Set-Jetting on Gozo: Film & TV Locations from Madame Blanc to Game of Thrones

Gozo: The Film Set of the Mediterranean

Since the 1950s, Gozo has been quietly building one of the most varied filming CVs of any small island in the world. Productions have used Gozo and neighbouring Comino as ancient, and modern, Greece, Morocco, Central America, the South of France, worlds that don’t exist at all, Malta, and occasionally itself. The island’s honey-coloured limestone architecture, dramatic coastline, and unspoiled countryside make it extraordinarily adaptable. Directors keep coming back because it delivers variety without requiring the budget of a location shoot across multiple countries.

The community has grown up around it too. Extras, location scouts, and crew members are woven into everyday island life here in a way you don’t find in most places. When a production arrives, Gozo doesn’t just tolerate it, it absorbs it.

Unforgettable Films and TV Shows Shot on Gozo

Game of Thrones filmed Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s wedding at Dwejra Bay’s Azure Window in Series 1, a scene that remains one of the most recognisable location moments in modern television. Troy brought Brad Pitt to the island. The Count of Monte Cristo used the dramatic Santa Marija Tower on Comino. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Clash of the Titans, Sweeney 2, By the Sea, Brideshead Revisited, and dozens of others have all left their mark here.

For the last few years, The Madame Blanc Mysteries has been the production that brings most visitors to Gozo. The show transforms the squares, alleys, and countryside of villages including Għarb, Sannat, and Victoria into the fictional Sainte Victoire in the South of France. Fans who arrive already knowing the show tend to find the experience of walking those streets surprisingly moving. The locations are so faithful to what appears on screen that it genuinely feels like stepping into the series.

There is also a deeper back catalogue that rewards the curious. Productions like Final Justice, Warlords of Atlantis, and Inseminoid, in which Gozo stood in for an alien planet, sit alongside recent arrivals like The Good Ship Murder and F*ck Valentine’s Day. The full list runs to well over a hundred entries and is still growing.

Famous Actors Who Have Filmed on Gozo

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie spent months filming By the Sea at Mgarr ix-Xini, a quiet inlet on Gozo’s southern coast. Michael Caine, Joan Collins, and Madonna have all worked here. John Thaw and Dennis Waterman filmed Sweeney 2 on the island. Sean Connery came for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Guy Pearce for The Count of Monte Cristo. Robin Askwith, who plays Jeremy Lloyd-James in The Madame Blanc Mysteries, calls Gozo home. The legendary Scottish comedian Billy Connolly never filmed here, but he owned a home in Sannat for many years and was most fulsome in his praise of the island.

Explore Gozo’s Filming Locations

One of the practical advantages of set-jetting on Gozo is the scale. The island is compact enough that you can visit locations from multiple productions in a single day without much planning. Dwejra Bay alone covers Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans, The Sailor of the King, and several others. Gharb gives you Madame Blanc and By the Sea in the same village. Victoria adds Coronation Street, Brideshead Revisited and a handful of older productions.

For anyone who wants a structured route rather than an improvised wander, the Gozo in a Day Film and TV Location Guide covers more than 80 locations across 40 productions with three walking routes. It’s the most thorough guide to Gozo’s filming history available and is designed to be used on the ground, on your phone or in your pocket.

Come for the Show. Stay for the Island.

The productions will keep coming to Gozo because the island keeps delivering. The beautiful light, the landscape, the architecture, and the community that has built up around the film industry here make it one of the most consistently used locations in European production. For visitors, that means an ever-growing trail of locations to explore, with new additions every year.

If you want to do it properly, start with the guide. If you want to explore on your own terms, the filming location guides and maps on this site will take you to most of the major spots. Either way, the island is smaller than you think and more cinematic than you’d expect.