Travelers seeking culture, romance, and flavorful cuisine flock to the City of Light to immerse themselves in all things French. A perfect way to get a taste of Paris before exploring the city is through film, so EW has assembled eight great movies for visitors and lovers of Paris.

1. Before Sunset (2004)

Director: Richard Linklater
Protagonists: Ethan Hawke (Jesse) and Julie Delpy (Celine)

Jesse: “What do you think were the chances of us ever meeting again?”

Celine: “After that December, I’d say almost zero. But we’re not real anyway, right? We’re just, uh, characters in that old lady’s dream.”

Ever meet the person of your dreams while traveling? Before Sunset, the sequel to Before Sunrise, follows the second meeting of Jesse and Celine. The two characters initially had a brief love affair after meeting on a train to Vienna, Austria. Nine years later, the two met again at Jesse’s book reading about the romance, at Shakespeare & Company in Paris. With just a few hours before Jesse’s plane leaves for the United States, Celine takes him on a stroll through Paris and a walk down memory lane. In addition to showcasing the beauty of Parisian life, Before Sunset delves into how the protagonists recall events, contrasting the idealism of our 20’s and the realism of the next stage of life.

Each person we meet in life—whether traveling or otherwise—provides a piece of our life’s puzzle. As Celine says, “you can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details.”

Sacre Coeur

2. Amélie (2001)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Protagonist: Audrey Tautou (Amélie)

Amélie: “I like to look for things no one else catches. I hate the way drivers never look at the road in old movies.”

It’s the details of Paris that make it such an alluring destination. Jeunet’s film provides a visual masterpiece, with a focusing on the musings of Amélie and her Montmartre neighborhood. Working as a waitress, Amélie spends her time attempting to help Parisians fix their lives. In the process, she realizes that it’s her own life that needs to be altered. Travelers will see a lot of themselves in Amélie’s character. They’ll also appreciate her father’s longing to travel, as well a her attempts to motivate him to follow through on that dream using a garden gnome.

3. The Dreamers (2003)

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Protagonists: Michael Pitt (Matthew), Eva Green (Isabelle) and Louis Garrel (Theo)

Isabelle & Theo: “We accept you, one of us! One of us!”

The ultimate experience in traveling or living abroad is being accepted as part of the local community. In The Dreamers, Matthew manages to become part of a Parisian family. He originally went to the City of Light as an American exchange student, with an obsessive love for the cinema. Set against the backdrop of turbulent May 1968 Paris, Matthew befriends Isabelle and Theo, two siblings who are a little too close for comfort. Along the way, Bertolucci infuses the film with his love of Paris. His audience slowly falls in love with the city and cinema itself as the characters interminably refer to and act out great film scenes.

As Matthew states, “I saw a movie at the cinémathèque française [and] I thought, “only the French…only the French would house a cinema inside a palace.”

La Sorbonne

4. Breathless or À bout de soufflé (1960)

Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Protagonists: Jean-Paul Belmondo (Michel Poiccard) and Jean Seberg (Patricia Franchini)

Patricia: “I entered this world on the Champs-Elysees, 1959. La trottoir du Champs Elysees. And do you know what my very first words were? New York Herald Tribune! New York Herald Tribune!”

As with Matthew in The Dreamers, Patricia Franchini is an American studying in Paris in Breathless. A journalism student at the Sorbonne, Patricia meets Michel, young troublemaker with an affinity for American cinema and petty theft. Along the way, Michel’s troubles escalate culminating in the shooting of a police officer. He turns to the alluring Patricia to provide him with shelter during the storm.

Godard, one of the leading directors of the French New Wave, provides audiences with one of the great films set in Paris. It gives viewers a taste of the city Paris in its hectic and revolutionary days.

5. 2 Days in Paris (2007)

Director: Julie Delpy
Protagonists: Adam Goldberg (Jack) and Julie Delpy (Marion)

Jack: “Can I use this thermometer?”
Marion: “I usually don’t use this one in the mouth. I mean…”
Jack: “Oh, come on! What is wrong with you?”
Marion: “What? It’s a French thermometer.”

Julie Delpy (Marion) returns to direct and star in a tale of a New York-based French woman in love with an American (see Before Sunset). 2 Days in Paris chronicles the couples’ trip to Europe including their sojourn to France. Marion and Jack follow the trail of many travelers who take off across the globe in hopes of rekindling their relationships. Unfortunately, for this couple, Paris is a tougher cultural experience than Jack can handle. Filled with humor and intellectual banter, 2 Days in Paris is a worth a watch.

6. Paris, je T’aime or Paris, I Love You (2007)

Directors: Twenty Different Individuals

Carol: “Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I’d never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn’t know what.”

Paris, je T’Aime is a moving tribute to the City of Light. Twenty directors filmed distinct segments capturing various facets of Parisian life, creating an ode to Paris that delves into the human experience and its connection to the urban landscape. Though the film features melancholy segments, viewers ultimately walk away with a profound feeling that Paris penetrates the core of both its inhabitants and visitors. The movie is a perfect watch for those returning from a trip as it beautifully stirs up all the small joys a traveler experiences in the city.

Arc de Triomphe 

7. Last Tango in Paris (1973)

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Protagonists: Marlon Brando (Paul) and Maria Schneider (Jeanne)

Paul: “I’m awfully sorry to intrude, but I was so struck with your beauty that I thought perhaps I could offer you a glass of champagne.” “Is this seat taken?”

Jeanne: “No.”

Last Tango in Paris is a controversial film starring Marlon Brando (Paul), an American expatriate in Paris who is struggling to cope with his wife’s suicide. This tragedy fills the protagonist with grief and aggression, which he channels into an affair with a young French woman named Jeanne. Paul engages in an intimate relationship with Jeanne under a strict arrangement: they must never exchange names. 

When Jeanne is finally ready to end the affair for a traditional marriage, Paul reveals his love for her: “you ran through Africa and Asia and Indonesia, and now I found you. And I love you. I want to know your name!” Jeanne responds with a simple, “Jeanne.”

While Last Tango in Paris isn’t ideal for all travelers, but it’s a masterpiece in filmmaking and character studies.

8. Ratatouille (2007)

Co-Directors: Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava

Remy: “What are you eating?”
Emile: “I don’t really know. I think it was some sort of wrapper once.”
Remy: “What? No! You’re in Paris now, baby! My town! No brother of mine eats rejecta-menta in my town!”

Ratatouille is perfect for families traveling with young children, as well as for adults passionate about French cuisine. It’s an animated tale that stars Remy, a rat who dreams of leaving the sewers to become a well-respected chef in Paris. Putting his life on the line, he manages to win the hearts of both the kitchen staff and the audience.

The film evokes a love for the underdog and a deep passion for French food, while beautifully reminding us of the magic of childhood family meals. Don’t let the animation fool you—his story is human at its core.

Minor updates and edits were made from the original article.

 Photos © Gennaro Salamone

____________________________________________________________________________________
Gennaro Salamone is the founder and editor of Enduring Wanderlust. Please contact him with questions regarding article or photo submissions.