Malta Film Guide
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Series · 2011–2019

Game of Thrones filming locations in Malta

Game of Thrones filmed its first season in Malta in 2010: Mdina became King's Landing, Fort Manoel the Great Sept of Baelor, and Gozo's Azure Window the Dothraki wedding.

Where was Game of Thrones filmed in Malta?

HBO's fantasy series used Malta only for season one, before moving to Croatia. That season's King's Landing, Red Keep and Pentos scenes were shot across Mdina, the Grand Harbour forts, two palaces and Gozo.

Malta Pass

Rabat

St Dominic's Priory (Dominican Convent), Rabat

The cloister garden of St Dominic's Priory in Rabat played the Red Keep garden in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 7 'You Win or You Die', where Ned Stark tells Cersei Lannister he knows her children are Jaime's.

Game of Thrones

Malta Pass

Rabat

Mtaħleb & Miġra l-Ferħa Cliffs

The remote clifftops at Mtaħleb and Miġra l-Ferħa, on Malta's west coast near Rabat, became the Dothraki camp in Game of Thrones season 1, where Khal Drogo falls ill in 'Baelor' and burns on his funeral pyre in 'Fire and Blood'.

Game of Thrones

Malta Pass

Mellieħa

Manikata (Lhazareen village)

Old farm ruins around Manikata, a small farming village in Malta's north-west, played the Lhazareen village sacked by Khal Drogo's Dothraki in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 8 'The Pointy End', filmed in late October 2010.

Game of Thrones

Malta Pass

Valletta

Eagle Street, Valletta

Eagle Street (Triq l-Ajkla), a tiny stepped lane in Valletta, is where Arya Stark tries to swap a pigeon for bread just before following the crowd to her father's execution in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 9 'Baelor'.

Game of Thrones

Free spot

Mdina

Mdina Main Gate

Mdina Main Gate was the gate of King's Landing in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 3 ('Lord Snow'), where Catelyn Stark arrives in the city.

Game of ThronesDas Boot

Malta Pass

Mdina

Mesquita Square

Mesquita Square in Mdina was the outside of Littlefinger's brothel in Game of Thrones season 1, and where Jaime Lannister's men attack Ned Stark in episode 5.

Game of Thrones

Malta Pass

Kalkara

Fort Ricasoli

Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara was ancient Rome in Gladiator (2000) and Gladiator II (2024), and its main gate was the Red Keep in Game of Thrones season 1.

GladiatorGladiator IIGame of ThronesNapoleonAssassin's CreedAgoraDas Boot

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Birgu

Fort St Angelo

Fort St Angelo in Birgu was used for the Red Keep dungeons in Game of Thrones season 1.

Game of ThronesJurassic World Dominion

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Manoel Island

Fort Manoel

Fort Manoel was the outside of the Great Sept of Baelor, where Ned Stark is executed in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 9 ('Baelor').

Gladiator IIGame of ThronesAssassin's CreedThe Count of Monte Cristo (2024 series)

Malta Pass

Attard

San Anton Gardens

San Anton Gardens in Attard were used for garden scenes in Pentos and King's Landing in Game of Thrones season 1.

Game of ThronesDas Boot

Malta Pass

Buskett & Siġġiewi

Verdala Palace

Verdala Palace was the mansion of Illyrio Mopatis in Pentos, where Daenerys is promised to Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones season 1.

Game of Thrones

Malta Pass

Dwejra

Dwejra & the Azure Window

Daenerys and Khal Drogo's wedding in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 1 was filmed at Dwejra on Gozo, beside the Azure Window, which collapsed in 2017.

Game of ThronesClash of the TitansThe Count of Monte CristoCoronation Street

Scene by scene

  1. S1 E7 · “You Win or You Die”Ned Stark confronts Cersei Lannister in the priory's cloister garden, beside the fountain and benches, telling her he knows her children were fathered by Jaime and urging her to leave the city before he tells Robert; Cersei replies 'When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.' — played The Red Keep garden (godswood), King's LandingSt Dominic's Priory (Dominican Convent), Rabat →
  2. S1 E9 · “Baelor”The Dothraki camp on the clifftop: Khal Drogo, fevered from his festering wound, falls from his horse, and Daenerys asks the Lhazareen witch Mirri Maz Duur to save him with blood magic — played The Dothraki khalasar's camp in EssosMtaħleb & Miġra l-Ferħa Cliffs →
  3. S1 E10 · “Fire and Blood”Daenerys builds Khal Drogo's funeral pyre, ties Mirri Maz Duur to it and walks into the flames with her three dragon eggs; at dawn she rises from the ashes with three baby dragons. Guides place the pyre on the flat field to the left of the Miġra l-Ferħa car park — played The Dothraki camp in Essos (Drogo's funeral pyre)Mtaħleb & Miġra l-Ferħa Cliffs →
  4. S1 E8 · “The Pointy End”Khal Drogo's Dothraki sack the Lhazareen village among old stone ruins on what is now the Manikata Rural Heritage Trail; Drogo kills the challenger Mago but is wounded in the chest, and Daenerys stops the rape of village women and takes Mirri Maz Duur under her protection — played The Lhazareen (Lamb Men) village in EssosManikata (Lhazareen village) →
  5. S1 E9 · “Baelor”Arya, hiding in the city after fleeing the Red Keep, catches a pigeon and tries to trade it for bread with a baker in the narrow stepped lane, then follows the crowd towards the Great Sept of Baelor — played A back street of King's LandingEagle Street, Valletta →
  6. S1 E3 · “Lord Snow”Catelyn Stark and Ser Rodrik Cassel ride across the bridge and through Mdina Gate into King's Landing. Actor Ron Donachie (Rodrik) said it thrilled him because he'd seen a painting of knights riding through this very gate in a Valletta museum — played Entrance to the Red Keep, King's LandingMdina Main Gate →
  7. S1 E3 · “Lord Snow”Just inside the gate, Ned Stark says his final goodbye to Catelyn before she leaves the city — the last time the two are together — played King's Landing gateMdina Main Gate →
  8. S1 E3 · “Lord Snow”The doorway and balcony on Pjazza Mesquita were dressed as the entrance to Petyr Baelish's brothel, where Littlefinger leads Ned to the hidden Catelyn — played Entrance to Littlefinger's brothel, King's LandingMesquita Square →
  9. S1 E4 · “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things”Mdina's lanes around the square were dressed as the Street of Steel, where Ned follows Jon Arryn's trail to armourer Tobho Mott's shop and meets Gendry — played The Street of Steel, King's LandingMesquita Square →
  10. Game of ThronesS1E3 'Lord Snow' opening: King Robert's royal procession, with the Starks, rides in through Fort Ricasoli's main gate into the city; a stag's head was added digitally above the gate — played The King's Gate of King's LandingFort Ricasoli →
  11. S1 E5 · “The Wolf and the Lion”Arya, filthy after getting lost in the dungeons, tries to get back into the Red Keep and is turned away by guards who take her for a street urchin until she insists she's the Hand's daughter — played The gate of the Red KeepFort Ricasoli →
  12. S1 E5 · “The Wolf and the Lion”Arya gets lost in the fort's underground passages while chasing cats as part of her 'water dancing' training — played The dungeons of the Red KeepFort St Angelo →
  13. S1 E5 · “The Wolf and the Lion”Hiding in the dark, Arya overhears Varys and Magister Illyrio plotting about the coming war — played Red Keep tunnelsFort St Angelo →
  14. S1 E9 · “Baelor”Shot in the last week of October 2010 (Lena Headey said she was in Malta to film a 'pivotal' scene) — Ned confesses to treason on the Sept's steps and Joffrey orders his beheading as Sansa and Arya watch — played The steps of the Great Sept of BaelorFort Manoel →
  15. S1 E10 · “Fire and Blood”Yoren gathers his recruits for the Night's Watch — this is where Arya, disguised as a boy, meets Gendry, Hot Pie and Lommy. One guide places it in the fort's north-western ditch — played King's LandingFort Manoel →
  16. S1 E10 · “Fire and Blood”Joffrey forces Sansa to look at the heads on spikes, including her father's. Sources disagree — some guides place this at Fort Manoel, others at San Anton Palace — played The Red Keep battlementsFort Manoel →
  17. S1 E8 · “The Pointy End”Fleeing the Lannister purge of the Stark household, Arya recovers Needle in the stables and accidentally kills a stable boy who tries to grab her — played The Red Keep courtyard and stablesSan Anton Gardens →
  18. S1 E4 · “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things”In the palace's inner garden (not open to the public) Ned and Littlefinger talk about who in the court he can trust — played The Red Keep gardensSan Anton Gardens →
  19. S1 E3 · “Lord Snow”The Starks arrive in the Red Keep's courtyard after riding into King's Landing; the palace courtyard can only be glimpsed from the gate — played The Red Keep courtyardSan Anton Gardens →
  20. S1 E1 · “Winter Is Coming”The palace exterior and its front steps are where Viserys presents Daenerys to Khal Drogo, who rides up with his riders, looks her over and leaves without a word. All of the pilot's Morocco scenes were reshot in Malta — played Magister Illyrio Mopatis's mansion in PentosVerdala Palace →
  21. S1 E1 · “Winter Is Coming”The Dothraki wedding feast of Daenerys and Khal Drogo was reshot here around 28 October 2010 with the Azure Window as the backdrop. A subcontractor spread crushed quarry material over the protected rock to make it look like sand, sparking a MEPA investigation in November 2010 — played The Pentos coast (Dothraki wedding)Dwejra & the Azure Window →
  22. S1 E1 · “Winter Is Coming”After the wedding, Drogo leads Daenerys to the shore by the arch for their wedding night scene — played The Pentos coastDwejra & the Azure Window →

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The exact spot and camera angle for every Game of Thrones scene in Malta.

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