Movie Set Locations

France

Paris, the capital of France. It is hard to imagine a French movie without one of Paris’ major landmarks in the background. The Eiffel Tower, the Arch, the romantic terraces, picturesque squares and parks and narrow streets; we all dreamed away, wishing we were there, while watching our favourite movies.

But also the busy train stations, the many cars and the notorious traffic jams have their place in these films. Some of the most spectacular car chases in movie history have taken place in this beautiful city.

Wonder along through the ‘City of Light’ and discover some of the most fascinating movie set locations in European cinema.

Paris

We start our tour in the very centre of the city, on the Île de la Cité, in front of the Notre Dame de Paris ('Our Lady of Paris' in French).

Here, in front of this Gothic cathedral lies a star. In the Middle Ages, this star was already considered the middle of the town. Everything in the city was measured from this point.

We take Rue d’Arcole and Pont d’Arcole on our left and walk onto the Place d’Hôtel de Ville. Here in front of the city hall we find our first locations. In The Bourne Identity we see Matt Damon (Jason Bourne) and Franka Potente (Marie) in their search for Mr Kane.

We wonder along the riverside of the Seine on the Quai de Gesvres and Quai de la Megisserie up to Pont Neuf. Pont Neuf means ‘new bridge’. But it is actually one of the oldest bridges in the city. We find two very recognisable scenes from The Bourne Identity here. On the corner of Quai de Louvre and Rue de la Monnaie stands la Samaritaine. This building in Art Nouveau style was Paris’ first department store. Its shops are closed now, and the building is being renovated into a luxury hotel. It is from la Samaritaine’s rooftop that Jason Bourne spies on Chris Cooper’s character, Conklin, in The Bourne Identity.

The bridge itself is also visible in the film. It is on Pont Neuf that Conklin’s men set a trap for Jason Bourne. But the bridge and the typical sales booths along side the bank are also in the shot when Jason Bourne plans his trap for the CIA-men, earlier in the movie.

This very same spot was used, with a reversed camera angle, in The Ninth Gate with Johnny Depp.

We take Rue de la Monnaie and turn left into Rue Rivoli. We stroll on to Place du Palais Royal. Both the Place du Palais Royal and the Passage Richelieu have an important role in the final of The DaVinci Code with Tom Hanks. In the last scene of the movie, we see Hanks’ character, Dr. Robert Langdon, walk from his hotel over the Place du Palais Royal and through the Passage Richelieu towards the Pyramide du Louvre.

We follow the same route. Here in front of the Musée du Louvre we find more set locations from The DaVinci Code. In the beginning of the movie we see Robert Langdon in front of the glass name plate of the museum.

When we turn around we see a roundabout called Cour Napoléon. In the middle of the roundabout lies the glass plate on which Dr. Robert Langdon stand at the end of the movie. The glass plate is NOT accessible. It is surrounded by low bushes. If you want to take a photo, you’ll need to find higher ground. We took our photos on the second floor from inside of the Louvre museum.

Our last outdoor location here at the museum is the passage leading to the Pont du Carrousel, on your left. If you position just right, you can match your picture with the scene from the movie in which the police cars shatter in their pursuit of the fugitive Dr. Langdon.

We walk back towards The Jardin du Carrousel and take the stairs down, towards the Carrousel du Louvre. In this subterranean shopping mall, we find the reversed pyramid, also visible in the beginning of The DaVinci Code. At this level you can walk on towards the entrance of the museum.

Note that you will need to pass a security check point. Make sure that you do not carry a pocket knife or other sharp objects. Here at the information counter and box offices of the museum you recognise the spiral staircase from the movie. If you like, you can go and visit the Louvre to see the actual Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo DaVinci. You are allowed to make pictures inside the museum.

Back outside we continue our way eastwards in the direction of the Jardin des Tuileries. Take a right turn on the Avenue du Général Lemonnier and hold at the corner with Rue Rivoli. In The Bourne Identity we see Jason and Marie after they obtained Mr. Kane’s hotel bill. The phone booth in the movie was actually a set piece.

Cross Rue Rivoli into Place des Pyramides. On Place des Pyramides we find Hotel Regina. The production crew shot both outside and inside the hotel. We wish to thank the bellboys, the people behind the reception and Miss Gourdés, who made it possible for us to make our photos in the hotel lobby.

We continue our walk alongside the Rue Rivoli and make a right turn at the fourth crossroads, into Rue de Castiglione. At the end of the street we stop at the crossroads of Rue Saint Honoré and Place Vendome.

In this street we find three locations from the final scene of The DaVinci Code: When you stand on the pedestrian crossing, you can make your photo in the direction of the Place Vendome. The jeweler on the corner is recognisable from the movie. The crosswalk itself and the arcade on the right are also visible in the movie.

In the centre of the Place Vendome stands the Colonne Vendome. The pedestal of this landmark can be seen during the car chase in The Bourne Identity. On your right you see the Hotel Ritz. The entrance of the hotel, with its white marquees, figure in the final of The DaVinci Code.

To continue our quest, we return on our steps and turn right into Rue Rivoli and walk on up till Place de la Concorde. In the middle of this squar stands an ancient Egyptian obelisk. It used to be one of the two obelisks, standing at the entrance of the Louxor temple in Egypt.
From this point you can look along side the Avenue des Champs-d’Elysées, right up till the Arc de Triomphe. This shot is used in many movies to give the scene that typical Paris vibe. For example: It is used as the opening shot for the Paris-sequence in National Treasure 2 – Book of Secrets with Nicolas Cage.

It is a long walk to the Arch. Who is up for some window shopping? So enjoy the shops and stores on the Champs-d’Elysées while you wonder on this famous boulevard. Just try to keep your money in your pockets!

When we were visiting Paris in September 2008, we had the opportunity to see the European premiere of Righteous Kill with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Both actors arrived on the red carpet at the UGC movie theatre on the Champs-d’Elysées. On the photos above you see the billboards at the red carpet. One of the bodyguards had the word ‘Wanted’ tattooed in his neck. Pacino and DeNiro shared a limo and took the time to sign autographs and give interviews.

At the end of the Champs-d’Elysée lies the Place de l’Etoile, on which stands the Arc de Triomphe. You can mount the Arch. From its rooftop you can make nice pictures from the Champs-d’Elysée and the city centre.

Our next location is to far away to walk to. If you wish to make this detour, we suggest that you take the subway (Rer A or Metro line M1) from Charle de Gaule – Etoile station to La Défence. If you rather continue the walk, you can just skip the next paragraph.

When you come out of the subway station La Défense, there is one building that immediately catches your eye. It is the Grand Arc. It is a modern white office block in the shape of an arch. It can be seen in The Bourne Identity.

When you look back in the direction of the city centre, you can make another matching picture with the scene in the movie. It is here that Jason Bourne comes as Mr. Kane and learns about Wombosi’s yacht. We need to get back to Place de l’Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe by underground.

From the Place de l’Etoile we go southwards into Avenue Kléber. It is in this street that we find Jason Bourne’s apartment. But first we take a circuitous route: We make a left turn at the third crossroads and follow Rue Belloy onto Place des États-Unis. This detour is worth the stretch, because we find another key location from The Bourne Identity here. Look for the HQ of Baccarat at 11, Place des États-Unis on your right. This former townhouse of Marie-Laure de Noailles was used as the Wombosi Mansion in the film.

We now make our way back to Avenue Kléber. In The Bourne Identity the street is renamed to Rue du Bois. You are looking for a branch bank of Le Crétit Lyonnais (LCL) on 104 Avenue Kléber. We came here in the autumn. There were no leafs on the trees at the time, so we could match our pictures perfectly with the movie.

The first shot of the building in the movie is the balcony, when our two heroes drive by the apartment.

The door in glass and wrought iron can be seen twice in the movie. We first see Jason and Marie ring at the door. Make sure that you fit the blue venetian blind of the fruit and vegetables shop in the background in your picture. The second time we see the door in the movie, the two are fleeing the apartment. At the opposite site of the street you can find the parking space where Jason parks Marie’s red Mini Cooper.

We continue our tour along the Avenue Kléber. Just note the name of the first street you cross: Rue de Longchamp is mentioned in the book The DaVinci Code. It is the address for the Swiss bank where Dr. Langdon and Sophie Neveu find the next clue in their search. The scene in the movie was not filmed here. The address in the book is in real life a drugstore.

Walk on till the roundabout. Take the third exit on the left and follow the park, passed the Palais de Chailot until you reach the Seine riverfront. After you have crossed the Pont d’iéna, hold at the crossroads with the Quai Branly. Here at the traffic lights another scene from The DaVinci Code was filmed. It might be not completely clear in the movie, but this is the location where the dump truck is pulled over and search, after Dr. Langdon and Sophie Neveu have escaped from the Louvre.

You are now also standing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. As said before, it is hard to imagine a movie set in France or Paris without a shot of this monument.

It is impossible to sum them all up; but one of the most memorable action scenes around and on the tower must be the pursuit of Grace Jones by Roger Moore in James Bond – A View to a Kill.

From the Quai Branly you can wonder on on the Port de Suffren and Promenade d’Australie right up to the Pont de Bir Hakeim.

The Pont de Bir Hakeim, with its distinctive flyover plays a role in National Treasure 2 – Book of Secrets. Walk across the bridge to the opposite side. When you are about three quarters across the bridge, you stand on the spot where Nicolas Cage’s character, Ben Gates, and Justin Bartha’s character, Riley, try to figure out the message on the replica of the Statue of Liberty. But you’ll notice very quickly that the statue is not there. But more on that, later on.

At the end of the Pont de Bir Hakeim, we come across a location of the motion picture Munich. The staircase at the bridge’s end and the flyover are both visible in the movie when Eric Bana’s and Daniel Craig’s characters meet with their informant.

We walk on along the Seine on the Voie George Pompidou till the next bridge, Pont de Grenelle. Walk on till the middle of the bridge. You now stand at the backside of the replica of the Statue of Liberty.

This is the second location where the scene with Nicolas Cage and Justin Bartha in National Treasure 2 – Book of Secret was filmed. With a little movie magic, it looks like the two are flying their remote controlled helicopter from Pont de Bir Hakeim toward Lady Liberty. But in real life, these two locations are about half a mile apart!

To make a beautiful photo, that also matches the movie, we suggest that you go to the middle of the next bridge, Pont Mirabeau. While you are on this bridge, have a good look at the road on the left river bed. You see an off ramp. Try to zoom in on the exit for your picture. Have you recognized this location? We will reveal the answer next time …

… to be continued.