As the city of lights, city of love and everything in between, Paris is an unforgettable city that everyone must visit at least once in their life. Several movies have filmed in Paris showing off the beautiful blue rooftops, Seine River and, of course, her majesty, the Eiffel Tower. However, the movies listed below filmed in lesser-known places and that is what makes them so special. Here are six locations filmed in Paris that your tour guide probably won’t tell you about.
Promenade Plantée
The Promenade Plantée also known as Coulée Verte can be translated as “the tree lined walkway.” The 2.9 mile walkway was constructed in 1859 to be a Vincennes railway line but was later torn down in the 1960s. Jacques Vergely and Philippe Mathieux redesigned the railway in the 1980s and it became the first elevated park in the world when it opened in 1994. Tourists can start the walkway at the beginning near Opéra Bastille and walk all the way to the end at boulevard Périphérique. In Before Sunset, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s characters stroll through the romantic park after reuniting.
Shakespeare and Company Bookstore
Shakespeare and Company was founded by Sylvia Beach, an American expatriate in Paris. She opened the bookstore in 1919 as a traditional bookstore as well as a lending library. Beach lost the store after the Nazi’s occupied Paris during World War II. However, writer George Whitman reopened the store following her death in 1951 and made the bookstore a place where aspiring writers could live and work. Today, Shakespeare and Company is located just across the Seine from Notre Dame and Whitman’s daughter, Sylvia, runs the store. In The Woody Allen film, Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson’s character visits the bookstore while in Before Sunset. Ethan Hawke’s character holds a book signing in the store. Tourists can visit to find books, old and new alike, and revel in the history of the famous writers who used to gather there, including Joyce, Hemingway, Stein, and Fitzgerald. Sylvia describes the quaint Parisian bookstore as “bohemian, eccentric and warm” like her father.
Canal St. Martin
Near the end of the movie, One Day, Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess’ characters share an intimate moment by Canal St. Martin and chat while walking across the road bridge. The construction of the 4.5-kilometer canal lasted from 1805 to 1825 and served as a shipping connection between the Seine River and northeastern Paris. The canal runs between Gare du Nord and La Republique in northeastern Paris. Several boutiques, cafés, bars, and museums sit alongside the canal. In the warmer months, it is common to see locals biking, playing music, or having a picnic. The canal has also appeared in the movies Hôtel du Nord and Amélie.
Place de la Concorde
If you’re a fan of The Devil Wears Prada, you probably saw Place de La Concorde near the end of the movie when Anne Hathaway’s character Andy decides the fashion life is not for her and tosses her phone into the fountain. Stretching some 20 acres, Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris and is located between Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées. During the French Revolution, the square was used as an execution site and was the place where Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were “dealt with”. But today, the square features the iconic 3,300-year-old Luxor Obelisk statue and the popular Fontaines de la Concorde. The fountain that Andy tosses her phone into is the stunning green and gold detailed Fontaine des Mers. Tourists can take a ride on the Roue de Paris ferris wheel or take pictures around the gorgeous square.
Pont de Bir-Hakeim
The Pont de Bir-Hakeim is a two story bridge that was featured in Inception as the the dream training facility and where Leonardo Dicaprio teaches Ellen Paige how to “create” her first dream. The top story of the bridge is for the metro to pass through while the lower level is for cars and bikes. The bridge connects Paris’ 15th and 16th arrondissements. Tourists can walk across the Allée des Cygnes and view the Seine River, spot a great view of the Eiffel tower, or snap a picture in front of a replica of the Statue of Liberty located nearby.
Pont des Arts
The Pont des Arts, aka the Love Locks Bridge, is widely known for its romanticism. Couples from all around the world came to Paris to write their names on a padlock, connect it on the bridge, and then toss their key into the Seine. The novel “I Want You” by Federico Moccia, marked the beginning of the padlock tradition, where the characters performed a similar act but instead connected their padlock to the Ponte Milvio Bridge in Italy. The tradition soon spread to France. Unfortunately, the locks were removed from the bridge in 2015 and replaced with glass panels that are now beautifully graffitied. But the love lock tradition lives on in our hearts…and the movies! Several movie couples have shared a smooch atop the Pont des Arts including Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth’s characters in Sex and the City. Mark Ruffalo and Melanie Laurent’s characters put a lock on the bridge and then locked lips at the end of Now You See Me. At the end of the 1995 Sabrina, Harrison Ford’s character reunites with Julia Ormond’s character on the bridge. There have also been some action movies filmed on the Pont des Arts such as Liam Nissan jumping off the bridge onto a boat to save his daughter in Taken. And, after beating Treadstone, Jason Bourne walks along the bridge in the Bourne Identity.
Have you booked your flight yet? Well, hurry up then! The City of Lights is calling you, and that passport needs a new stamp!
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