Visit ‘James Bond’ Revolving Restaurant On The World’s Steepest Cable Car

On your next vacation, visit the famous James Bond revolving restaurant nestling high in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland. Getting there is an adventure, as the world’s steepest cable car has been unveiled, and takes diners up to the famous restaurant. Each car hangs from an 11-meter (36 feet) arm to handle the incredibly steep incline. Meanwhile, the Piz Gloria restaurant was made famous when it starred in the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Visit the James Bond restaurant on the world’s steepest cable car

The cable car track features a gradient of 159.4 percent as it connects the Swiss village of Stechelberg down on the valley floor with Mürren. Meanwhile, the journey takes just four minutes to travel the 775 meters (2,543 feet) on a track measuring around 1,194 meters (3,917 feet) in length.

The two cable cars suspend from an 11-meter-long (36-feet-long) arm in order to handle the steep incline while carrying up to 85 passengers. Moreover, the cable car route is fully autonomous and is monitored by cameras and sensors, which allows it to travel without staff on board.

World’s steepest cable car opens for business

The cable car made its inaugural journey up the cableway on the evening of Friday, December 13, during an official opening ceremony. Moreover, its first regular passengers were welcomed on Saturday, December 14, 2024.

Meanwhile, the cable car takes its passengers up to the famous James Bond revolving restaurant, officially named Piz Gloria.

It got its nickname after the restaurant featured in the 007 movie Her Majesty’s Secret Service back in 1969 when it was used as the mountain-top hideout of the Bond villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, played by Telly Savalas. The role of James Bond was played by actor George Lazenby and Diana Rigg was the latest Bond girl.

#GeorgeLazenby and Diana Rigg photographed during a break in filming the #JamesBond film “ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE” (1969) on location at Piz Gloria at the summit of the Schilthorn near Mürren in Switzerland pic.twitter.com/WbQN6VA1Dq

— Neville F Chamberlain (@NevilleFChambe1) September 5, 2024

Furthermore, when the production team found the restaurant, it was only partially complete and filming of the 1969 movie contributed towards finishing its construction.

More about the Schilthornbahn 20XX project

The new cable car forms part of the Schilthornbahn 20XX project, which involves building a new route in three sections. The cable car will eventually run from Stechelberg and Mürren via Birg up to the Schilthorn, which will cut the current journey time from 32 minutes to approximately 18 minutes.

In the meantime, the cable car takes diners up to the Piz Gloria restaurant at the peak of the Schilthorn and boasts 360-degree views of over 200 other mountain peaks. If the visibility is good, people can even see Montblanc.

Piz Gloria was designed by Bernese architect Konrad Wolf and claimed to be the world’s first revolving restaurant when it was opened. Read more about the restaurant on its website. Learn more about the cable car’s timetable here.

Moreover, the final stretch from Birg to the Schilthorn is expected to open in March 2025, with the finalization of the entire project during spring/summer 2025.

This isn’t the first time Switzerland has had a world first as in 2022, the EU nation opened the world’s longest passenger train in the Alps.

Just for fun, the trailer for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service included below.