When Visiting Paris, Do Not Miss Guided Tours on Famous Film Sets

The mayor of Paris records more than 900 film shoots in the city every year. Cinema has, therefore, become one of the most popular themes for the private visits organized by travel guides.

Discover the City of Lights… Camera, Action!

Peoples come in large numbers in Paris to visit the sets were box-office hits such as Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain or Da Vinci Code were shot. From Montmartre to the Canal St Martin, passing by the Sacré Coeur, this is where we shot the mythical scenes of the film The fabulous destiny of Amélie Poulain. Amélie is this dreamy girl who lives in the district of Montmartre, a neighborhood that represents the artistic character and dreamer of the character. But it's also the soul of Paris that unveils ... a little walk in the heart of Montmartre, in the footsteps of Amelie.

The Trocadero esplanade, the Grand Palais, the Bercy heliport, the Palais-Royal gardens, etc., are but a few of the 15 sets that are featured in the latest Mission Impossible: Fallout of Christopher McQuarrie with Tom Cruise. The shot of the sixth installment of Agent Ethan Hunt’s adventures took 36 days of shooting in the heart of Paris. There are so many sites to visit in Paris.

Montmartre, a must-see during cinema tours

If there is one place that sums up Paris alone, it's Montmartre. Writers and painters have long found their inspiration, and it is not surprising that, from the beginning, cinema has sought to fix on film a soul and an atmosphere so singular and photogenic.

Montmartre and its mythical places: Pigalle and rue Lepic, the Sacré-Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. Montmartre of pleasure and crime. Montmartre where reality and dream merge.

Lise Pires, who is a guide during the day and an extra at night, masters the subject. She organizes thrilling guided tours in Paris on the theme of cinema, with a focus on Montmartre. The renewed interest in these walks is due to Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain’s success. People of all ages and very different backgrounds appreciate this original way of discovering the city.

Generations of filmmakers have used Montmartre as a filming set. The district hence is featured in several scenes of La grande vadrouille (1966), Mesrine (1984), L’auberge espagnole (2001), La Môme (2007), and, of course, Dalida (2017), whose house can be seen during tours in Montmartre. During a tour to discover famous filming sets in Montmartre, the Paris tour private guide will show the group the grocery store, Maison Collignon, where a sequence of Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain was shot.

According to Patricia Firriolo, CEO of France Tourisme, a Paris travel planner, the success of the movie Da Vinci Code has significantly contributed to the publics’ thirst for guided tours about cinema. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of visitors of the Louvre Museum to see one of the main settings of Robert Langdon’s adventures.

The guides have gradually adapted the tours’ route to new films and included new districts like Montmartre and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. From September to June, at least six visits a week are organized so that people can join when it suits them. Luc Besson’s Cité du Cinéma, known as the biggest "cathedral of cinema" in Europe, is also much in demand.

With this tour operator, people can live an extraordinary experience, become an actor for an afternoon, thanks to a creative screenplay written by a real comedian. One thing is for sure: thanks to the charm of its natural setting, The City of Light will remain the film makers ‘ first choice for many years.