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Catch a movie in an opulent Far Eastern setting at La Pagode © Heloise Bergman

For the full guide visit our Paris site

Paris for cinéastes
See the city through a lens in countless locations and exquisite movie houses

Paris and the movies have had a special bond ever since the Lumière brothers turned down the gas lamps at what’s now Café de la Paix and said to their audience, ‘Here’s a little something you probably won’t have seen before.’ That was December 1895 – the world’s first public film screening – and the rest is cinematography. Cans and cans and cans of it.

You’re in film-set Paris the second you get off the train. The Gare du Nord? Filmed by Orson Welles (‘F for Fake’), Jean Rouch (‘Paris Vu par…’), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (that film with Audrey Tautou). The Métro? Simply everyone, from Clouzot to the Coens. And its dimensions being what they are, you can’t go far without spotting the Eiffel Tower: not only filmed more times than it has rivets (the Lumières were first – their 1900 portrait of the 11-year-old tour is still extant), it even starred in its own cartoon, ‘Bonjour Paris’.
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La Cinémathèque Française

If Paris feels eternally familiar, thank the movies. Not that the iconic sights are the main thing: for every Arc de Triomphe you get 20 generic locations – staircases, streets, gardens, bits of riverbank. And, of course, brasseries. Le Rostand, opposite the Jardin du Luxembourg is where Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands have their bittersweet pre-divorce chat in the best segment of last year’s portmanteau travelogue-cum-romcom, ‘Paris Je T’Aime’; the barman is Gérard Depardieu, who co-directed. It’s a good choice of venue, named, appropriately, after the author of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, one of Depardieu’s best roles.

If you feel like watching a film, here are two suggested venues. In the west, La Pagode: two screens in a gorgeous nineteenth-century replica of a Far Eastern pagoda; there’s a sweet little garden and a small tea salon. In the east, try the new Cinémathèque Française, with four screens, a restaurant, a bookshop, a museum and some of the best programming in Europe. It’s even got a lush park right outside.

One more thing: when you’re in Montmartre, do the staff a favour and stay out of Les Deux Moulins – the café in ‘Amélie’. They’ve been rushed off their feet serving the coach parties ever since 2001. Sometimes movie kudos is a mixed blessing…

Where to eat
As well as Le Rostand, try Chez Paul, which does good bistro fare on the Île de la Cité’s place Dauphine, just off the Pont Neuf – which is another perennially popular film location.

Where to sleep
The stylish Hôtel Mansart puts you near the ritzy Place Vendôme without having to pay the ritzy prices – a good spot from which to plan a jewel heist in the style of ‘Le Cercle Rouge’. Another affordable option is the belle époque Hôtel Langlois, named after the Cinémathèque Française’s founder, the great Henri. Ron Pasas

Addresses
Café de la Paix 12 bd des Capucines, 9th (00 33 1 40 07 36 36) Métro Opéra. Open daily 7am-midnight.

Chez Paul 15 place Dauphine, 1st (00 33 1 43 54 21 48) Métro Pont Neuf. Open Tue-Sun 12noon-2.30pm, 7-10.30pm.

La Cinémathèque Française 51 rue de Bercy, 12th (00 33 1 71 19 33 33/ www.cinematheque.fr) Métro Bercy. Open Mon-Wed 12noon-7pm, Thur 12noon-10pm, Sat, Sun 10am-8pm. Adm permanent exhibitions €4, €3 concs, €2 under-12s. Adm films €6, €2 concs, €3 under-12s.

Les Deux Moulins 15 rue Lepic, 18th (00 33 1 42 54 90 50) Métro Blanche. Open daily 7am-2am.

Hôtel Langlois 63 rue St-Lazare, 9th (00 33 1 48 74 78 24/www.hotel-langlois.com) Métro Trinité. Doubles from €114.

Hôtel Mansart 5 rue des Capucines, 1st (00 33 1 42 61 50 28/www.esprit-de-france.com) Métro Opéra. Doubles from €170.

La Pagode 57 rue de Babylone, 7th (00 33 1 45 55 48 48) Métro St-François-Xavier. Open daily, times vary. Adm €5-€8.

Le Rostand 6 pl Edmond-Rostand, 6th (00 33 1 43 54 61 58) RER Luxembourg. Open daily 8am-2am.

For the full guide visit our Paris site