Malta Film Locations You Can Visit: Forts, Streets and Filming Sets

Standing sets, working forts and streets used as backdrops

The distinction matters more in Malta than almost anywhere, because a location used in a film may be a permanent attraction, a military site with restricted entry, or simply a lane you can wander down. Popeye Village at Anchor Bay was built for the 1980 Popeye film with Robin Williams and has been restored as a visitor attraction with shows, slides and the film's traditional houses, so you pay to enter and can plan a half-day around it. Fort Ricasoli at Kalkara is a bastioned fort built by the Order of St John between 1670 and 1698, used for Gladiator, Troy and Assassin's Creed. Streets and squares in Mdina and Valletta are where you walk freely among the backdrops, though you share them with residents and, on cruise days, with crowds.

The Order of St John built most of the fortifications you will recognise on screen, and the same walls appear across productions separated by decades. If the architecture itself interests you as much as the films, the broader story of the knights Hospitaller and their building programme explains why Fort St Elmo, Fort Ricasoli and Fort Manoel look the way they do.

Mdina: King's Landing gates and Pjazza Mesquita

Mdina is the single most rewarding film-location stop because the recognisable scenes are concentrated inside a walled city you can cross on foot in under half an hour. The Mdina Gate, the main entrance through the bastions, stood in for the King's Landing city gate in Game of Thrones, the scene where Catelyn Stark and Ser Rodrik ride through. Deeper inside, Pjazza Mesquita doubled as Littlefinger's establishment, and the surrounding lanes carried the fight between Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister. The city also appeared in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) and in Revelation (2001).

Plan Mdina as a two-hour stop including the cathedral and the bastion views, and go early or late because the lanes are narrow and the midday sun is unforgiving. The city's role as a stand-in for King's Landing is only one layer; its palaces and churches reward a slower walk.

Valletta: the Grandmaster's Palace, Republic Street and Fort St Elmo

Valletta packs several film locations into a grid of streets you can cover in a morning. The Grandmaster's Palace, known locally as il-Palazz, appears in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), where both the entrance gate and the armour-lined corridors are visible on screen. Republic Street, the city's main spine, stood in for Athens in Spielberg's Munich (2005), and the same street appears in Midnight Express (1978). The Suq tal-Belt building also features in Midnight Express.

Fort St Elmo at the tip of the city carries the heaviest film pedigree: its unused barracks became a Turkish prison in Midnight Express, its arch and old part appear in Murder on the Orient Express (2017), and it stood in for Jerusalem in World War Z. Confirm current opening and access before you build a visit around the fort. Allow a full morning for Valletta if you want the palace, the fort and a walk down Republic Street without rushing.

The city's fortifications are the reason so many productions chose it, and a walk along the bastions above the Grand Harbour links the film stops naturally. The Great Siege of Malta, 1565 explains why the fortifications were built on this scale in the first place.

Fort Ricasoli at Kalkara: Troy's gateway and Gladiator

Fort Ricasoli sits on the Kalkara shore facing the Grand Harbour, and its gateway served as the entrance to Troy in the 2004 film. Gladiator was filmed in its entirety at Fort Ricasoli, and the fort also hosted Assassin's Creed in 2016 and Troy's interior scenes. More recently, Fort Ricasoli appears in Gladiator II (2024), listed alongside Palazz Vilhena and Il-Miżieb as locations for that production.

This is a working fort rather than a visitor attraction, so do not build a day around walking in without checking first. Approach it from the Kalkara waterfront for the exterior view across the inlet, and ask locally or check with a film tour operator before expecting interior access. The fort's scale is best appreciated from the water or from the opposite shore.

Kalkara itself is a quiet village with a waterfront, and the fort is its main landmark. If you are following the harbour's defences, the broader story of Malta fortifications explains how Ricasoli fits into the ring of bastions around the Grand Harbour.

Fort Manoel and the locations you cannot simply walk into

Fort Manoel on Manoel Island served as the Great Sept of Baelor in Game of Thrones, the setting for Ned Stark's execution, but the location is not open to the public and is best seen on a film tour. The same applies to Verdala Palace, where Daenerys first meets the Dothraki leader: the palace is not publicly accessible and appears only on organised tours. These are the stops that reward booking ahead rather than turning up.

Film tours that include these locations sell out in peak season, so book before you travel rather than on the day. Ask the operator which locations are included and whether entry is guaranteed, because tour itineraries change with filming schedules and access permissions. If you only have a short trip, prioritise the free streets and squares in Mdina and Valletta and treat the tour as a bonus.

Comino: the Santa Marija watchtower and the Blue Lagoon

Comino's Santa Marija watchtower, perched on the island's highest point, played the Château d'If in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). The Blue Lagoon's waters appear in Troy (2004), where Achilles wades in to speak with his mother Thetis. The island measures just 3.5 square kilometres, so both stops fit into a single visit if you take a boat from Malta or Gozo.

Comino has no ferry of its own, so you reach it by boat trip or private charter from Cirkewwa or Mġarr, and the crossing is short but weather-dependent. The island is exposed, with little shade, so a morning visit is more comfortable than an afternoon one in summer. The tower is a short climb from the landing point and gives you a view back across the channel.

Gozo: the Azure Window's absence and Mġarr ix-Xini

The Azure Window at Dwejra was the backdrop for Daenerys and Khal Drogo's wedding in the first season of Game of Thrones, but the arch collapsed in a storm in 2017, so there is no arch to see today. The Dwejra area remains a coastal viewpoint and sunset spot, and the inland sea and cliffs still draw visitors. If you are chasing the wedding scene specifically, know that you are visiting the setting without its most famous feature.

Gozo's other film location is Mġarr ix-Xini, the gorge and bay that doubled as the couple's hotel in the south of France in By the Sea (2015). The film also used locations in Victoria and the Sannat Parish Church. Mġarr ix-Xini is a small bay with a narrow inlet, best reached by car or taxi from Victoria rather than by bus.

Popeye Village at Anchor Bay

Popeye Village at Anchor Bay, on Malta's north coast, was created specifically for the 1980 Popeye film and has been restored as an amusement park with shows, slides, characters and the film's traditional houses. In 2024 the blog listed high-season admission at twenty-four euros for adults and sixteen for children, and rates vary by season, so check the current price before you go. The village is a half-day outing rather than a quick stop, especially with children.

If the price or the crowds put you off, the village is visible from the heights above Anchor Bay, and the surrounding coast gives you a view without paying admission. Anchor Bay is a short drive from Mellieħa, and the village is best visited in the morning before tour buses arrive.

Malta Film Studios: the water tanks behind the sea scenes

The Malta Film Studios at Kalkara explain why so many sea scenes were shot here: the facilities include one indoor tank and two large exterior tanks along the coast, plus water special-effects equipment and crew. The studios have serviced more than 200 feature films, TV movies, commercials and documentaries over almost 55 years of operation. The tanks are working facilities rather than a visitor attraction, so do not expect a theme-park tour.

Nearby Fort Ricasoli and the Kalkara waterfront give you the context without needing studio access. The island's film history is one strand of a much longer story, and the broader picture of Malta facts helps set the scene.

Building a day around two or three locations

The most efficient route pairs Mdina with Valletta on a single day using the bus network, since both are compact and the film stops sit inside the city walls. Start at Mdina Gate early, walk to Pjazza Mesquita, then take a bus to Valletta for the Grandmaster's Palace, Republic Street and Fort St Elmo in the afternoon. Allow two hours for Mdina and three for Valletta, and expect to walk several kilometres on stone paving.

For a second day, choose either the Kalkara and Three Cities loop for Fort Ricasoli and Fort St Elmo's exteriors, or a Comino boat trip for the Santa Marija tower and the Blue Lagoon. Gozo is a full day in itself: the ferry from Cirkewwa, then Dwejra and Mġarr ix-Xini by car or taxi. Anyone who wants the locations that are closed to the public should book a film tour as a separate half-day.

Film-making on the islands continues, and Enola Holmes 3 (2026) is listed with St Paul's Cathedral, Villa Bologna and Lvant as locations. Treat these as productions in the pipeline rather than places to visit with a film crew present. If you want to tie the locations to the island's screen history, the Game of Thrones Malta guide covers the scenes in more detail.

Which film locations to build your route around

Mdina and Valletta give you the most for the least effort: a compact set of recognisable gates, squares and streets you can walk, with Fort St Elmo and the Grandmaster's Palace as the main built stops. Fort Ricasoli and Comino need more planning, and Fort Manoel and Verdala Palace are best left to a booked film tour. Check current opening times, ticket prices and tour availability before you finalise any day, because access to working sites can change.