Batman Begins: Filming Locations from Chicago to Iceland

In the film, Bruce Wayne is approached in a Bhutan prison by Henri Ducard, who recruits him into the League of Shadows, and he later escapes after burning the League's temple. None of it was shot in Bhutan. Filming began in March 2004 on Iceland's Vatnajökull glacier, "standing in for Bhutan". The crew built a village, the front doors of Ra's' temple and a road to the remote site, then fought 75 mph winds, rain and a lack of snow. Vatnajökull is the largest ice cap in Iceland.

Location precision: The story place is Bhutan and the temple set was temporary; the pin marks the Vatnajökull ice cap, not the exact filming spot.

Back in Gotham, Bruce finds the well from his childhood and discovers a vast cave underneath Wayne Manor. Later Ra's burns the house down, and Alfred rescues Bruce. Wayne Manor is Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, chosen from twenty different locations. Nolan and his production designer liked its white floors, which gave the impression of the manor as a memorial to Wayne's parents. The house was built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family.

Evading the police in the Tumbler, Batman saves Rachel and administers Fox's antidote. The Tumbler pursuit was filmed in Chicago at locations such as Lower Wacker Drive and 35 East Wacker. Lower Wacker Drive serves as a limited-access road beneath Upper Wacker Drive, which serves the downtown streets. Chicago was one of three cities Nolan used for Gotham exteriors, with London and New York, because he wanted the city to seem recognizable.

The Narrows is a poverty-ridden district of Gotham, where the League of Shadows releases Dr. Crane and the other Arkham inmates. It was built indoors. Warner Bros. rented an airship hangar at Cardington, Bedfordshire during April 2004 and converted it into a 900-foot sound stage, where the slum district and the feet of the monorails were filmed. Cardington Airfield has a long history with airships and balloons.

Location precision: The Narrows set stood inside a hangar; the pin marks Cardington Airfield rather than the hangar itself.

To seal off the Narrows, the police isolate the district. On screen, Franklin-Orleans Street Bridge is the bridge that connects Gotham City with the Narrows, and for the scene where access is closed, authorities in Chicago agreed to raise it. It is a bascule bridge over the Chicago River, built in October 1920, linking the Near North Side with the Loop, just southwest of the Merchandise Mart.

Visitor guidance: A working bridge in downtown Chicago, southwest of the Merchandise Mart.