From an Audrey Hepburn classic to a pandemic hit, fall in love with La Ville-Lumière over and over again. Let the marathon begin!
The Olympics fever is well underway as the whole world counts down to the games in Paris. Whether you’re flying to the City of Light for the event, or cheering for your favorite athletes at home, you can start dialing up the excitement by embarking on your own Parisian marathon.
Before panic ensues, this is not a track-and-field requirement. The proposal is to live vicariously through narratives set in La Ville-Lumière. From stories of romance to musicals and goose-chase thrillers, New York is not the only state of mind around here.
1. Midnight in Paris, 2011
Most people look to Paris as an escape, and this is exactly what disillusioned screenwriter Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) does. One night he dines with esteemed auteur F. Scott Fitzgerald and wife Zelda in the 1920s and another instance he runs into writers Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Directed by Woody Allen, this fantasy-comedy film explores a magical realism angle which further illuminates the sheen and shine of the city.
2. Charade, 1963
Romance and espionage all in one? Count us in! Touted as the “best [Alfred] Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made,” the film stars Cary Grant as a man with an agenda and Audrey Hepburn as the widow who gets dragged on a wild goose chase across Paris. Directed by Stanley Donen, it’s a delicious caper with a snappy script and an all-star cast that includes Walter Matthau, George Kennedy and James Coburn.
3. Emily in Paris, 2020-present
, anyone? This pandemic-born series was both the triumph and tribulation of the world. Starring the charming Lily Collins, Emily Cooper is an American marketing girl who gets shipped off to Paris to provide the red, white and blue treatment to its French counterpart. The show is known for its wild fashion choices and a showcase of the life as a single career woman in the city of love, where anything is bound to happen.
4. The Devil Wears Prada, 2006
Okay, so the film was not technically set in Paris, but here we see Paris as a goal—or at least in the eyes of fashion assistant Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt). She emphasizes this further during a conversation with then-frumpy (and pre-Vogue montage) Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Anne Hathaway) where she says curtly, “I go to Paris with [Miranda Priestly] every year.” The outfits are not to miss and the performance of the main characters, most notably Stanley Tucci as art director Nigel, when he says, “I get to come to Paris, and actually see Paris.” We all know how that ends.
5. Moulin Rouge, 2001
To this day, I still dream of Christian’s (Ewan McGregor) rendition of Your Song. He belts the high notes to courtesan performer Satine (Nicole Kidman) before they proceed to fall in love. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the story follows the couple as they navigate love and tragedy in front and behind the curtain, the manic ways in between and the spectacular jukebox musical of it all, beautifully set in the Montmarte quarter of Paris after dark.
6. Phantom of the Opera, 2004
I am not a big fan of the film (mainly because I am still upset they cast Gerard Butler as the Phantom — no hate to him, he’s amazing (the Phantom requires a certain skill set)—but I have to include it for cultural purposes. This is my favorite play of all time, and I urge you to catch it, specifically the 25th Anniversary edition with Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess. Set in Paris, the story follows a disfigured musical genius who falls in love with his protege Christine Daae, a budding opera singer.
7. Call My Agent!, 2015-2020
If you recognize a familiar face in Emily In Paris, it must be Philippine Leroy Beaulieu, who plays Sylvie Grateau. But in this, she is Catherine Barneville, in a story about a PR agency and their relationship with their French celebrity clientele. The series begins with the four main agents being asked to take over the agency after their founder dies, and chaos ensues, especially since their professional and personal lives intertwine.
8. Les Miserables, 2012
I truly enjoyed it when Tom Hooper brought this to life, save for the performance of Russell Crowe as policeman Javert. Not only were they able to do the stage play justice on screen, they actually had musically trained talents take on the roles. Set in a chaos-ridden Paris, the story details the lives of the Frenchmen leading up to the June Rebellion, beginning with bread thief and protagonist Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman).
9. Taken, 2008
Aside from redefining Liam Neeson’s career as an action star (and the birth of several memes), this film also served as a huge safety warning for solo travelers milling about in different countries. The story follows an ex-CIA officer who is forced to track down his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and her best friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) after they were kidnapped by human traffickers while on a trip to Paris.
10. Amelie, 2001
Poised as a whimsical depiction of Parisian life, Amelie stars the rambunctious Audrey Tautou as the titular character who sets out to change the lives of those around her with her delightful presence and highly active imagination.
Catch most of these films on streaming sites everywhere.
