The Saint: From Big Screen to Small Screen and Back Again
Where is Tv series Death in Paradise filmed? Notice the existent-life Saint Marie island on a tour of Expiry in Paradise locations around Deshaies on the isle of Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean.
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Outside the rain's lashing downwards, the wind'south blowing a gale and the temperature is well below freezing. And so you lot plough on the Telly to exist greeted with sunny skies, sandy beaches, palm trees and colourful streets (plus a dead body or two, but nosotros'll skate over that bit).
On air during the worst of the British winter, it'due south no wonder the BBC Telly series Death in Paradise has go then pop, with its 11th series hitting TV screens in early 2022.
Yes this series about a slightly bumbling British detective solving murders on a Caribbean island might exist a bit formulaic and you lot practise have to wonder how many people can possibly exist knocked off on one tiny island. But when it's common cold and grey outside, Decease in Paradise is similar a dose of virtual sunshine existence beamed into your living room.
Death in Paradise filming locations
Where is Death in Paradise filmed?
The series is set on the Caribbean isle of Saint Marie, which supposedly lies only off the coast of Guadeloupe. Only yous'll have trouble tracking it downwards on any map. Saint Marie island is a figment of the writers' imagination, simply the gorgeous locations you lot see on screen practise be, and in reality almost of them are found on Guadeloupe's Basse-Terre island.
Decease in Paradise is what first introduced me to Guadeloupe, so I couldn't resist tracking down some of its filming locations when I visited the isle. But would everything be as picture-perfect as it looks on screen or is there any TV trickery?
Where are the Death in Paradise locations?
On the north-w coast of Basse-Terre, Deshaies is the epicentre of all things Death in Paradise in Guadeloupe. In the evidence it's Honoré, capital of Saint Marie, and is where the cast and crew are based when they motion-picture show in Guadeloupe for 6 months each twelvemonth.
Deshaies is the pretty town you see in the aerial shots, with a red-roofed church and colourful buildings set around a semi-circular bay surrounded by jungle-covered hills. In real life, it's a fairly sleepy fishing port with waterfront confined and restaurants that are a favourite stop for yachties sailing the Caribbean area – and definitely non a hotbed of crime.
I affair I discovered when I started looking for Death in Paradise locations is only how many of them are in and around Deshaies. Also every bit the master filming sites, it as well crops up as the harbour where people arrive or go out the island, it's in a lot of background street scenes, and practically every posh rental villa in the area has had ane murder in it.
Death in Paradise filming locations around Deshaies
The show's location squad take done a clever job in making a small stretch of declension in the summit left corner of Guadeloupe expect like a whole island worth of different locations. Which is good news if you want to explore them yourself, equally their concentration around Deshaies makes it easy to do a do-it-yourself Decease in Paradise location tour.
If you're short on fourth dimension or don't have a car, y'all can spend the twenty-four hour period in Deshaies (reachable by taxi or bus from the island's capital Pointe-à-Pitre) and explore a few of the principal locations on human foot. Only if you want to come across further afield, in that location are a couple of guided tours available though Pelican Safari or Coeur des Iles, or y'all could rent a car and driver.
Honoré police station
The get-go finish is the show'southward most important location – Honoré police station. It'southward side by side to Deshaies church in the center of town, so it's really easy to detect. In real life the police force incident room is Deshaies' priest's role, and the church hall next door is used for the cells.
It was airtight and deserted when we visited so no adventure of having a peek within, simply other than the Honoré police sign existence missing, it looked merely like information technology does on screen – right down to the chickens pecking effectually outside. Out forepart at that place's a automobile park which is where they park the law jeeps, which has been used for a street market in a few episodes.
1 affair you don't see on screen though is a cemetery – and they'd clearly need one with that murder rate (though with so many British victims, perhaps they're all sent home?). At that place'south actually a big cemetery on a hill overlooking Deshaies but it'due south normally excluded from filming, though you can sometimes spot it in the background.
Catherine's bar(southward)
Another regular location is Catherine's bar (owned by Catherine Bordey – mayor of Saint Marie isle and mother of original detective Camille Borday). It's compulsory for each episode feature at least ane drinking session in the bar, either mid-instance when there'due south a catchy trouble to solve or to gloat solving the murder (no ane gets away with it!).
We constitute the beachside terrace used in the show (shown in the photo at the top of the post) at the northern end of the bay, but exterior a restaurant chosen Le Madras. Le Madras was closed for the 24-hour interval so we didn't become to have our beachside beer or look inside, only I did find a very tasty pina colada at some other Deshaies bar with a Death in Paradise connexion.
In the first serial, a different, bigger bar was used as Catherine's bar. This i is called La Kaz and is merely southward along the waterfront from Le Madras. Plain filming used to block the street and agree up traffic and then they had to movement, but there are few photos hanging on the walls which show scenes from the show dorsum when they used to film in in that location.
Honoré church building
Its location side by side to the police station means that Deshaies church often featured in passing shots, but it took until series ten until it finally got its own starring role on screen. In episode five a concert pianist is murdered and his funeral is held in the church, with Saint Marie residents gathered on the terrace exterior and his widow questioned inside.
In real life it's the Catholic Church of St Peter and St Paul, and is often used past local residents for services. Building work was started in 1840 but a misunderstanding between the parishioners and the bishop meant information technology took until 1947 for it to be finished. You can become inside to take a look around, or attend mass (in French) to listen to the singing.
The beach hut
If there was 1 location in Decease in Paradise that sold me on visiting Guadeloupe, it has to be the beach where the detective lives in a perfectly rustic beach hut right on the sand. This picture-perfect spot is found at Anse de la Perle embankment, three miles north of Deshaies.
In reality there are a few bars at ane end of the beach and a piddling road behind the sand then it's non quite equally remote as information technology looks on Goggle box, but it'south every bit every bit gorgeous. The bodily beach hut gets dismantled between filming because a lot of the sand on the beach gets washed away in wintertime storms. Just off season you tin can see the foundations at one end of the embankment.
1 thing I spotted too after watching the show once again is how many times this beach is used for other scenes. There are a couple of islands off-shore – a adequately big one (chosen Kahouanne, which was used every bit a private island in an episode from the third serial) and a tiny one. In one case you know they're there, you can spot them in the background in lots of embankment scenes which supposedly take place in different locations around the island!
The Botanic Gardens
A mile south of boondocks, Deshaies Botanic Gardens are a colourful riot of tropical flowers, flamingos and parrots – and as you probably guessed at that place'southward been a murder too. And not just any old murder either, this is where the bear witness'south beginning detective Richard Poole (played past Ben Miller) came to a viscous cease with an ice pick in the first episode of series 3.
Filming was done in a private villa inside the gardens, with its own swimming pool and astonishing coastal views from the terrace. You lot can see the villa from the gardens but if yous desire to become whatsoever closer yous'll accept to rent it out – information technology sleeps ten and costs €2000 a week.
The zoo
Saint Marie Zoo was new location for series viii, where a zookeeper was murdered with a tranquiliser gun. In real life it'south the Zoo de Guadeloupe au Parc des Mamelles, which is 30 minutes down the coast from Deshaies. The zoo is home to 85 different species from the Caribbean and Guyana, from big cats to tiny reptiles, spread across four acres of jungle.
One of the best parts of the zoo is its treetop walkway, which likewise featured in the show. A network of wobbly narrow wood and rope bridges runs 50 feet higher up the ground. You're high up amongst the thick green tree canopy with great views down to the fauna enclosures.
The hotel
From the far end of Anse de la Perle beach, there's a big white edifice in the adjacent bay that looks a bit like a pile of sugar cubes. This is the Langley Fort Royal* hotel, where about of the cast and crew stay during filming, either in the main hotel or the beautiful pointed-roofed bungalows. But you lot don't demand to stay in that location to have a drink in the bar and a nose around.
In another bit of inspired recycling, the hotel, bar and beach in forepart have appeared in many unlike episodes – including one where a bride was shot with a speargun and fell from a balcony in series ane and where Tv presenter drowned in series eight.
With Decease in Paradise being so popular – particularly in the Great britain, but information technology'south also shown in the US, Canada and Australia – I was surprised how footling was made of it in Guadeloupe. We spotted a couple of other people taking photos of the police force station in Deshaies, only most visitors to Guadeloupe are French and many of them take never heard of the testify.
So there's no real tourism around Death in Paradise and its filming locations in Guadeloupe – no big groups, no tour buses, signs or tacky souvenirs – which makes it feel even more like you're discovering the existent-life Saint Marie island, and living to tell the tale.
Death in Paradise location map
If you're looking for the exact position of whatsoever of the Death in Paradise filming locations, hither are the longitude and latitude details for each of those mentioned above:
- Honoré police force station: Church hall 16.30655, -61.79384
- Catherine'south Bar (current): Le Madras sixteen.30756, -61.79448
- Catherine's Bar (early on serial): La Kaz 16.3057, -61.79461
- Honoré church building: Church of St Peter and St Paul sixteen.3067, -61.79384
- Honoré harbour: 16.3051, -61.79581
- Detective's beach: Anse de la Perle 16.34044, -61.7793
- Botanic Gardens: 16.29935, -61.798
- Langley Fort Imperial Hotel 16.34707, -61.77613
- Zoo de Guadeloupe au Parc Des Mamelles: sixteen.17921, -61.75114
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Source: https://www.ontheluce.com/death-in-paradise-locations-guadeloupe/