Deshaies (Pronounced ‘day-ay’) is a small fishing port in the north of the French department of Guadeloupe. It is a picturesque little town full of neat, white buildings with bright red roofs and a prominent church. The shore line is littered with beach front restaurants and small tourist shops.
Much as the town was pretty to visit, the excitement for us was that it is here that the BBC series ‘Death in Paradise’ is filmed. For those who are not fans, this is a long running series (now in its 11thseason) featuring an awkward English detective trying to fit in to the Caribbean lifestyle – it is a bit like Midsomer Murders, but set in the Caribbean! It seems to be a dangerous place to live with a new murder every week, and, in true Agatha Christie style, there are always several suspects – all with motives. Luckily for the residents, the detective and his team always manage to solve the case. The plot is actually almost identical each episode, but it is the humour (and scenery) that we enjoy.
During filming, the cast are based in the Deshaies area for 6 months each year and, although many scenes are shot in locations around the island, the main locations are in the town itself.
Honore Police Station is a major location. It is a short stroll up the hill from the sea front, next door to the local church. In reality, it used to be offices for the church, but now it seems to be used purely for filming. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside, but a quick look around the back, gave us a glance at the cells and a few old props!!
Another key location is Catherine’s Bar which features every episode, especially when the team need a well earned beer after solving a case. In reality, there are actually two bars. The original bar is a small restaurant – La Kaz du Douanier. It is not a beach front bar, but instead set back on the one road that goes through the town. Unfortunately, the location meant that the town ground to a halt during filming, so an alternative was found. The restaurant still has some photos of Ben Miller (the first detective) and the cast filming there. We managed to get booked in for a meal there – amazing food!
The second, and current, Catherine’s Bar is Le Madras. This is a very popular venue with a street side bar and a beach side veranda. When we were there, we were unable to get a table beach side, but the sunset was just as good from across the street!
Other locations we managed to visit were the beach (Anse de le Perle) where, each year, they construct the inspector’s shack, the Botanical Gardens (where the first detective, Ben Miller was stabbed with an ice pick) and the Lanlgey Fort Royal Hotel (where most of the crew stay and which has been used for several episodes).
We now want to watch them all again to spot the places we have been!!
Sounds like you are enjoying yourselves too much. I’d move on if I were you, before you become a suspect or worse, a victim.
Hi Barry,
It’s ok. The police station was closed, so everyone must have been on holiday!
I love the show and always imagine living in the shack on the beach. Just perfect. It really does look like paradise.
Hi,
It was a beautiful place. We were sad that the actual shack wasn’t there, but we used some Google images to find out where it usually is. The view is stunning, but not quite as deserted as the programme makes out. We had lunch in a beach bar just next door!
I enjoy that show too. It looks idyllic in real life.
Hi,
The whole area is beautiful. Lots of sea, sand and sunshine. Some clever filming too….to make it look quieter than it really is!
Enjoyed reading your posts about your road trip xx
so glad you made it there – Graham has been asking about whether you have seen it yet for months! Looks idyllic, guess you didn’t happen to see Lerch (Anthony from Royle Family) there??
Hi,
We were actually there a couple of months ago, but posts are a bit behind! It was brilliant to visit the locations. No one makes a big issue about it, so they are pretty low key places. Makes it more fun to find them!
Didn’t see anyone well known…
X
There’s no doubt you are proper tourists now, you could even turn into tour guides if you run out of cash. Good to hear from you, Dave
Hi,
Great to hear from you.
We are having a brilliant time exploring lots of new places and sharing hem with others. Hoping to inspire them to visit too!
Hope all is well with you
X