Apple TV's new heist thriller 12, 12, 12 follows Jamie Dornan as a criminal mastermind and Anthony Mackie as the detective chasing him across Europe. The title comes from an FBI rule the show's creators stumbled on: a successful heist takes 12 months to plan, 12 hours to execute, and if the robbers aren't caught within 12 days, they probably never will be. Fittingly, the eight-part series hops between some of the continent's most cinematic spots – and its creators, Jim Keeble and Dudi Appleton, are former travel writers, which may explain why it doubles as a location showcase.
The Marseille scenes, where Dornan's character lives as a fisherman in the months before the crime, were partly genuine – the harbour and aerial shots of Le Panier are the real thing. But many street scenes were actually filmed in Rovinj, Croatia, a medieval Istrian town whose pastel houses, laundry lines and winding lanes apparently pass convincingly for the French port. The crew also worked in Rijeka and Opatija, grand seaside towns nearby, and stayed at the Grand Park Hotel in Rovinj and Hotel Milenij in Opatija.
The vault raid itself is set in a Swiss bank, but Zurich's eye-watering costs and thin film-crew scene pushed production to Budapest instead. St Stephen's Basilica stands in for Zurich's cathedral dressed with fairy lights and artificial snow – shot in 38°C summer heat – since the heist unfolds on Christmas Eve. Keleti railway station's underground corridors host a chase scene, while Andrassy Avenue, the Chain Bridge and the Hungarian Parliament all cameo. Cast even stayed and shot interior scenes at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace. The subway tunnel sequences were the trickiest: permits allowed filming only between midnight and 3am, so four nights of shooting added up to a single full day.
For the snowbound Alpine chase in the final act, the crew headed to Sölden in the Austrian Alps, filming along the route billed as Europe's highest road. Since production ran May to September, they gambled on late-season snow – and a four-day blizzard arrived on cue at the start of shooting, delivering scenery the team says visual effects could never have replicated. Appleton's caveat for travellers: the food up at 3,000 metres is rarely anything special.
For travellers, the show works as a ready-made itinerary: three very different European trips in one – Croatia's Istrian coast, a Budapest city break, and a high-altitude Alpine escape. Rovinj and Opatija are charming off-season seaside towns with Venetian-era old towns and waterfront hotels at far gentler prices than Zurich. Budapest is one of Europe's best-value capitals, with thermal baths, grand café culture and plenty of film-location strolling potential. Sölden, meanwhile, is a serious ski resort with glacier skiing that stretches the season well beyond winter. The first two episodes of 12, 12, 12 premiere on Apple TV on Friday November 13, with new episodes weekly – consider it a location scout's preview before booking.
