Malta likes to call itself a film island, and with reason. But online lists of "Malta film locations" often repeat each other without a source. This guide works the other way round. It names a stop only when an official page (the national tourism board, Gozo's tourism site or the attraction itself) says that production was filmed at that place. Everything else is set aside, and we say why.
1. What the tourism board says
Visit Malta, the Malta Tourism Authority's site, says the islands have "played host to so many blockbuster film shoots". It names Game of Thrones, Gladiator, Captain Phillips and World War Z. Its "Filmed in Malta" page lists more, including Troy, Napoleon, Munich, Jurassic World Dominion, Assassin's Creed, By the Sea, Popeye, The Count of Monte Cristo and the series The Madame Blanc Mysteries. On that page most titles appear by name only: it says they were shot in the Maltese Islands but does not say where.
2. The candidate list, checked
| Production | Place | What the official page states |
|---|---|---|
| Game of Thrones | Mdina, Malta | Visit Malta: Mdina "has been King's Landing in Game of Thrones" |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | Mdina, Malta | Visit Malta: Mdina has been "featured in the Count of Monte Cristo" (no year given) |
| Popeye (1980) | Anchor Bay, Malta | Popeye Village: the village was "originally built as the film set for the 1980 musical Popeye" |
| Game of Thrones | Dwejra Bay, Gozo | Visit Gozo: a filming location for the wedding scene of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo |
| The Madame Blanc Mysteries | Ta' Sannat, Gozo | Visit Gozo: the village square "has been the backdrop" for the British series |
| By the Sea (2014) | Mġarr ix-Xini, Gozo | Visit Gozo: Angelina Jolie filmed By the Sea there in 2014 |
3. Why some famous titles are not on the trail
Gladiator, Troy, Napoleon, World War Z and Captain Phillips are all named by Visit Malta as Maltese productions. But on 26 October 2026 their individual Visit Malta pages showed no location text, and Screen Malta, the national film commission, was behind a bot check we did not try to get past. So we have no official page that ties any of those films to a particular fort, street or bay. Fan sites do name places for them. We have left those out until an official source confirms them.
One change to the landscape matters too. Visit Gozo says Dwejra's famous Azure Window collapsed in 2017 and the spot is now a dive site. If you remember a stone arch from the Dothraki wedding, the arch is no longer there.
4. Pick one cluster, not the whole list
The confirmed stops fall into three groups that are far apart. On a single port day, one group is plenty.
- Mdina. Malta Public Transport calls it "the walled city of Mdina, known as the Silent City" and lists buses 50, 51, 52, 53 and 56 from Valletta Terminal to Rabat, next to Mdina. This is the easiest film stop to reach from the Grand Harbour.
- Popeye Village, Anchor Bay. The set lists daily hours of 9:30 to 17:30 until 5 November 2026 and 9:30 to 17:00 from 6 November 2026 to 30 April 2027. Its own information page warns that its "steep ramps and numerous stairs" may be hard for people with mobility issues, that the site is mostly outdoors, and that wheelchair users and visitors with mobility impairments "can be driven down to the film set to avoid the steep ramp". The page does not give a bus route, so ask the set (+356 2152 4781) how to get there.
- Gozo: Ta' Sannat, Mġarr ix-Xini and Dwejra. Gozo Channel lists its crossing to Mġarr (Gozo) at approximately 25 minutes, daily. Visit Gozo says Mġarr ix-Xini is reached by a narrow, winding road from Ta' Sannat, and calls the Dwejra Bay area "not highly accessible", with steps cut into the rock down to the old slipway. For the crossing itself, see the Malta ferry hub.
Physical demands to check before you go: Mdina's distance from the bus stop and its paving are not described on the pages we read; Popeye Village names steep ramps, many stairs and long sun exposure, and offers a lift down for wheelchair users; Dwejra has rock-cut steps and uneven shoreline, and Visit Gozo advises staying back from the edge in rough weather. A Gozo day adds the ferry plus road transfers on the island.
5. A film tour or ordinary sightseeing?
| Filming-location tour | Ordinary sightseeing | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | Scene stories, often many stops | History of the place itself, fewer stops |
| What to ask | Which stops have an official source, and how long you spend on foot | Whether the guide will point out the confirmed film spots |
| Where it suits | Gozo, where the stops are spread out and need a vehicle | Mdina, where the film story and the real city overlap |
Before you book any tour, ask which locations it visits and check them against the table in section 2. A tour that names a fort or bay for Gladiator or Troy may be right, but on the pages we read we could not confirm it. To check a tour's walking demands, see walking, steps and standing. For a port day, work back from all-aboard with the all-aboard worksheet.
6. Confirmed stops, and the claims on hold
Confirmed from official pages read on 26 October 2026: Mdina (Game of Thrones, The Count of Monte Cristo), Popeye Village at Anchor Bay (Popeye, 1980), Dwejra Bay (Game of Thrones), Ta' Sannat's square (The Madame Blanc Mysteries) and Mġarr ix-Xini (By the Sea, 2014).
On hold, with no official location found: the places used for Gladiator, Troy, Napoleon, World War Z, Captain Phillips, Munich, Assassin's Creed, 13 Hours and Jurassic World Dominion. Visit Malta says they were filmed in Malta but, on the pages we read, does not say where. Hours, bus routes and the ferry schedule change, so check them close to your visit. For more on the port itself, see the Valletta port guide.