“Take me to Paris…”
I really love Paris and when I lived in New York, I loved to throw Parisian movie nights for my friends. Sitting in front of the television, we all dreamed about the city of love and its romantic places and good food. It was easy to fall in love with the city. You can imagine how special it was for me when I first set foot on Parisian ground. I visited all the locations from my favorite movies; it felt like I was wind up on a film set!
If you’re not planning a trip to Paris soon, but you do want to experience the Parisian feeling, scroll through the list below for my favorite films. Buy or, even better, make some French food, open a bottle of wine and light the candles for a romantic touch. Invite your friends and press on play.
I’m sure these films want to make you to book a flight to Paris immediately!
Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
This film has stolen everyone’s heart. The movie tells the story of the shy, but charming Amélie (played by Audrey Tatou), a young woman who finds out that she loves to make other people happy with little things. The story is set in a fairytale Montmartre.
Midnight in Paris (2011, Woody Allen)
A delightful film about the nostalgic Gil (Owen Wilson), a successful screenwriter who works on his first novel, but suffers from all the uncertainties that a writer can have. When he strolls one night through the city of light, he ends up in a strange way in the 1920s, where he meets Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Picasso. The movie shows us a beautiful Paris and the music is so great!
Two day in Paris (2007, Julie Delphy)
Marion (Julie Delphy) is a French photographer who lives in New York with her neurotic and hypochondriac American friend (Adam Goldberg). After a failed trip to Venice that was planned to revitalize their relationship, they take the night train to Paris and decide to stay there for two days. Their relationship gets a bit under pressure when Jack learns about the life Marion led before they were together. I laughed so much about this movie and still watch it regularly.
Moulin Rouge! (2001, Baz Luhrmann)
This Oscar-nominated musical film takes place around the Moulin Rouge during the Belle Epoque in the late 19th century. The young British writer Christian travels to Montmartre and becomes friends with some artists, who take him into a world of parties, absinthe and the lifestyle of a bohemian. Let yourself be immersed in the movie and enjoy the music!
La Vie en Rose (2007, Olivier Dahan)
This Oscar-winning film (best actress and best grime) tells the turbulent and tragic life story about Edith Piaf. Edith grew up with her drinking grandmother in a brothel. When her father forces her to sing on the streets of Paris, she runs away and drifts through the city singing with her half-sister Simone. After her discovery, Edith leads a grand and compelling life, but she also has to endure a lot of misery. Keep the tissues close…
And there is much more, like Ratatouille (2007, Brad Bird), The Da Vinci Code (2006, Ron Howard), Hugo (2011, Martin Scorsese), Before Sunset (1994, Richard Linklater) and Paris, Je t’aime (2006, including Joel and Ethan Coen, Gérand Depardieu)