftop waiting for directions from Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). He is trying to find his fiancée Julia (Michelle Monaghan), who has been kidnapped by Davian. The tight lanes and canals give the rooftop standoff its claustrophobic backdrop. The town is a walking destination, so allow time to wander it.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia is the setting for the film's convoy ambush. The 28-kilometer (17.6-mile) crossing links the Delmarva Peninsula with the Hampton Roads region. It opened in 1964, replacing a ferry system that had run across the bay since the 1930s, and combines bridges, two tunnels, man-made islands and causeways.
In the film, Davian is being moved in a convoy when his men spring a planned rescue. Helicopters strafe the vehicles and rockets are fired to get him out of custody. It is a working highway, best experienced by driving across.
Tower Bridge
The first London stop is Tower Bridge, completed in 1894. It is a bascule and suspension bridge over the Thames, often mistaken for London Bridge. IMF Director Kittridge (Henry Czerny) arrives in London at Ethan's request, suspecting Ethan of being the mole inside the Impossible Mission Force (IMF). He takes in the bridge before going to confront him. You can walk the high-level walkways, and a tour covers the Victorian Engine Rooms that powered the lift.
Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool Street Station opened in 1874 in the City of London and links the capital to Cambridge, Norwich and Essex. After leaving his London safe house, Ethan uses a pay phone here to call Kittridge, trying to identify the mole. The phones are gone now, but the concourse and its Victorian architecture remain.
Anchor Bankside pub
The pub scene was filmed at Anchor Bankside, a 19th-century pub on the south bank of the Thames in Southwark. The pub traces its history to the 1600s, and a 17th-century owner, Josiah Childs, named it in 1665. Ethan and Luther share a beer here after the mission is over, with Ethan's parents released and Luther reinstated into the IMF. The terrace looks out to St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tate Modern.
Charles Bridge
The staircase approach to Charles Bridge in Prague gets a frantic run. The bridge was begun in 1357 under King Charles IV and is lined with statues of saints. Realizing the mission has been compromised, Ethan runs from the bridge toward the American Embassy, hoping to save Sarah Davies (Kristin Scott Thomas). The bridge is pedestrian-only, with views of Prague Castle and the Old Town.
Old Town Square
Old Town Square is the historic heart of Prague, founded in the 12th century. Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings surround it, including the Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Old Town Hall with its astronomical clock, and the Church of St. Nicholas. Memorial stones in the pavement mark the execution of 27 Czech lords in 1621.
Ethan walks across the square to a restaurant to meet Kittridge, hoping to explain how the mission went so badly wrong. It is an open public square, and one of the easiest stops to reach on foot.
Prague safe house in Old Town
This Old Town street stands in for a Prague safe house. The building used on screen is now a Catholic girls' school, so this is an exterior-only stop. Ethan arrives after the mission goes awry, with most of the IMF team dead or missing. Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) also arrives, due to meet the remaining agents to stop the theft of the Non-Official Cover (NOC) list. Steps nearby lead down to the Vltava riverbank.
Car explosion in Mala Strana
Mala Strana, the Lesser Town, sits below Charles Bridge, with cobbled streets and Baroque buildings. Prague Castle, St. Nicholas Church and the National Theatre are all within walking distance. Claire Phelps (Emmanuelle Béart) sets off an explosive inside the car of fellow agent Hannah (Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė) as Hannah prepares to flee. It is the moment the team starts to suspect they were set up to fail.
Golitsyn on Kampa Island
Kampa Island lies just south of Charles Bridge, a small island with a park, hotels, restaurants and a stone walk above the Vltava. Sarah Davies keeps watch over Alexander Golitsyn (Marcel Iureș) as he stands in shadow holding the NOC list the team wants. It is also where both characters meet their end, near the gate area.
American Embassy
The "American Embassy" is actually the National Museum (Národní muzeum) on Wenceslas Square. The museum was founded in 1818, and its neo-Renaissance building was completed in 1891. Its central staircase features heavily in the scene. Hannah is in Prague to stop Golitsyn from stealing the NOC list, and the sequence shows the elaborate measures the IMF takes to pull off the operation.
Outside Max's apartment
Max's apartment was filmed in the New Town commercial district of Prague, near the Powder Tower, one of the surviving gates of the old city walls. Ethan is escorted in to meet Max (Vanessa Redgrave) and wins her trust. They leave just as Kittridge and his team arrive. Wenceslas Square, with its hotels, cafés and shops, is the area's focal point.
IMF safe house at Grand Hotel Europa
Grand Hotel Europa on Wenceslas Square plays the IMF safe house, with Tom Cruise on screen. It is an art nouveau hotel from the early 20th century with an elaborate façade. The scene attached here is the one where the team begins to realize it may have been set up. The building is currently closed for renovations, so it is exterior-only for now.
How to plan the visit
- Rome: Vatican Wall, Saint Peter's Square and the River Tiber cluster near Vatican City and Borgo. The Trevi gates stop is on the other side of the center, so pair it with the Trevi Fountain.
- Day trips: Caserta is in Campania in southern Italy, and Xitang is in Zhejiang, not far from Shanghai. Plan each as its own outing. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a drive in Virginia.
- Shanghai: The Oriental Pearl TV Tower sits in Pudong at Lujiazui, across the Huangpu River from The Bund.
- London: Tower Bridge, Anchor Bankside in Southwark and Liverpool Street Station in the City are three separate neighborhoods.
- Prague: Group Old Town Square, the Old Town safe house street and Charles Bridge together. Mala Strana and Kampa Island form a second cluster, and Wenceslas Square (the National Museum, Grand Hotel Europa, and the area near Max's apartment) a third.
- Etiquette: The school, the hotel, the museum and the pub are working places, so view exteriors from public ground and respect residents and staff. Exact map pins are in the Go On Set app.
Quick answers
Where was Mission: Impossible III filmed?
Mostly in Italy (Rome and Caserta), China (Shanghai and Xitang) and Virginia, USA. The Vatican scenes were shot in Rome and at the Royal Palace of Caserta.
How many filming locations are in this guide?
Nineteen: six in Italy and the Vatican area, two in China, one in Virginia, three in London and eight in Prague. The Prague and London scenes come from the original Mission: Impossible.
Where was the Vatican in Mission: Impossible III really filmed?
It combines Saint Peter's Square, a street in Rome's Trevi district for the gates, and the Royal Palace of Caserta for the party and courtyard.
Can you visit the filming locations?
Most are public landmarks, squares and bridges you can walk to. The Prague safe house building is a school and Grand Hotel Europa is closed for renovations, so those are exterior-only.