Game of Thrones
St Dominic's Priory (Dominican Convent), Rabat
In Maltese: Il-Kunvent ta' San Duminku, Ir-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.
What was filmed at St Dominic's Priory (Dominican Convent), Rabat?
Game of Thrones (2011–2019) · 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.'. It played The Red Keep garden (godswood), King's Landing.
About St Dominic's Priory (Dominican Convent), Rabat
This is Malta's first Dominican priory, founded in 1450 by friars from Sicily above the cave shrine of Madonna tal-Għar (Our Lady of the Grotto) in the south of Rabat. Its arcaded cloister wraps around a planted courtyard with a fountain and stone benches. In October 2010 HBO used that courtyard as the Red Keep's garden (the godswood in the books) for one of season 1's key scenes: Ned Stark sits with Cersei and tells her he knows Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen are Jaime's children, and she answers with the line 'When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.' Nothing was permanently changed and the place still looks much as it does on screen. It's a working friary and quiet most of the time; the courtyard itself is usually closed off, but you can walk the cloister arcades and look in from the same angles.
Best time to go
Weekday late morning, when the cloister is open and usually empty.
Questions people ask
Where was the 'you win or you die' scene filmed?+
In the cloister garden of St Dominic's Priory in Rabat, Malta, which stood in for the Red Keep garden in season 1, episode 7.
Can you go inside the Game of Thrones courtyard at St Dominic's?+
You can walk the cloister arcades for free when the priory is open, but the garden courtyard itself is normally closed off, so you look in from the walkways.
Sources
- You Win or You Die — Wikipedia (Filming locations)
- Filming locations (Game of Thrones) — Game of Thrones Wiki
- Game of Thrones Filming Locations in Malta — Fangirl Quest
- Il Trono di Spade festeggia dieci anni — Corriere di Malta
- Madonna tal-Għar Cave Church and Dominican Friary — Pilgrimaps
Exact spot not yet checked on site — we visit every location before launch.