Where is Death in Paradise filmed? Season 11 Guadeloupe set location of BBC drama - and if Saint Marie is real

Since it premiered in 2011 on BBC One, Death in Paradise has captured the attention of viewers with its idyllic scenery. quickly becoming a fan favourite.

Season 11 of the British-French detective show is currently airing on Friday evenings at 9 pm with breathtaking scenes of the Caribbean brightening up our nights.

But where exactly is the series filmed ? Here’s what you need to know.

Where is Death in Paradise set?

The show is set on the island of Saint Marie, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean.

However, the island of Saint Marie, and Honoré, the town where Death in Paradise takes place, are fictional.

Where is Death in Paradise filmed?

Death in Paradise is filmed across the islands of Guadeloupe, an overseas territory of France located in the eastern Caribbean Sea.

Guadeloupe is a group of islands in the Lesser Antilles Chain, and is an archipelago of more than 12 islands and islets.

The show is a true location shoot - so every scene is somewhere featured on the islands.

Saint Marie is really the Basse-Terre Island, and Honoré is actually the commune of Deshaies, on the North West coast of the island.

Tim Key, the show’s executive producer told Condé Nast Traveller: “They call it the butterfly island because of its shape,

“The other side of the butterfly, Grande-Terre, is much flatter and much more developed, it’s where the tourist hotels are, but we’re on the quieter, slightly less developed and I think much more beautiful side, which has this volcanic ridge right down the middle of it.”

Reflecting on choosing the locations for filming, Death in Paradise creator, Robert Thorogood said: “after days of exhausting, frustrating and ultimately fruitless searching, we stepped onto the beach at Deshaies for the first time and realised we’d finally found our location for Honoré.

“All three of us on the trip had had a sixth sense that this was ‘the one’ before we even got out of the car."

Where is the police station?

The iconic police station, featured in the show since it started, is actually the Presbytery attached to the church of St Peter and St Paul near the harbour.

What about Cathérine’s bar?

In the show, the team often retires to Cathérine’s bar in the evening after a long day of detective work. But the bar is actually a restaurant, called the Le Madras in Deshaies which is a short walk away from Rue de la Vague Bleue.

Is the detective’s home real?

The wooden beachside shack which all four detectives have now inhabited, is a genuine construction wrapped around a tree on the Anse de la Perle beach.  It is put up for the six months of filming and is taken down for the rest of the year.

And what about other locations?

Most of the other locations are within 40 minutes of the main shooting area, by taking the Sainte Rose commune to the east and Bouillante commune to the south of the island.

The office of Commissioner Patterson, played by Don Warrington, is in the town hall.

While the main cast are on the islands for up to five months, the guest stars are there for about a fortnight. They stay in Fort Royal resort or the smaller O Coeur des Deshaires hotel located in the hills above.

Death in Paradise is on Fridays at 9pm on BBC ONE and iPlayer

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