The Count of Monte Cristo Filming Locations
Four decades. Five productions. One extraordinary island.
Few stories have drawn filmmakers back to the same location again and again quite like Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo. Since 1998, five separate productions based on the novel have returned to the landscape and waters of Comino and Gozo, drawn by the same dramatic caves, ancient towers and crystalline sea that make these islands one of the most cinematic places on earth.
From the lavish French mini-series starring Gérard Depardieu in 1998, to the Hollywood blockbuster with Jim Caviezel in 2002, the acclaimed Sam Claflin TV series in 2024 and the French film phenomenon starring Pierre Niney the same year, and with La Comtesse de Monte-Cristo in 2025, the Maltese islands have become the spiritual home of Monte Cristo on screen.
This is the complete guide to every Count of Monte Cristo production filmed on Gozo and Comino.
A Location That Keeps Drawing Filmmakers Back
At the heart of several Monte Cristo productions filmed in Malta is a striking location on the island of Comino: the cave below Santa Marija Tower on Comino’s north coast.
In Alexandre Dumas’s novel, Château d’If is a forbidding island prison off the coast of Marseille where Edmond Dantès is unjustly imprisoned for nineteen years. Filmmakers have found that the waters around Comino capture this sense of isolation and drama particularly well.
In the 2002 Hollywood film, Santa Marija Tower itself serves as the full exterior of Château d’If, with the cave below serving as the dramatic sea entrance. In the 2024 TV series, the same cave appears again as the sea entrance to Château d’If.
La Comtesse de Monte-Cristo, filmed in Malta in 2025 and yet to be released, also used the Comino cave as a location, though as with any production, confirmed filming locations do not always make the final cut.
The Azure Window, Gozo’s iconic natural arch, lost to the sea in 2017, also features in the 2002 film, witness to a tryst between Edmond and his betrothed Mercédès.
The Productions
The Locations
The Azure Window doubling as the area around Marseille (2002). 
First glance of Chateau d’If
(2002).
Approaching the Santa Marija Cave (
2002).
Exploring the Isle of Cristo
(2002).
Elephant rock (
2002).
L-Għar ta’ Bla Saqaf – the roofless cave
(2002.)
Entering the sea tunnel under Santa Marija Tower
(2024).
Explore Gozo’s Monte Cristo Locations in Person
The cave below Santa Marija Tower, the site of the Azure Window and the dramatic coastline of Comino are all within reach on a single day trip to Gozo. Our Gozo in a Day Film and TV Location Guide covers the key locations you can visit, with self-guided walking routes and practical tips from someone who lives here.
