Obsessed With Emily in Paris? 10 Places in Paris You Need to See IRL
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Aug 2026

Author: Jinjiri

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Obsessed With Emily in Paris? 10 Places in Paris You Need to See IRL

Paris has always been romanticized, but Emily in Paris did something more. We watch Paris through Emily’s eyes, someone who could see beauty in the most ordinary corners: the apartment stairwell, the bridge at golden hour, the café that looks a little too perfectly pink. If you've ever paused an episode just to Google "where is that," this is essentially your answer key. Among the most searched Paris Tourist Places, we have picked the ones that were part of Emily’s daily life, which made her fall for Paris even when she didn’t intend to. 

So what are the best Emily in Paris locations to actually visit? Ten spots come up again and again, ranging from Emily's own neighbourhood to grand landmarks, formal gardens, one very photogenic bridge, and a covered passage most tourists walk straight past. None of them require a guide or a reservation. A decent pair of shoes helps more than people expect.

1. Place de l'Estrapade: Start Where Emily's Paris Began

This is where the show plants its flag, more or less. Emily's fictional apartment sits above this small, sloped square in the 5th arrondissement, right in the Latin Quarter. It's not glamorous in the way later locations are, and that's sort of the point.

The square itself is modest: a fountain, a few benches, cafés on the edges rather than anything flashy. In the show, it plays as cosy and slightly cramped, which is roughly accurate to how a lot of real Parisian apartments actually feel. The area around it is more for students and academics than for tourists, since the Panthéon and the Sorbonne are both a short walk away.

  • Located in the 5th arrondissement, near Rue Mouffetard
  • No entry fee, no set hours; it's a public square
  • Best paired with a walk down Rue Mouffetard for its market street energy

Where is Emily's apartment in Emily in Paris? Right here, on this square, though the interior shots were filmed elsewhere.

Fan tip: don't just stop for the photo. Circle the block. The narrow streets branching off Place de l'Estrapade capture more of the Latin Quarter's actual texture than the square alone does.

2. Pont Alexandre III: The Parisian Main-Character Moment

If one bridge in Paris photographs like it's auditioning for a film, it's this one. Ornate lamp posts, gilded statues, Belle Époque detailing on every surface. It connects the Invalides side of the river to the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, and it shows up more than once across the series, usually during a moment meant to feel important.

Structurally, the bridge dates to 1900, when it was built for the Universal Exposition and named after the Russian Tsar Alexander III as a nod to Franco-Russian relations. That history barely registers with most visitors, who are usually more interested in the view down the Seine toward the Eiffel Tower.

  • Free to walk across, open 24 hours
  • Sunrise and just before sunset give the best light for photos
  • Combine with a stop at Palais Garnier or Place Vendôme, both a short taxi or metro ride away

Which bridge is featured in Emily in Paris? Pont Alexandre III, repeatedly, and it's easy to see why once you're standing on it.

3. Jardin du Palais Royal: Emily's Chic Paris Stroll

Tucked behind the Louvre, the Palais Royal gardens feel almost secretive given how central they are. Rows of clipped linden trees, a rectangular lawn, arcades on three sides lined with boutiques and small cafés. Emily wanders through here in a scene that leans into exactly this kind of understated elegance.

Just outside the garden proper sit Daniel Buren's black-and-white striped columns, an installation from the 1980s that still divides opinion among Parisians, though tourists mostly just enjoy the contrast against the classical architecture.

Where is the Palais Royal garden in Emily in Paris? Behind the Comédie-Française, a five-minute walk from the Louvre's main entrance.

What to do here besides the photo:

  • Walk the full perimeter of the garden, not just the central lawn
  • Duck into the covered arcades, particularly Galerie de Valois
  • Browse the small antique and design boutiques tucked into the colonnades
  • Continue on foot toward the Louvre, since it's barely five minutes away

4. Palais Garnier: Paris Goes Full Drama

This is where the show shifts gears from Emily's everyday life to something grander. Palais Garnier, the 19th-century opera house designed by Charles Garnier, is one of the more theatrical buildings in the city, inside and out. Marble staircases, a ceiling painted by Chagall, and chandeliers that seem slightly too large for the room.

Interior scenes filmed here lean hard into that opulence, and it's not exaggerated for the cameras. Visitors who go inside, even without a performance ticket, can access the grand foyer and auditorium on most days via a self-guided visit.

  • Guided and self-guided tours run daily, subject to performance schedules
  • The grand staircase alone is worth the entry fee
  • Book ahead during peak season, since access can be restricted around rehearsals

Is Palais Garnier featured in Emily in Paris? Yes, more than once, usually for scenes meant to signal status or spectacle.

Emily energy, basically: opera-house glamour and a reasonable excuse to dress slightly better than the day calls for.

5. Place Vendôme: Luxury Paris, Emily Edition

Octagonal, symmetrical, and lined almost entirely with jewellery houses and the Ritz Paris. Place Vendôme is where the show's more aspirational storylines tend to play out, and in reality, it's exactly as polished as it looks on screen.

The square dates back to the late 1600s, commissioned under Louis XIV, with a column at its centre modelled loosely on Trajan's Column in Rome. Most visitors don't linger long unless window-shopping is the goal, since there's little to actually do here beyond admire the architecture and the storefronts.

  • Home to Cartier, Chaumet, Boucheron and the Ritz Paris
  • Best visited in the late morning, before the square gets crowded with tour groups
  • 10 to 15 minutes is usually enough unless shopping is genuinely on the agenda

What luxury Paris locations are featured in Emily in Paris? Place Vendôme tops the list, followed closely by the boutiques along Avenue Montaigne.

Best combined with: Palais Garnier and Jardin du Palais Royal, both within a 15-minute walk.

6. Trocadéro and Palais de Chaillot: Eiffel Tower, But From the Good Side

Every Eiffel Tower photo looks roughly the same unless it's taken from Trocadéro. The terrace at Palais de Chaillot sits directly across the river, offering the kind of unobstructed, elevated view that most tower-adjacent photos can't match.

Palais de Chaillot itself, built for the 1937 World's Fair, houses several museums, though most Emily in Paris fans are here for the exterior terrace rather than anything indoors.

  • Best visited early morning, before 9 am, to avoid crowds and tour buses
  • Evening visits work well too, particularly around the tower's hourly light show after dark
  • The steps down toward the Seine offer a slightly different angle worth trying

Where can you get the best Eiffel Tower views in Paris? Trocadéro, without much competition.

Practical tip: this spot gets genuinely crowded by mid-morning. If photography matters more than sleeping in, get there early.

Suggested Read: Famous Landmarks in Paris and the Stories Behind Them

7. La Maison Rose, Montmartre: The Pink Café Stop

A small pink building on a quiet Montmartre corner, La Maison Rose has become something of an unofficial photo landmark, partly thanks to the show and partly because it's simply an unusually pretty building. It sits on Rue de l'Abreuvoir, a cobbled street that feels closer to a village than the centre of a major capital.

Is La Maison Rose in Emily in Paris? Yes, briefly, though its reputation has grown well beyond its screen time.

Rather than treating it as a single photo stop, it works better as part of a longer Montmartre route:

  • Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a short uphill walk away
  • Place du Tertre, where street artists set up daily
  • The surrounding cobbled lanes, quieter and less touristy than the main square

8. Jardin du Luxembourg: A Quieter Side of Emily's Paris

Not every scene needs grandeur, and Luxembourg Gardens gives the show, and this itinerary, a slower pace. Formal French gardens, a central pond where children sail toy boats, gravel paths lined with statues of French queens.

Which Paris garden is featured in Emily in Paris? Jardin du Luxembourg, used for a handful of quieter, more reflective scenes.

  • Open year-round; hours vary seasonally, generally dawn until dusk
  • Free entry, though certain sections like the tennis courts require booking
  • Adjacent to the Luxembourg Palace, now home to the French Senate

Not every Emily-inspired stop needs to be glamorous. This is the place for the slower, more lived-in version of Paris, the one that doesn't need a filter.

9. Sainte-Chapelle: When Paris Gets Seriously Beautiful

This one isn't strictly an Emily in Paris location, but it earns its spot anyway. Sainte-Chapelle, on Île de la Cité, holds some of the most striking stained glass in the world, over 1,100 individual scenes across 15 towering windows, most dating to the 13th century.

What are the most beautiful places to visit near Emily in Paris locations? Sainte-Chapelle, a short walk from Notre-Dame, belongs on almost any serious Paris itinerary regardless of the show.

  • Visit on a sunny day, since natural light dramatically changes the windows' appearance
  • Tickets sell out during peak season; book online in advance
  • Pair with a visit to Notre-Dame and Conciergerie, both within walking distance

10. Passage Choiseul: The Hidden Paris Detour

Covered passages were once the shopping arcades of 19th-century Paris, and most have either disappeared or gone upscale. Passage Choiseul, near the Opéra, is one of the more intact and lived-in examples, home to bookshops, small cafés and the occasional costume workshop rather than luxury boutiques.

What are some lesser-known Emily in Paris filming locations? Passage Choiseul qualifies, a glass-roofed corridor that feels closer to old Paris than most tourist stops manage.

  • Free to walk through, open during regular shopping hours
  • Quieter than most central Paris attractions, even in high season
  • Good stop for browsing rather than sightseeing in the traditional sense

Check out our package: 7-Day France Tour Package: Paris Wonders & Mediterranean Charm

How to Plan an Emily in Paris-Inspired Day

Rather than bouncing across the city, these locations cluster reasonably well by neighbourhood.

Route

Locations

Best For

Central Paris and Luxury Emily

Jardin du Palais-Royal, Place Vendôme, Palais Garnier, Pont Alexandre III

Shopping, architecture, photos

Classic Paris Views

Trocadéro, Palais de Chaillot, Pont Alexandre III

Eiffel Tower views

Left Bank and Emily's Neighbourhood

Place de l'Estrapade, Jardin du Luxembourg, Sainte-Chapelle

Slower pace, local feel

Montmartre Day

La Maison Rose, Montmartre streets, Sacré-Cœur

Village atmosphere

Hidden Paris

Passage Choiseul, Palais Royal arcades

Off the main tourist track

If figuring out metro connections and daily routes sounds like more effort than it's worth, a structured itinerary through Europe tour packages by Travel Junky can cover most of these clusters without turning the trip into a full-time logistics exercise.

Best Time to Visit These Emily in Paris Locations

  • Spring: mild weather, gardens at their best, easy to combine multiple stops in one day
  • Summer: long daylight hours, but landmarks get genuinely crowded
  • Autumn: fewer crowds in areas like Montmartre and the gardens
  • Winter: festive atmosphere but shorter daylight, better to prioritise indoor stops like Palais Garnier and Sainte-Chapelle

Suggested Read: What to Eat in Paris for the First Time: A Simple, Honest Paris Food Guide

Tips for Visiting Emily in Paris Locations

  • Wear comfortable shoes. Emily survives Paris in heels; that's television, not advice.
  • Check opening hours in advance, particularly for ticketed sites
  • Avoid blocking entrances or private residences for photos; several of these locations are lived-in buildings
  • Expect crowds at major landmarks, especially Trocadéro and Place Vendôme
  • Group nearby locations together rather than crossing the city repeatedly
  • Leave some unplanned time. Some of the best moments happen off the list entirely

Follow Emily's Paris, Then Find Your Own

The appeal here was never really about recreating specific scenes shot for shot. It's about using a familiar show as an entry point into a city that has plenty to offer beyond it. Among the countless Places to Visit in Paris, these ten give a structured starting point, but the real value shows up in what happens between them: a wrong turn down an unmarked street, a café that wasn't on any list.

Follow Emily's footsteps for a day, a weekend, or a full Paris holiday. Just leave room in the itinerary for the places that never made it onto the show. Those are often where the city actually gets interesting. After all, the show is named Emily in Paris for a reason. Paris was never just the backdrop; it's the MAIN CHARACTER!
 

FAQ: Emily in Paris Travel Questions

What are the most famous Emily in Paris filming locations?
Place de l'Estrapade, Pont Alexandre III, Palais Garnier and Place Vendôme come up most often.

Where is Emily's apartment in Paris?
On Place de l'Estrapade in the 5th arrondissement, though interior scenes were shot on a set.

Can you visit Emily's apartment?
The square and building exterior are public, but the apartment interior isn't accessible to visitors.

Which bridge is featured in Emily in Paris?
Pont Alexandre III appears repeatedly throughout the series.

Is Palais Garnier in Emily in Paris?
Yes, used for several scenes involving grander, more dramatic storylines.

Where is La Maison Rose?
On Rue de l'Abreuvoir in Montmartre, close to Sacré-Cœur.

What Paris neighbourhood does Emily live in?
The Latin Quarter, near Place de l'Estrapade in the 5th arrondissement.

Can you visit all the Emily in Paris locations in one day?
Technically yes, but it involves a lot of movement. Splitting them across two or three days works better.

What are the best Emily in Paris locations for photos?
Pont Alexandre III, Trocadéro, and La Maison Rose tend to photograph best.

How many days do you need in Paris to visit these locations?
Two to three days comfortably covers all ten, with time left over for meals and unplanned wandering.

Trip Type