London, as we know, is an outdoor film location. The English capital was chosen very often to shoot entire films or just some scenes and is always incredibly recognisable, thanks to its now famous buildings. After hunting for some (for me “new”) film locations, today I want to take you to discover London through the cinema and some “sets” of a good part of film filmed in recent years (and not only). I wanted to give a specific meaning to my story: the locations will not be “listed at random” based on how they come to my mind when I
write: I will talk about them according to a thoughtful ride in a clockwise direction for a walking tour, from south-west to north-east (if you prefer to take the subway, I will also point you to the nearest stop for each place). Beginning with MI6, the headquarters of the British secret services (“foreign affairs” section), where James Bond works. The nearest subway stop is Vauxhall (Victoria line), but if you want to see it in its entirety, you are advised to approach it starting from the other side of the Thames and, therefore, from the Pimlico stop (Victoria line). 
Westminster Abbey is one of the many symbols of London that are destroyed or damaged in the film “London has fallen”. The abbey is seriously damaged (or destroyed, now I miss this detail) from an explosion and here the Italian Prime Minister dies in London for the funeral of his English counterpart. The vision metro stop is, of course, “Westminster Abbey” (circle, district and Jubilee line). Also in “attack on power 2”, the German chancellor is murdered at Buckingham Palace. The nearest tube stop for Buckingham Palace is Green Park (Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee line).
A place more than reused as a film location and extremely recognisable in (almost) any circumstance is Trafalgar square. Here was shot the final scene of the film “Wonder Woman”, released in 2017, and in the film “Survivor – The Martian” (2015) the recovery of Matt Damon, the protagonist of the film, is broadcast in Trafalgar square. Could miss a scene from the movie “London has fallen”, set (almost) entirely in London? Apparently not: in this square, virtually in front of the statue of Nelson, there is the explosion of the Canadian Prime Minister’s car. The nearest underground station is Charing Cross (Northern and Bakerloo line).
We all certainly know Piccadilly circus, we have all seen it at least once live, on TV (or cinema) or in photography. Famous for its mega advertising screens, which illuminate the day, in the film “V per vendetta” was chosen to convey the speech of V. On the right of the building on which the screens are mounted, is located Shaftesbury avenue location in Harry Potter and the deadly hallows part 1.
In the film, the three protagonists materialise here guided by Hermione. Why here? Hermione responds to Harry and Ron stating that it is simply the first place that came to her mind because she came here to the theatre with her parents.
For both Shaftesbury Avenue and Piccadilly Circus, the underground station is Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly and Bakerloo Lines).
Somerset House is one of those places in London that manage to affect me every time I return, even though I know it almost by heart. I can get to you now, almost with my eyes closed. This palace is another location of the film “London has fallen”: here the helicopter takes us to the American president from the Stansted airport, where the Air Force One landed, in the city centre (as close as possible to Saint Paul’s Cathedral where the funeral will be held). From here the president will resume the helicopter trying to escape from the terrorist attack in progress. The nearest metro stop is Temple (circle and district line).
Does the idea of a custom-made suit intrigue you? If you find yourself in London and the idea of having one in “spy style” intrigues you even more, then you must go to Saville Row! This is the way of the tailors and it is here that James Bond comes to commission his suits. This is also the street where the Kingsman tailoring is located in the two homonymous films. The shop used for the film is easily recognisable, especially if you have a good visual memory, and on the railing, at the end of the steps, there is a plaque with the name (and the date of foundation). The “real” Kingsman tailoring is located at St James’s street, next to the Locks & co shop (the oldest hatter in London). The nearest underground station is Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly and Bakerloo 
Lines). The Old Bailey is the Central Criminal Court in London. It is one of the buildings that house the Crown Court, the Central Criminal Court of London, and was built in the place where the Newgate Medieval Prison was. It is located along the street called Old Bailey, which follows the path of the fortified city walls (called bailey) and from which the building takes its name. What does this building have to do with the cinema? If you have seen the movie “V for Vendetta” you will have seen it explode in one of the initial scenes of the same film. The nearest metro station is St Paul’s (Central Line).
Not far from the Old Bailey, there is the beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral. The cathedral, in the film “London has fallen”, is the place where the funeral of the deceased English prime minister should be held, but instead, it is where the attack to the American president took place in an attempt to kill him. The nearest metro station is St Paul’s (Central Line).
The Millennium Bridge is the bridge of London which I like the most, architecturally speaking. I love it very much, architecture aside, the view it offers on the Tate Modern on one side and the dome of St Paul on the other. If you are passionate about Harry Potter, you have probably seen him in one of the opening scenes of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” in which the Death Eaters destroy it. The nearest metro station is, once again, St. Paul’s (Central Line).