Whether you'd like to do a walking tour of the aesthetic gram worthy spots in Paris where the famous Netflix series Emily in Paris is shot or you want to dive deeper into some of the scenes from the series inspired by French history and culture - we have you covered.
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Emily in Paris inspired self guided walking tour (with a Google map route)
Ernest Hemingway has referred to the French capital as “a moveable feast” that is bound to cast its impression on you with its beautiful architecture, cafe culture and manicured green spaces. We see how wandering down the backstreets of Paris changes Emily’s life and who she is as a person Season after Season. It is indeed impossible to be objective about the City of Love. Here is a list of a few highlights of the places to visit in Paris whether you’re a traveller or spending some time here.
Note + Spoiler Alert: This may not be a complete list of all the shooting spots but a curation of it and this piece may contain spoilers for the show if you haven’t watched it yet.
Emily in Paris Season 1 Shooting Spots in Paris
Place de l’Estrapade - Emily’s apartment, Gabriel’s restaurant (originally Terra Nera restaurant) and the real-life bakery La Boulangerie Moderne
Jardins du Luxembourg
Place de Valois - Savoir office building, Bistrot Valois
Palais Garnier Opera House
Cafe de Flore
Montmartre - La Maison Rose, Rue de l’Abreuvoir (one of the oldest cobblestoned streets in Paris), Sacre Couer, Moulin Rouge
Emily in Paris Season 2 Shooting Spots in Paris
Le Cafe Marly at the Louvre
Pont Neuf
Fontaine Saint Michel
Palace of Versailles
Emily in Paris Season 3 Shooting Spots in Paris
Musee D’Orsay
The Eiffel Tower summit
You can do a self-guided walking tour of Paris inspired by Emily in Paris in about 3-4 hours following this route on Google maps. This excludes the Eiffel tower summit and the Palace of Versailles as you will have to set aside some more time for them.
Understanding the cultural differences
Essentially the whole show is like looking at Paris from the lens of an American perspective and understanding French culture and its differences when juxtaposed with the American way of life as interpreted by the American team who put together the concept of the show. However, full marks to the casting director for together such a phenomenal cast together for the show.
Key characters in the show
Emily the quintessential career oriented young woman looking for external validation at every juncture is the American stereotype for a high achiever, a people pleaser and a workaholic.
She is juxtaposed with an older, more self assured Sylvie who plays her French boss with a very different work ethic, work style and way of looking at things.
There is also Mindy who leads a dichotomous life with being the heiress of a Chinese billionaire and creating her own identity in Paris from taking care of babies, to being the La Dame Pipi at clubs to busking on the streets of Paris. This character’s dichotomy also extends to the fact that she is of Asian descent and in Season 1 acquaints Emily with the French lifestyle and French culture. Emily’s interactions with Mindy are the classic two non-French women finding a comrade in each other in an otherwise aloof Paris.
Paris is indeed the City of Love for Emily
The three love interests of Emily across the three seasons are the stereotypical portrayal of Frenchmen as interpreted by someone who may not be French.
First, there is Gabriel, the hot French chef who is proud of his food, roots and culture.
Second, Thomas, the intellectual snob who epitomises the literary intelligentsia that frequented the iconic Parisian cafes in Saint Germain to people watch and form opinions.
Third, Timothee, the amateur sommelier who turns out to be a French man in the making (ROFL). And then to spice things up, we throw an Englishman in the mix with Alfie who is pursuing a career in finance, too proud to learn French and not too fond of Paris unlike Emily. He is in every aspect the polar opposite of Emily making the attraction almost predictable.
Corporate America v/s the French work culture
There are certain cultural differences between the Americans and the French especially in the professional spheres that keep coming up in the show season after season. Some of them being - the French style of hugging in a social setting with the two flying kisses vis-a-vis the American style of hugging which may just be a firm handshake with professional relationships, not discussing work at parties, not calling your co-workers over the weekend, these are termed as illegal in France which seems to be a pretty harmless thing to do in the North American or even the Asian style of working. In fact in these cultures, working overtime and over the weekends is effectively rewarded.
Overall, there is a certain personal space that the French people want to be respected by colleagues and outsiders to their culture. They do not want to be available at all times, their mealtimes are non-negotiable and off limits, they also do not want everyone to know everything about them and they surely do not appreciate their lives to be an open book. As Sylvie keeps taunting Emily and the whole generation obsessed with social media that they lack an element of mystery that is alluring in itself.
Pardon my French, but at least speak in French
To befriend a Parisian, the best way to break the ice is to speak their language. They take it as a mark of disrespect for someone who cannot speak French to come to work in Paris. They can excuse tourists for speaking English or broken French by knowing the basics like Bonjour, Bonsoir or Merci and you can instantly notice the difference in their attitude towards you when you speak to them in their language.
Live to work v/s work to live
Overall, while Americans love the charm and beauty of Paris they do look for efficiency and modern amenities to add that layer of convenience to their life. After all their life does revolve around their work like most capitalism oriented countries including Asian countries. However, the French are more traditional like most other socialism oriented European countries who value certain aspects like natural air over the comfort of an air conditioner, looking down at frozen food and opting for fresh produce and baked goods, riding their bikes on the streets of France as against opting for a tech enabled stationary cycle as shown in Emily in Paris (although we do see them falling for the conveniences of the modern world eventually).
What the local Parisians have to say
While the American interpretation of the French capital is widely known, it would be interesting to see what a French person thinks of these interpretations and how they look at the cultural differences with North America and Asia. For example, there is a YouTuber named Lucile who is French, lives in Paris and has an American boyfriend and busts myths about Parisians as depicted in Emily in Paris and other Hollywood movies. Upon interacting with a local French driver of a vintage car, he did confirm the obsession over freshly cooked food, the obsession with handmade baked goods over industrial products and the paid time off for five weeks that most French people enjoy in the summers.
Geeking out: Signs, symbols and semiotics
We are taking Emily’s date with Thomas, the Professor of Semiotics a bit too seriously by reading into a few of the scenes from the show.
Emily's need for constant external validation
When we look at the protagonist Emily, she is a people pleaser looking for validation for every idea she bounces, every choice she makes and every decision she takes. We see her need to be validated like most of us in her generation and younger that look for external validation being fulfilled with her American-esque ideas being liked and approved by French clients, increase in her personal Instagram follower count and engagement and even a retweet by Brigitte Macron (wife of the French President) on one of her opinionated tweets on the vagina being referred to as masculine in the grammar of the French language.
However, one person she is constantly trying to seek validation from is Sylvie, who she does not successfully befriend till the end of season 1. This surely changes by the end of season 2 when Sylvie starts her own marketing firm and offers Emily a job. Even when Emily makes it to the coveted La Liste of Paris instead of celebrating her achievement she was worried about how this would displease Sylvie as she may have taken over her thunder. Sylvie and Emily are often shown wearing outfits that belong to very contrasting colour palettes, signifying their parallel worldviews.
French fashion designers peace out
The two important developments in the final episode of Season 2 are iconic with the Palace of Versailles as the backdrop. We see two well known French designers making peace with each other as an homage to the Treaty of Versailles that was signed here that ended the first World War. However, the Treaty may not have been as successful to prevent another deadly World War 2 much like the thirst to outdo each other doesn’t die between the two French fashion designers and we see it boiling in Season 3 in a bigger way.
The French revolution against the American style of working
We also see Madeline, the American boss trying to get her French employees run the business in a very American way and Sylvie along with her two most loyal colleagues, Luc and Julien resigning calling this move a French Revolution. The Palace of Versailles has also witnessed the French Revolution that led to the downfall of the French Monarchy as they were not aware of the needs of their people and tried to rule them from their own little bubble. There were great visual references to Queen Marie Antoinette with the Let Them Eat Cake campaign that was inspired by the ignorant Queen’s remark back in the day when the French bourgeois did not even have ample supply of bread to eat, “why dont they eat cake then.”
Crossing over to the other side of the river Seine (and the Atlantic Ocean)
Emily in Paris Season 2 ends with Emily having to make a decision between going back to Chicago with her boss Madeleine and treading a known, safe career path and bag that long awaited promotion versus staying back in Paris and joining Sylvie’s newly formed marketing agency that didn’t even have a name yet. She is shown having made up her mind at the iconic Pont Neuf bridge which is the oldest standing bridge in Paris across the Seine river and ironically is named Neuf which means new in French. This is ironic as it was the newest bridge in the 17th century when it was built but is the last one standing till date. This is significant to Emily’s life who is no longer the newcomer to Paris, just treating the city as a little segway for a year but is actually sucked into the ecosystem and as Sylvie says, “Emily you are getting more and more French by the day.”
Sneaking in the Indian perspective
While we as Indians lack any form of representation in the show it surely nurtures our romantic perception of Paris. A very relatable scenario from the series is when Emily meets with a fellow American from the American Friends of Louvre and they visit a restaurant for lunch where the menu is in English, they have a cheeseburger with fries without being judged and also discuss how relieved they were for not rolling their Rs for a change. While both Emily and the other character loved Paris and spoke French to fit in they did feel homesick at times and found comfort in familiarity.
This whole setting is relatable to us as Indians as our lifestyles are completely different from the Western world. For example, we attach more value to home cooked food, any food that feels fresh and wholesome and is not made of yeast (we do get tired of bread while travelling in Europe), we start looking up to the good old jet spray over a toilet paper and all the people back home who are always happy to help like our watchman, driver or maid. You don't have any of them in that part of the world and you are so happy to see all of them whenever you’re back home in India.
There are some things you simply can’t wrap your heads around - like their definition of “crowded.” When they say that the gallery in the Louvre that houses the Mona Lisa is very crowded, I imagined being pushed by a sea of humans with someone shouting walk ahead or keep going at the top of their voice. But there were barely 40 or 50 persons at a time trying to get a photo with the masterpiece in a civilised manner, with your personal space intact and you were able to stand and watch her for a good few minutes before you could pass by. Even when they say the Paris metro is crowded - yes it is crowded enough for you to not be able to get a place to sit but if you have travelled by the local trains in Mumbai then this is truly comfortable.
Last word
However, I must say that I have never felt overdressed or judged while walking fully decked up in the streets of Paris which I’d probably not do as easily back home in India. But I was happy to see familiar logos like that of Paul, Starbucks, Louis Vuitton et al which are very much present in Paris equivalent cities in India like Mumbai. Even when it came to the much revered French desserts - there wasn’t a dessert that I came across that wasn’t available in the posh patisseries of Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore. And after eating these desserts in France, I did beam with pride that what we have back home is equally good if not better for our desi palates. Whatever our global standing as a country, I can vouch for the fact that I can fit into Paris much more easily than my grandfather would have been able to at my age during his time. And that does say a lot about how far we have come.
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