The most iconic Paris movie locations

As the birthplace of cinema, Paris has always been a mecca for filmmakers of all stripes and sensibilities. From Montmartre’s cobbled lanes and the Arc de Triomphe’s grandeur to the city’s elegant outdoor cafés, the French capital loves to set the stage for timeless romances, bold blockbusters and arthouse masterpieces.

With this list, we take you on a cinematic journey that showcases the city’s most iconic movie locations. Next time you’re onboard with us, you can also experience the magic with our award‑winning inflight entertainment and world-class film collection. 

Café des Deux Moulins

Montmartre is a charming hillside neighbourhood that’s no stranger to the big screen. Amid its vibrant market stalls and quaint streets lies Café des Deux Moulins , as seen in Amélie – a film that captures the city’s character, charm and beauty. 

Since the movie’s release in 2001, the café has become a pilgrimage site, with walls adorned with movie posters and memorabilia. 

Featured in: Amélie (2001)

Rue Foyatier and SacréCoeur Basilica

Montmartre’s rich heritage and architecture have inspired countless storytellers, especially in the action genre. In John Wick: Chapter 4, the SacréCoeur Basilica becomes the dramatic backdrop for the film’s finale, beginning with a brutal grind up the 222-step Rue Foyatier.

The ascent builds into one of the most unforgettable fight sequences in contemporary cinema, culminating in a duel at the basilica’s base. 

Featured in: John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023, available onboard), The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Shakespeare and Company

The legendary Shakespeare and Company  bookstore on the Left Bank was founded in 1951 by George Whitman and has become a bona fide cinematic icon.

Paying homage to its heritage, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris transports Gil, a screenwriter played by Owen Wilson, to 1920s Paris, where he shares a spirited exchange with Ernest Hemingway inside the storied centre of literature. 

Featured in: Julie & Julia (2009), Before Sunset (2004), Midnight in Paris (2011)

Galeries Lafayette Haussmann

Paris boasts countless rooftops, but arguably few as historic as Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. Recognised for its Art Nouveau dome, this grand department store also offers one of the city’s most breathtaking vantage points. 

From the terrace, you can see the cityscape and the Eiffel Tower, a resemblance of the rooftop scene in Disney and Pixar's Ratatouille, when Remy first gazes upon a glimmering Paris. 

Featured in: Fear Over the City  (1975)

Seine River and Notre Dame 

The Seine’s calm waters and historic bridges, coupled with Notre‑Dame’s Gothic silhouette, form a timeless tableau of faith, longing and reflection.

In the 2004 sequel of Richard Linklater’s decade-spanning Before trilogy, these landmarks serve not just as a backdrop to Jesse and Céline’s afternoon wanderings, but as emotional anchors – inviting audiences to fall in love, not only with the characters, but with the city itself. 

Featured in: Before Sunset (2004), Midnight in Paris (2011), Ratatouille (2007, available onboard), An American in Paris (1951) 

Moulin Rouge Cabaret 

At the foot of Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge , with its iconic red windmill, has embodied Parisian nightlife and bohemian spirit since 1889. Its dazzling performances also inspired the musical Moulin Rouge!, starring Nicole Kidman.

Although filmed in Australia, the movie celebrates the extravagant costumes and lavish stage designs that embellish a tale of passion and enduring love.

Featured in: Moulin Rouge! (2001, available onboard)

Grand Palais and Avenue de l’Opéra 

Famed for its colossal glass‑domed roof, the Grand Palais  stands as one of Paris’s largest exhibition halls and among the last surviving Beaux‑Arts masterpieces in the city.

It hosted sporting events during the 2024 Paris Olympics and even served as a dramatic location in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which culminated in a heart‑thumping motorcycle chase along Haussmann’s Avenue de l’Opéra.

Featured in: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023, available onboard)

Champs‑Élysées and Arc de Triomphe

The Champs‑Élysées, with its luxury boutiques, grand monuments and historic cafés, has doubled as a backdrop for high‑octane car chases and sweeping action sequences in numerous films over the years.

It also featured in Jean‑Luc Godard’s landmark Breathless, in which the Swiss iconoclast captured the Paris of the 1960s – gritty, rebellious and emblematic of the Nouvelle Vague. 

Featured in: Breathless (1960), Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), The Da Vinci Code (2006), John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023, available onboard)

Rue César Franck and Pont de Bir-Hakeim

Paris’s quieter streets carry as much weight as its epic boulevards. Rue César‑Franck, and the adjoining Rue Bouchut, reflect a prosaic rhythm that’s intimate yet distinctly Parisian, with charming outdoor cafés that lead to the steel masterpiece that is the Pont de Bir‑Hakeim, over the Seine. 

These landmarks were immortalised in the folding‑city sequence in Christopher Nolan’s widely acclaimed Inception.

Featured in: Inception (2017, available onboard), National Treasure (2004, available onboard), Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Eiffel Tower

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Eiffel Tower is Paris’s most iconic on‑screen landmark. Affectionately known as the Iron Lady, its glittering lights, intricate latticework and unmistakable silhouette serve as cinematic shorthand for love and art.

From Jackie Chan’s stunts in Rush Hour 3 to James Bond’s chase in A View to a Kill, it captivates audiences both as a dynamic stage for action and as the crown jewel of love stories.

Featured in: Sex and the City (2008), Ratatouille (2007, available onboard), Paris Holiday (2015, available onboard), Rush Hour 3 (2007, available onboard), Murder Mystery 2 (2023), From Paris with Love (2010)