Dans les pas d’Emily in Paris

Popular for its "feel good" side, the Netlix show creates the event with each new season and... boosts the real estate market in Paris! Despite the criticism of its stereotypical representation, there has been a 1,400% increase in the number of people looking for housing in the capital since the worldwide success of Emily Cooper's adventures. A craze surely due to the charm of the settings chosen by Darren Star for his latest creation.

Ça c’est Paris

Let's start with the heroine's place of residence: located in the 5th arrondissement, it overlooks the charming Place de l'Estrapade where a fountain and benches are particularly conducive to enjoying a delicious pastry from the Boulangerie Moderne. If this one is authentic, it is not exactly the case of the restaurant where the Chef under Emily's charm works: indeed, "Les Deux Compères" is actually an Italian restaurant called Terra Nera. Even if the address remains very identifiable with its red frontage, it is thus unlikely to cross there her seductive neighbor or her extravagant co-tenant.

Speaking of Mindy, it is in the heart of the Palais Royal Garden that Emily meets her during her first Parisian lunch break. Over the course of the episodes, we will often see the 2 friends meet in this large green space next to Daniel Buren's very Instagrammable artistic work, Les Deux Plateaux, but also the historic Grand Véfour.

In this Michelin-starred restaurant, which has been open since 1784, several iconic scenes take place, such as the one where the heroine tries unsuccessfully to get a reservation. When she's not at the restaurant, Emily works at 6 Place de Valois, in the offices of the marketing agency run by Sylvie Grateau. Although Savoir's offices are fictional, the pretty pedestrian square is home to the real Patrick Fourtin art gallery and the Bistrot Valois, where she regularly meets up with her colleagues.
Finally, how can you portray the charm of Paris without showing Montmartre? In the five seasons, there are several scenes shot on location, such as the one where Emily sets up her marketing campaign for Hästen beds at the end of Rue de l'Abreuvoir. At the top of the street, we also see her having a drink with Mindy on the terrace of the famous Maison Rose, and it is in front of the very romantic Je t'aime wall that she invites Gabriel, or on the square of the historic artists' studio Le Bateau Lavoir that she evokes the Belle Epoque with her colleague Luc.

Educating yourself with Emily

Little known to Parisians, it is in the heart of the magical Museum of Fairground Arts that the Fourtier evening takes place in episode 7 of season 1.

The opportunity to see some of the wonders housed in this atypical museum such as a merry-go-round working with bicycles, centenary carousels and several fairground games such as the one reproducing a race... of waiters!

Just as magical in terms of atmosphere, the Atelier des Lumières also welcomes our heroine during a retrospective devoted to Vincent Van Gogh.

In this former foundry, the digital exhibition immerses her and her friends in, among others, the beautiful Starry Night (1888).

Another little-known place that the great Dutch painter would surely have appreciated: the Museum of Romantic Life where Emily brings Gabriel at the end of season 3. In the former studio of the painter Ary Scheffer, our characters come across the portrait of George Sand (whose male first name disturbs the American) and temporarily plunge into the artistic effervescence of 19th century Paris.

We stay in the 19th century with one of the capital's patrimonial jewels, the Palais Garnier, which Emily discovers at the beginning of her adventures thanks to her meeting with a certain Thomas.

If the relationship, started at the Café de Flore, will turn out to be short-lived, it will at least have allowed the heroine - and the spectators at the same time - to admire the grandiose spectacle offered by the historic Paris Opera.

Dive into historic Paris

In the last two seasons, Emily wanders down a street whose layout was already visible when the capital was still called Lutetia: Rue Saint André des Arts, located not far from Pont Neuf, which she also crosses. Although she could have taken the opportunity to visit La Samaritaine at the end of Paris' oldest bridge, she discovers another department store in season 4: Galeries Lafayette. When it comes to restaurants, our beloved American frequents several historic establishments: Bouillon Chartier, open since 1896, the world-famous Maxim's, and Le Train Bleu, a neo-baroque gem located in the heart of the Gare de Lyon train station. Three settings that have also been immortalized in cinema: the first in Jean Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement, the second in Chéri with Michelle Pfeiffer, and the third in the recent biopic dedicated to the world's first star, Sarah Bernhardt. The actress was a regular at Parisian cabarets in the late 19th century, but she never experienced the one where Mindy performs in season 5, the Crazy Horse.

In view of this little tour of the French capital, and the many other equally charming sites that complete the settings of the series, it is not surprising that Paris has recently regained its title of 1st world tourist destination.

Valerie from Comme des Français

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Ça c’est Paris

Educating yourself with Emily

Dive into historic Paris