Why Malta Attracts the World's Film Studios
Malta has been one of the world's most sought-after filming destinations for more than six decades. The islands offer a combination of advantages that is nearly impossible to replicate elsewhere: 300 days of sunshine per year, ancient architecture that is genuinely old rather than reconstructed, and a geography compact enough that a production can shift between a medieval city, a harbour fortification, and open Mediterranean sea in under an hour.
The island's limestone architecture — honey-coloured, ancient, and photogenic — can double convincingly for Rome, North Africa, the Crusades-era Levant, or a generic "ancient world" as required by a script. The fortifications of the Knights of St John, built from the 16th century onwards, are some of the best-preserved in Europe and have accommodated dozens of period productions.
Underwater filming is another Malta speciality. The clear Mediterranean waters — visibility up to 40 metres in some conditions — and Malta's purpose-built outdoor water tank at the former Mediterranean Film Studios site near Fort Ricasoli have made the island the destination of choice for naval battle sequences and underwater camera work.
The Malta Film Commission administers a cash rebate of up to 40% on qualifying production expenditure in Malta, making the islands highly competitive against more expensive European locations. Productions that have benefited include major Hollywood studio films and prestige television series. The full list of Malta-shot productions, maintained by the Film Commission, runs to hundreds of titles.
For context on the locations you will visit, it helps to read up on Mdina's history and plan a Gozo day trip to take in the Azure Window site and Gozo's dramatic coastal scenery that has appeared in several productions.
Game of Thrones Locations in Malta
Game of Thrones filmed almost all of its Malta footage in Season 1, before production shifted primarily to Northern Ireland. The Maltese locations gave the show its distinctive sun-baked, ancient Mediterranean aesthetic for the early King's Landing scenes — a visual identity that set the tone for the entire series.
Mdina — King's Landing
The ancient walled city of Mdina served as King's Landing throughout Season 1. The narrow limestone streets, Baroque architecture, and imposing city gates translated perfectly to Westeros's capital. Scenes filmed here include early sequences featuring the Stark family in King's Landing and the backdrop for multiple character introductions.
The Mdina Gate (Main Gate) was used extensively as the entrance to King's Landing. Villegaignon Street, the main thoroughfare, doubled as the city's market district. The walls of Mdina also provided some of the panoramic shots of the capital that established its scale.
Fort Manoel — The Dungeon Scenes
Fort Manoel, a star-shaped fortification on Manoel Island in Gzira (between Valletta and Sliema), was used for several dungeon and prison sequences in Season 1. The fort's vaulted underground passages and weathered stonework provided the grim atmosphere required for scenes of captivity.
The fort itself dates from 1723 and was built by the Order of St John as an outer defence for Valletta. It has seen extensive use as a filming location beyond Game of Thrones. Note that access to the fort is currently restricted as restoration work is ongoing — check current status before visiting.
Valletta Streets — King's Landing Market
Several streets in Valletta itself were dressed as King's Landing market areas for Season 1 crowd scenes. The Merchant Street area and several side streets off Republic Street were used, with production design adding market stalls, signage, and period props over the existing Baroque street facades.
Valletta's UNESCO-listed streets are self-evidently cinematic — you will recognise the limestone buildings and ornate balconies from dozens of period productions even without specific Game of Thrones context. Our Malta walking tours guide covers the best walking routes through the capital.
Azure Window, Dwejra (Gozo) — The Dothraki Wedding
Perhaps the most iconic Malta Game of Thrones location was the Azure Window — a natural limestone arch on Gozo's western coast at Dwejra Bay — which provided the backdrop for Daenerys and Khal Drogo's wedding ceremony in Season 1 Episode 1. The image of the two figures framed by the arch against a sunset sky became one of the show's most reproduced images.
The Azure Window collapsed into the sea on 8 March 2017 during a severe storm. Its loss was mourned across Malta and internationally. The site at Dwejra Bay remains worth visiting: the rocky coastline, the nearby Azure Window diving site (which now features the collapsed arch as an underwater attraction), and the Inland Sea — a lagoon connected to the open sea by a narrow rock tunnel — are all spectacular. Divers can now swim through the collapsed arch underwater, making Dwejra one of the top dive sites in the Mediterranean.
Gladiator & Troy: Fort Ricasoli
Fort Ricasoli — Rome's Colosseum & Ancient Cities
Fort Ricasoli, located at the eastern tip of the Ricasoli peninsula at the entrance to Grand Harbour, is the largest fort in Malta and one of the most extensively filmed locations in the Mediterranean. Ridley Scott chose it as the primary stand-in for Rome for his 2000 epic Gladiator, using the fort's vast courtyard and limestone walls as the exterior of the Colosseum and Roman streets.
The production built enormous sets within and around the fort — including a partial recreation of a Roman city street — that allowed Scott to capture the scale and grandeur of imperial Rome. The warm limestone of the fort's walls, combined with strong Maltese sunlight, gave the film its distinctive golden palette that has been widely imitated since.
Four years later, Wolfgang Petersen's Troy (2004) used Fort Ricasoli extensively for its sequences set inside the walls of Troy and on the beaches outside. Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom all filmed scenes at the fort. The production brought approximately 1,000 crew members to Malta and spent several months on the island.
Paul Greengrass brought his docu-thriller aesthetic to Fort Ricasoli for Captain Phillips (2013), using the fort's exterior and surrounding waters for scenes representing the Somali coast and shipping lanes.
Popeye Village: Malta's Most Famous Film Set
Of all Malta's film locations, Popeye Village at Anchor Bay in Mellieha is the one that never left. Built in 1979 as the production set for Robert Altman's live-action musical Popeye (1980) starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall, the village of 19 colourful wooden buildings perched over a rocky bay was simply too distinctive to demolish after filming wrapped.
The film — a quirky, improvisational adaptation of the classic cartoon — was shot almost entirely in Malta over several months in 1979–1980, using Anchor Bay as the fictional seaside town of Sweethaven. The production designer Wolf Kroeger designed every building to replicate the aesthetics of the original E.C. Segar cartoon strips: tilted at unlikely angles, painted in bright primary colours, festooned with ropes and nets and barrels. The result looked unlike anywhere real — which was entirely the point.
After filming, the Maltese government opted to preserve the set as a tourist attraction. Today Popeye Village operates as a theme park with boat rides, swimming access to Anchor Bay, character meet-and-greets, a small film museum documenting the production, and a range of activities for children. It remains one of Malta's most visited and most photographed sites.
Visiting Popeye Village
The village is open year-round, with extended summer hours. Entry includes access to all attractions and the swimming area. The site is best suited to families with young children, though the setting is photogenic and historically interesting for anyone who knows the film.
Other Notable Productions Filmed in Malta
Game of Thrones and Gladiator are Malta's most famous film credits, but the full list of major productions that have used the islands is considerable. Here are the other titles worth knowing about.
Steven Spielberg's Munich
Spielberg chose Malta for several key sequences in his thriller about the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. Maltese locations stood in for various European cities, with Valletta's Baroque streets doubling for Rome and other Mediterranean capitals. The production made extensive use of the Three Cities area and Vittoriosa's waterfront.
World War Z — The Jerusalem Sequence
Brad Pitt's zombie blockbuster used Malta to portray Jerusalem in its pivotal mid-film sequence. The production dressed Valletta and several surrounding locations to represent the besieged city, constructing a partial wall and set extensions that allowed director Marc Forster to film the spectacular scene of the undead climbing over each other to breach the walls. Much of the dramatic overhead footage in that sequence was captured in and around Grand Harbour.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Kevin Reynolds' swashbuckling adaptation used Fort Ricasoli and various Malta harbour locations extensively, with the island's fortifications standing in for the Chateau d'If and other Mediterranean settings. Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce filmed several major scenes here. Malta's limestone dungeons required minimal set dressing to read convincingly as the 19th-century French prison.
Midnight Express
Alan Parker's harrowing prison drama, based on Billy Hayes's memoir of his time in a Turkish jail, was actually filmed largely in Malta. The Maltese production provided both the atmospheric architecture and the budget-conscious production savings that allowed Parker to realise his vision. The film won two Academy Awards.
The Da Vinci Code
Ron Howard's thriller used Malta for several sequences requiring ancient ecclesiastical architecture and atmospheric underground passages. Malta's churches and catacombs provided authentic period atmosphere without the logistical complications of filming in heavily visited European heritage sites.
Raised by Wolves (HBO)
Ridley Scott returned to Malta as director for the HBO science-fiction series, using the island's otherworldly rock formations, dramatic coastline, and ancient stone surfaces as the alien planet Kepler-22b. The contrast between Malta's geological landscape and modern CGI enhancements created a compelling visual language for the show.
Film Location Tours in Malta
Several operators offer dedicated film location tours that combine the Game of Thrones, Gladiator, and other production sites into a structured itinerary. These are worth considering if you want historical context and transport sorted in one booking.
Walking Tours of Mdina
Most guided Malta walking tours that include Mdina will cover the Game of Thrones connection as part of the narrative. Look for tours specifically marketed as "Game of Thrones Mdina" tours — guides will take you to the exact streets and gates used in filming and explain the production context. These typically run 2–3 hours and cost €20–35 per person.
Full-Day Jeep & Film Location Tours
Several companies offer full-day jeep tours that combine northern Malta film locations (Popeye Village, Mellieha Bay, the Red Tower) with Mdina and Rabat. These provide transport and a guide for approximately €50–75 per person and are a practical way to cover multiple sites in a single day, particularly for visitors without a hire car.
Harbour Cruises Past Fort Ricasoli
If getting inside Fort Ricasoli is not possible, a Grand Harbour cruise will take you past the fort's exterior walls — the same limestone ramparts that Scott used as Rome. Several cruise operators depart from Sliema and Valletta and offer commentary on the filming history as part of the tour. A standard Grand Harbour cruise costs approximately €15–20 per person.
Gozo Film Location Tours
Combined Gozo day trips can be arranged to include the Dwejra site where the Azure Window stood, alongside other Gozo film locations including the Ggantija temples (which have appeared in several documentaries and productions). Our Gozo day trip guide covers all the practical logistics.
Photography Tips for Film Location Visitors
Getting the Best Shots
- Mdina — arrive before 8am. By mid-morning, tour groups fill the narrow streets. Early light on the limestone is also exceptional for photography — warm, directional, and soft.
- Popeye Village — golden hour is magic. The colourful wooden buildings photograph brilliantly in late afternoon light. The bay reflects the colours beautifully. Crowds are also thinner after 4pm.
- Fort Ricasoli exterior — shoot from the water. A Grand Harbour cruise gives you the angles that match what Scott used in Gladiator. The fort's walls are more impressive from sea level than from land.
- Valletta streets — use a 35mm equivalent lens. The narrow streets mean wide angles create perspective distortion. A standard focal length captures the Baroque facades as your eye actually sees them.
- Dwejra, Gozo — photograph the underwater arch. If you dive or snorkel, the collapsed Azure Window makes extraordinary underwater photography. Above water, the dramatic rocky coastline still tells a compelling visual story.
- Carry a tripod for dawn shots. Pre-sunrise Mdina and Fort St Angelo at dawn are among the finest photographic subjects in the Mediterranean — a tripod lets you use lower ISOs and capture longer exposures as light grows.
For a broader guide to Malta's photogenic locations beyond film sets, see our Malta photography spots guide.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which Malta locations were used in Game of Thrones?
Game of Thrones filmed in Malta primarily during Season 1. Mdina stood in for King's Landing, with its narrow medieval streets and Baroque gates used for key scenes. Fort Manoel in Gzira doubled as a dungeon location. The Azure Window on Gozo — now collapsed after a storm in 2017 — was the backdrop for the Dothraki wedding scene. Various Valletta streets also featured as King's Landing in early episodes.
Where was Gladiator filmed in Malta?
Ridley Scott used Fort Ricasoli — a massive 17th-century fortification at the mouth of Grand Harbour — as the exterior stand-in for the Colosseum in Rome. The fort's sweeping stone walls and scale made it the perfect backdrop for crowd scenes. Fort Ricasoli was also used for Troy (2004) and Captain Phillips (2013).
Can you visit the Popeye Village film set in Malta?
Yes. The Popeye Village at Anchor Bay in Mellieha is open to visitors year-round as a theme park and heritage attraction. Built as the set for the 1980 Robert Altman film Popeye starring Robin Williams, the colourful wooden village has been preserved and expanded. Entry costs approximately €15–18 for adults.
Why do so many films choose Malta as a location?
Malta offers an unusually compelling mix for film productions: year-round sunshine with 300 days of sun per year, ancient architecture that can double for Rome, medieval Europe, or the Middle East, and exceptional underwater visibility for naval and underwater scenes. The Malta Film Commission offers a 40% cash rebate on qualifying production expenditure, making Malta highly cost-competitive against other European locations.
Are there guided film location tours in Malta?
Yes. Several operators run dedicated film location tours covering Game of Thrones sites, Gladiator filming spots, and the Popeye Village set. Walking tours of Mdina often include Game of Thrones context. Full-day jeep tours can combine Fort Ricasoli, Mdina, and northern Malta film sites. Check with local tour operators or ask at your hotel.
Is the Azure Window in Gozo still standing?
No. The Azure Window — a natural limestone arch on Gozo that featured in Game of Thrones and other films — collapsed into the sea during a storm on 8 March 2017. The site at Dwejra Bay is still worth visiting: the collapsed rock creates dramatic underwater formations popular with divers, and the surrounding coastline remains spectacular.