Around 80% of the 2002 film was shot in Malta, including Comino's Santa Marija Tower as Château d'If, with Irish estates filling out France.
The 2002 adaptation was filmed mainly in Malta, which supplied about 80% of its locations. Santa Marija Tower on Comino served as Château d'If, while Comino and Gozo's coastlines stood in for the Isle of Monte Cristo. Ireland provided the rest, with Powerscourt Estate and Kilruddery House in County Wicklow doubling for French estates. The story itself is set in France and Italy.
Kevin Reynolds' 2002 take on Alexandre Dumas' novel looks French and Italian on screen, but almost nothing was shot in France. Malta carried the bulk of the production after the filmmakers found its harbors, limestone streets, and island coastlines convincingly Mediterranean. What began as a planned five days of filming in Malta grew to five weeks.
Ireland handled the interiors of high society. Two grand County Wicklow properties, Powerscourt Estate and Kilruddery House, became the estates where Edmond Dantès and Fernand Mondego play out their rivalry, while studio work took place at Ardmore Studios in Bray and Malta Film Studios in Kalkara.
| Location | Where | What was filmed | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Marija Tower, Comino | Comino, Malta | Exteriors of Château d'If | Free to see |
| Blue Lagoon, Comino | Comino, Malta | Coastal and sea scenes for Isle of Monte Cristo | Free to see |
| Dwejra Bay / Azure Window area, Gozo | Dwejra, Malta | Rocky shoreline and cliffs for Isle of Monte Cristo (Azure Window collapsed 2017) | Free to see |
| Powerscourt Estate | Enniskerry, Ireland | Dantès' estate and introduction to Paris society scenes | Ticketed |
| Kilruddery House | Bray, Ireland | Mondego's home scenes | Ticketed |
| Vittoriosa waterfront (Xatt Ir-Risq) | Vittoriosa, Malta | Marseilles port scenes | Free to see |
| Grandmaster's Palace | Valletta, Malta | Interior scenes including carnival | Ticketed |
| Crystal Lagoon, Comino | Comino, Malta | Additional lagoon and coastal scenes | Free to see |
8 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Malta, Comino, Malta Free to see
Filmed here: Exteriors of Château d'If
This coastal watchtower posed as the exterior of Château d'If, the island prison where Dantès spends fourteen years and meets Abbé Faria. It is accessible to the public by ferry to Comino and is commonly included in island day trips. The tower's stark silhouette above the water makes it one of the easiest filming sites to recognize from the film, and it was reused in later adaptations.
Malta, Comino, Malta Free to see
Filmed here: Coastal and sea scenes for Isle of Monte Cristo
The famous turquoise lagoon provided the coastal and sea scenes for the Isle of Monte Cristo, where Dantès discovers the legendary treasure. Boat access is required, but the trip is straightforward since the lagoon is a popular swimming stop on Comino excursions. Visitors can swim in the same clear waters seen on screen, making this one of the more enjoyable locations to experience rather than simply view.
Gozo, Dwejra, Malta Free to see
Filmed here: Rocky shoreline and cliffs for Isle of Monte Cristo (Azure Window collapsed 2017)
The rocky shoreline and cliffs of Dwejra Bay stood in for more Isle of Monte Cristo scenery, including shots featuring the Azure Window, the natural limestone arch that collapsed in 2017. The arch is gone, but the bay remains a dramatic coastal walking spot on Gozo with inland sea and cliff formations that still read as suitably cinematic. Access is public and free.
County Wicklow, Enniskerry, Ireland Ticketed
Filmed here: Dantès' estate and introduction to Paris society scenes
Powerscourt, near Enniskerry in County Wicklow, played the estate Dantès purchases in France, used for the scenes introducing Paris society. Today the gardens and house are open to the public by ticket and rank among Ireland's most visited attractions. The terraced gardens and views toward the Sugarloaf make it worthwhile even for visitors with no attachment to the film.
County Wicklow, Bray, Ireland Ticketed
Filmed here: Mondego's home scenes
This historic house in Bray served as Mondego's home in the film. The estate is ticketed, with gardens open to visitors and house tours available. Kilruddery's formal gardens date back centuries and sit close to both Bray and Powerscourt, so Wicklow visitors can cover both of the film's Irish country houses in a single day trip from Dublin.
Malta, Vittoriosa, Malta Free to see
Filmed here: Marseilles port scenes
The historic waterfront in Vittoriosa, part of the Grand Harbour area, doubled as the port of Marseilles in the film's opening act. It is freely accessible and easy to combine with a walk through Vittoriosa's narrow streets. The quays and period buildings still carry enough old-world character that the match with early 19th-century Marseilles registers immediately.
Interior scenes in the film, including the carnival sequence, were shot inside the Grandmaster's Palace in central Valletta. The palace now functions as a museum and is open to visitors with a ticket. Its position on Valletta's main streets makes it a natural stop on any city visit, and film fans can step directly into rooms that appeared on screen.
Malta, Comino, Malta Free to see
Filmed here: Additional lagoon and coastal scenes
Beyond the better-known Blue Lagoon, Crystal Lagoon supplied additional lagoon and coastal footage for the island treasure sequences. Reaching it requires a boat, and its clear waters are popular for swimming. Because it sits on the same island as the Blue Lagoon and Santa Marija Tower, most Comino boat trips cover all three Monte Cristo locations in a single outing.
The story is set in early 19th-century France, moving between Marseille, Paris, and the prison island of Château d'If, with portions in Italy. Filming told a different story: Malta stood in for Mediterranean France almost throughout, while Ireland covered the French estates and studio interiors. No filming took place in France at all.
Two studios supported the production. Ardmore Studios in Bray, Ireland, handled interior work alongside the Wicklow estate shoots, while Malta Film Studios in Kalkara covered the Maltese side of the schedule. Neither studio offers public film-related visits, though both sit near areas travellers are likely to pass through anyway: Bray is south of Dublin, and Kalkara lies across the Grand Harbour from Valletta.
Guided options specific to this film are scarce, but travellers can join film-focused walking tours in Malta that pass locations tied to the production, including the Mdina streets used for the carnival and Rome scenes.
Malta: Mdina Film Walking Tour featuring GoT
This Mdina walking tour takes in St. Paul's Cathedral square and the surrounding streets that appeared in the film's carnival and Rome sequences, alongside Game of Thrones sites, for a modest price with a guide who covers the city's long screen history.
No. Despite being set largely in France, the 2002 film was shot in Malta and Ireland. Malta provided around 80% of the locations, standing in for Marseilles and other Mediterranean settings, while County Wicklow estates doubled for French country houses.
The real Château d'If is a fortress in Marseille Bay, but the film did not shoot there. Exteriors of the prison were created using Santa Marija Tower on Comino in Malta, which is accessible by ferry and often included in island day trips.
Not as it appeared on screen. The Azure Window on Gozo, seen in the Isle of Monte Cristo scenes, collapsed in 2017. Dwejra Bay around it remains open for coastal walks and still shows the dramatic cliffs and rocky shoreline used in the film.
The production originally planned five days in Malta but extended to five weeks after the locations proved so suitable. In the end Malta accounted for roughly 80% of the film's locations.
Yes. Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry and Kilruddery House in Bray are both ticketed attractions with gardens open to visitors, and Kilruddery offers house tours. They are close enough together in County Wicklow to visit both in one day.
Yes. The Isle of Monte Cristo was played by Comino and Gozo. The Blue Lagoon and Crystal Lagoon on Comino, plus the cliffs of Dwejra Bay on Gozo, are all publicly accessible, and boat trips from Malta typically cover the Comino sites in a single day.
Malta rewards fans of this film more than anywhere else. A single boat trip to Comino covers the prison tower, both lagoons, and the treasure island coastline, while Valletta and Vittoriosa add the port and palace interiors within easy reach. Travellers extending to Ireland can pair Powerscourt and Kilruddery on a Wicklow day trip, completing nearly every exterior location the production used.
Before You Go
The tours travellers book most for The Count of Monte Cristo.
