You can’t help but watch the hit drama and think where is Death in Paradise filmed? It looks so lovely!
The only thing against the place has to be its ridiculously high murder rate! From the fabulous beach shack where the show’s chief detective lives to the idyllic looking Catherine's Bar, Death in Paradise is packed with fabulous locations.
Death in Paradise Season 11 is now on our screens and it looks as gorgeous as ever. Here's where Death in Paradise is filmed and the answer on whether Catherine's Bar is real.
Where is Death in Paradise filmed?
Death in Paradise is filmed in Guadeloupe which doubles for the fictional island of Saint Marie. Guadeloupe is an overseas region of France and its official currency is the Euro. Guadeloupe has a population just under 400,000 and its official language is French.
The island’s official website boasts that there is all kinds of exciting things you can do on Guadeloupe including getting married and going island hoping. Yep, Guadeloupe is actually made up of five islands, not just one.
Does Catherine’s Bar exist?
Yes, it does! Sadly, you won’t actually find Catherine herself running it although she might pop up when the show is being filmed. But Catherine’s Bar isn’t simply a set. The scenes are shot at a beachside restaurant called "Le Madras". And just like Catherine’s Bar it serves lots of beer and nice seafood. It currently has a four-star rating on Tripadvisor and many of the reviewers mention that it's Catherine's Bar.
Meanwhile, Catherine is still serving the drinks on the show in Death in Paradise season 11. She hasn't let the fact she's now mayor stop her! The team is always meeting up in her bar, normally to celebrate cracking a case.
Does the Inspector’s shack exist?
Erm, no. Sadly it’s not a real place. And the actual chief detective of Guadeloupe doesn’t look wistfully at the sea while talking to a pet lizard. Instead, the inspector’s shack is unpacked before the start of each series and put up on a beautiful stretch of sand called La Perle Beach. The show’s producer Tim Key previously told us : “We rebuild it every year and it’s all real inside. We shoot inside there. Of course we could have done those scenes in Pinewood but it wouldn’t feel the same.”
Is Honoré police station real?
While it’s not actually a police station, you can visit the place where the exterior shots of the police station are filmed. In reality it’s a building next to a church. “We get on very well with the priest, we’ve worked with him since the beginning,” producer Tim Key previously told us.
So there you go, we hope we’ve answered where Death in Paradise is filmed. And in reality, there’s lots of places you can visit in Guadeloupe that are used in the show.
Star Ralf Little revealed once that each of the main actors on the show gets their own villa to stay in while filming. Not a bad job if you can get it.
If you want to catch up on all the fabulous locations in the series, all 11 seasons are available currently on BBC iPlayer. There are all these options below to watch the show.
- Best BBC dramas
- Best ITV dramas
- Best Channel 4 dramas
- Best Channel 5 dramas
- Call the Midwife 2021
- Doctor Who Season 13
Death in Paradise will return for a new series in 2021.
David is a Senior Digital Content Editor with over 15 years experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest soap spoilers and television news for Whatsontv.
Before working for Whatsontv, David spent many years on TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. David started out as a writer on TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards.
Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!
