Across seven films, the Mission Impossible series has followed the daring exploits of Ethan Hunt and his team across the vertical and horizontal expanses of the world.

Most of the locations featured in these films were shot on location with some doubling for others through clever filmmaking.

The films have used their locations to great effect often becoming characters in and of themselves and essential to the plot.

These locations have also served as backdrops to some of the most memorable stunts in film history which the series manages to top with each new entry.

Few film series have used locations to such a great effect with the use of famous locations around the world becoming one of the series signatures features.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

The first entry in the series was filmed primarily in Prague and London. These locations would be revisited several times over the course of the series.

The early scene at the embassy takes place across two famous landmarks in Prague with the interiors shot at the National Museum and the Liechtenstein Palace used for the exteriors. The action then continues in around the majestic Charles Bridge and the through the Old Town Square.

The action then shifts to London where we see Ethan and the team at a safe house above the entrance to Liverpool Street underground station with station’s main concourse also featured in a later scene.

Other London locations include the Tower Bridge and the Anchor Tavern on Bankside where Ethan and Luther unwind and the end of the film.

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

The films opening sees Ethan Hunt receive his new mission while rock climbing in the Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah.

The remainder of the film was shot almost exclusively in Sydney, Australia taking full advantage of many of the cities famous landmarks with the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Randwick Racecourse and Darling Harbour all featured throughout. The film was released months before the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and was a great showcase for the city leading up to the games.

The building featured during the helicopter dive scene is the Governor Phillip Tower near Circular Quay with Bare Island Fort in La Perouse used for most of the film’s action-packed climax.

The short scene that takes place in Seville earlier in the film was also shot in Sydney.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

The film opens in a small, unnamed town in the United States before the action appears to move to a dilapidated factory in Berlin. These scenes where also filmed in the United States at the Kaiser Steel Mill in San Bernardino before the team escapes through the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm in Palm Springs.

We then head to Rome and Vatican City as Ethan tracks down the Rabbit’s Foot. The Vatican exteriors were shot outside St. Peters Square whilst the interiors were shot at the Reggia di Caserta before the team escapes by boat down the River Tiber.

The action heads back to the United States in order to set up the film’s final chapter with the explosive bridge scene taking place along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia.

Finally, we head to Shanghai with filming taking place across the rooftops of some of the city’s famous towers with Los Angeles used for scenes shot at street level. The finale takes place at the Xitang water town.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

We begin the fourth entry in the Mission Impossible series in Budapest however most of these scenes, apart from the necessary establishing shots, were filmed in nearby Prague.

Prague then doubles for another famous European city as the action moves to Moscow where an explosive set of events brings the films opening act to an end.

Ethan and the team then head to Dubai where the film’s most memorable action scene takes place in and around the tallest building in the world, the Burj Kalifa.

Although the final act is set in Mumbai, the majority of the scenes where actually filmed in Vancouver, Dubai and Wolfsburg with the briefest of establishing shots of the Gateway of India used to set the scene.