During our recent long weekend in Paris, our children ostentatiously boycotted my efforts to visit the museums here. So I decided to take my little private revenge on them. I did this by unwittingly taking them to a bunch of places associated with filming my favorite TV show, Emily in Paris.* This wasn’t that difficult since many of the places where the show was filmed are close to some of the most famous landmarks in the French capital that we visited anyway.
So, in this blog post, let’s walk through the most famous film locations where Emily faces her everyday life in Paris.
*Yes, I know I’m 40 and maybe a little old for this kind of show, but let’s not judge and also say that we all like to watch a “feel-good” show or movie sometimes.
Netflix hit series Emily in Paris
The series Emily in Paris premiered on Netflix in the covid year 2020. It tells the story of a young marketing manager from Chicago who, instead of her pregnant boss, is sent to Paris for a year to bring an American perspective to a French marketing firm. It’s probably easy to see that her “American perspective” often clashes with the French one. In addition to being a combination fashion show, unpretentious “feel-good” romantic comedy, and travel guide to Paris, the series is a witty gloss on the French and France and all the clichés associated with them.
Netflix’s hit cult series about the adventures of Emily Cooper is about to debut its fourth season, so you might be wondering which way Emily’s footsteps led in Paris.
Emily in Paris: Here are 10 iconic filming locations
NOTE: A map of the locations can be found at the end of this post.
1. Emily’s apartment building
This six-story apartment building is located at 1 Place de l’Estrapade in the Latin Quarter in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, just behind the Panthéon. While you can’t enter Emily’s apartment building, you can enjoy the quiet beauty of the wedge-shaped square, which, of course, includes a little park and fountain, which also appear frequently in the series’ footage.
2. Gabriel’s Restaurant
Just a few steps from Emily’s house, you will see Gabriel’s restaurant, Les Deux Compères. This is the Italian restaurant Terra Nera, whose address is 18 Rue des Fossés Saint-Jacques.
3. Boulangerie Moderne Bakery
Right next door to Gabriel’s restaurant (as evidenced by the address 16 Rue des Fossés Saint-Jacques) is La Boulangerie Moderne, where Emily buys her first Pain au chocolat. They’re open Monday to Friday, so when I walked through the place on Saturday and Sunday, I saw that it was closed, and you can only see this unappealing shutter.
4. Panthéon
A short walk from Place de l’Estrapade is the Pantheon. This former church now serves as a mausoleum where several important French personalities are buried, including Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Pierre and Marie Curie. In front of the Pantheon, Emily and her boyfriend break up over the phone at the beginning of the first season.
5. Jardin du Luxembourg
If you head down Rue Soufflot from the Pantheon, you will arrive at the most beautiful park in Paris. It was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte, who dedicated it to the city’s children. Today, you will find a combination of English and French parks, as well as the Luxembourg Palace, the seat of the French Senate. Emily used to go running in this park in the first series.
6. Café de Flore
From Jardin du Luxembourg, follow Rue Bonaparte to Café de Flore (172 Bd Saint-Germain).
7. Musée d’Orsay
Let’s stay on the left bank of the Seine for a while. The important Parisian museum Musée d’Orsay (Esplanade Valéry Giscard d’Estaing) is on the site of a former train station. The museum is famous for its collection of Impressionist painters such as Monet, Manet, and Renoir, and fans of the series will know that this is where Camille and Gabriel got engaged.
8. Pont Alexandre III
The most ornate and magnificent bridge in Paris is where the Savoir agency shoots a perfume commercial for Maison Lavaux in the series’s first season.
9. Savoir Marketing agency
Apart from Emily’s apartment, the most famous location for the series is probably the offices of Savoir, where Emily works. The entrance to the office is in a small courtyard called Place de Valois, which is a short walk from the Louvre. Just across the street, you will also find the Bistrot Valois, where the main characters of the show go for lunch – wine – coffee, and a cigarette – you name it 🙂 .
10. Jardin du Palais Royal
Just a stone’s throw from the Savoir office is the beautifully landscaped gardens of the 17th-century Palais-Royal. Here, during her lunch break in the first episode of the series, Emily meets her new friend Mindy, a nanny living in Paris.
So, did you enjoy the walk through the familiar places from the show? Of course, there are many more locations from the series (e.g., the Père-Lachaise cemetery where Luc took Emily to lunch, right on Balzac’s grave, L’Atelier des Lumières, the museum where Emily went with Gabriel and Camille, La Maison Rose restaurant in Montmartre, Opéra Garnier…), so maybe I’ll check it out sometime. If you liked the article, I’d be happy if you shared it. MERCI!
