As one of Europe’s most scenic countries with such a variety of landscapes and backdrops, the whole of France could be one big film set. It has proven to have enduring appeal with the film industry. Many directors, both national and foreign, have set their action in film locations in France, places that have often become stars of the show in their own right. But to find the most famous sets, you need to narrow the field. And we’ve done just that with a list of our favourites by regions of France.
Famous film locations in Paris
As is the case with most capital cities, Paris stars on the big screen. Iconic sights like the Eiffel Tower, monuments and backdrops in the City of Light appear time and time again from feature films to TV shows such as 2020’s Emily in Paris on Netflix. From the very beginnings of cinema in the silent crime movie Les Fântomas, directed by Louis Feuillade in 1913, to the much more recent Paris est à nous (Elisabeth Vogler, 2020), the French capital has taken centre stage. These are our picks:
Best vintage musical set in Paris – An American in Paris (1951)
Vincente Minnelli put Gershwin’s music to film with dancer extraordinaire Gene Kelly and co-star Oscar Levant, whose character is “the only Adam in Paris without an Eve”. The love triangle plot takes you the singing and dancing through Paris. Most of the locations are sets rather than the real thing, but you could only be in Paris.
Best flashback film set in Paris – Midnight in Paris (2011)
Two eras come together in one of Woody Allen’s most acclaimed films. Screenwriter Owen Wilson is on holiday in contemporary Paris when he discovers a street corner that takes him back in time to the height of the roaring 20s and the thriving Parisian arts scene. The city, particularly the Seine River, has a central role throughout the film and could be described as the co-star.
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Best musical film set in Paris – Moulin Rouge! (2001)
The glitzy extravaganza starring Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor and Montmartre’s cabaret is one of the most successful musical movies ever. While the film centres on the dancing and singing at the Moulin Rouge (and urges you long to go to one of the performances), the director Baz Luhrmann ensures that Paris la nuit certainly gets plenty of the limelight.
Best life lesson film set in Paris – My Old Lady (2014)
English Dame Maggie Smith and American Kevin Kline come together in Paris in Israel Horowitz’s debut as a director. The City of Light stars mostly as Kline’s inherited apartment (and Smith’s rental home) but there are also plenty of this-could-only-be-Paris shots. Perfect backdrops for Kline’s realization that there is “no greater wealth than life left”.
Best animated film set in Paris – Ratatouille (2007)
Famous film locations in France don’t have to be authentic. This Pixar classic stars Remy the rat who aspires to become the greatest chef in Paris while he works undercover of the kitchen boy’s hat. An animated Parisian restaurant life and classic French dishes – confit byaldi is the film’s elaborated version of ratatouille – both take centre stage with the city itself more of a backdrop. But again, you could only be in Paris.
For more Provençal dish inspiration, read this
Famous film locations in the French Riviera
At the other end of the country in the south of France, the French Riviera has lent its varied scenery to many films. And as a result, is just as famous on screen as Paris. Not just the sparkling Mediterranean and the high mountains, but the iconic cities of Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo have all been stars of the show on more than one occasion, such as:
Best hairpin bends set in the French Riviera – To Catch a Thief (1955)
Big-screen pin-ups Cary Grant and Grace Kelly star in this Hitchcock classic where Cannes and Nice provide jaw-dropping backdrops to their romance and Grant’s cat burglaries. Several scenes such as the drive to the picnic with Cannes in the background rank among the most iconic on screen for many film buffs. And Kelly was so taken with the area that she stayed forever after marrying Rainier of Monaco later that year.
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Best French fashions on set in the French Riviera – Two for the Road (1967)
British actors Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney explore the French Riviera as they road trip through France on their way to St Tropez. As well as simply stunning scenery, you also get to enjoy Hepburn in one fashion statement after another including a vintage knitted bikini and flower swimming hat.
See photos of these famous film locations in France
Best scantily-clad film set in the French Riviera – And God Created Women (1956)
For St Tropez, international limelight was a distant dream in the future when French sex symbol Brigitte Bardot put herself and the resort firmly on the movie map. Directed by her husband, Roger Vadim, Bardot romps through the film wearing very little as the Mediterranean beach town sparkles in the background. And while she’s there, Bardot also makes la Tarte Tropézienne one of the most famous pastries in France.
Best comedy film set in the French Riviera – Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Michael Caine, Steve Martin and Glenne Headly, together with several towns on the Côte d’Azur, come together in the Frank Oz remake. The result is a side-splitting film, packed with comic adventures, all with Mediterranean landscapes in the background. And judging from the reviews the film received at the time they make a winning combination.
Famous film locations in Burgundy
One of the world’s most famous wine-producing regions also turns out to look stunning on screen. Vineyards take centre stage, of course, but the pastoral scenery and stunning villages also grab their share of the limelight.
Best wine film set in Burgundy – Back to Burgundy (2017)
Director Cédric Klapisch puts the action at the heart of a family vineyard, under dispute by three siblings after the death of their father. The rolling Burgundy countryside and the changing seasons in the vines plus plenty of house wine allow the characters to come to the conclusion that “home is always with you”.
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Best food film set in Burgundy – Chocolat (2000)
Joanne Harris’ best-selling novel became a box office hit when Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina and Johnny Depp show a traditional French village “how to love, laugh and truly live”. The fictional village of Lansquenet is actually Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in Burgundy with the Dordogne River also playing a major role.
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Famous film locations in Bordeaux and nearby
The other most famous wine-producing area in France makes a great location on film too. We’ve chosen the following two films as the best examples of Bordeaux and its surroundings on the big screen.
Best vineyard film set in Bordeaux – You Will Be My Son (2011)
Family drama comes to a head in a picturesque vineyard in St-Émilion as the overbearing father fights his reluctance to let his son take over the estate. Red Bordeaux wine co-stars in all its forms as the film, directed by Gilles Legrand, takes you through the rolling hills in one of the prettiest regions in the Gironde. Château Clos Fourtet is the main set.
Best seaside film set in Biarritz – Chéri (2009)
Belle-Epoque interiors and Biarritz in all its seaside glory come together in a romantic comedy, directed by Stephen Frears and based on a novel by Colette. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the courtesan who seduces (and falls in love with) her friend’s 19-year-old son. The Atlantic proves it can be just as beautiful as the Mediterranean on screen while the Hotel du Palais at Biarritz adds just the right touch of old-world glamour.
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Famous film locations in Provence
Provence, an eternal source of inspiration for writers and poets, also turns out to make the perfect backdrop on screen.
Best Provence landscape on film – A Good Year (2006)
This film starring Russell Crowe is the result of the tandem of director Ridley Scott and writer Peter Mayle. A Good Year portrays the journey of a London trader who discovers the simple life of Provence, showcased in some of the region’s most iconic locations such as Avignon, Bonnieux, Cucuron and Marseille. And to add to the film’s appeal, Albert Finney (Crowe’s uncle) swaps the French Riviera for Provence nearly 40 years later.
Take a Provence cruise to the location for yourself
Famous film locations in Brittany
Our final region for famous film locations in France takes us up to the northwest corner. Brittany, a land of windswept coasts and Atlantic beaches, also does well as a movie backdrop when filming in France.
Best landscape film set in Brittany – Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Described by Vanity Fair as “a film that truly earns the term exquisite”, Céline Sciamma’s film takes the Breton island of Quiberon as its main location. Set in 1770, the film’s love affair is reflected in the island’s precipitous cliffs and wild beaches featured throughout. The interiors were shot over 500km away at La Chapelle-Gauthier in the Île de France region.
Best seaside film set in Brittany – Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953)
One of the classic stars of French film, Jacques Tati, invented one of its best-loved characters, Monsieur Hulot. In this equally classic film, Tati pokes gentle fun at the French on holiday while showcasing the lovely beaches at St-Marc-sur-Mer on the mouth of the Loire River in Brittany. In honour of the slapstick cinema genius, the resort’s main sands are known as La Plage de Monsieur Hulot.
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