Love her or loathe her, we can’t stop watching Emily Cooper’s (Lily Collins) adventures in Paris –and now Rome, too. Despite mixed critical reception, season 1 of the Netflix show was watched by 58 million households in its first month. Since then we’ve watched her win accounts, break hearts and move to Italy. Expect more outrageous fashion, and cross-continental love triangles in season 5 as our hapless heroine continues to live la dolce vita.
What happens in Emily in Paris season 5?
Five years after leaving Chicago to join Paris’s Agency Grateau, Emily is now running the marketing firm’s flagship Rome office. She’s loved up with cashmere heir Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini),and continues to charm and infuriate locals with her unapologetic Americanisms.
Most of the original gang is back for season 5, including a tanned and blond-haired Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) who upped sticks to travel the world after achieving a Michelin star to find he still wasn’t happy. Mindy (Ashley Park) is home on French soil after leaving Paris to be a judge on Chinese Popstar, with Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) as fashionable and caustic as ever. Minnie Driver also joins the cast as Princess Jane, a socialite with a social media addiction, who keeps everyone on their toes.
Over 10 episodes, Paris and Rome’s swankiest hotels, restaurants and nightclubs, along with a few cultural sites, are showcased. From luxury villas to burlesque bars, these are the filming locations you can visit… if your wallet can handle it.
Where was season 5 filmed?
Emily pitches for business at Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome
In season 5, Emily heads up the Rome office of Agence Grateau, and she’s now pitching for business at one of the city’s biggest fashion houses: Fendi. Filming takes place at its real-life HQ, a 1940s rationalist building nicknamed the ‘Square Colosseum’ because of its striking shape. It’s here, Emily makes a faux pas by showing off her grandmother’s fake designer bag, scuppering the agency’s chances of leading the brand’s 100th anniversary campaign. The building also features in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) and Christian Bale sci-fi Equilibrium (2002).
Marcello romances Emily at Villa del Priorato di Malta
Having already shown Emily most of Rome’s better-known attractions from the back of his moped, Marcello takes her to see a few hidden gems this season. During a romantic stroll around the city, they visit Villa del Priorato di Malta, where three countries – Italy, the Vatican and Malta – collide. Its keyhole is known to offer the best view of St Peter's Basilica.
Agency Grateau moves into The Coppedè District
Built between 1915 and 1927, this residential region of Rome is a modern enclave slotted between the wonders of the ancient world. Designed by Florentine architect Gino Coppedè, some of the eccentric and cinematic buildings emulate the Art Nouveau style, while others take inspiration from Neo-Gothic and Art Deco influences. The Palazzo Senza Nome stands in as the entrance to Agence Grateau.
Princess Jane hosts a lavish welcome party at Villa Parisi
To welcome Agence Grateau to Italy, Sylvie’s old pal, Princess Jane (Minnie Driver), an influencer who has married into the Italian aristocracy, throws a lavish party at her countryside villa. During the event, perfumier Antoine Lambert (William Abadie) woos matriarch Antonia Muratori (Anna Galiena) with his dance moves, and Jane turns the evening into a makeshift ad for Peroni.
Sylvie takes centre stage at Fondation Louis Vuitton
The contemporary art museum designed by ‘starchitect’ Frank Gehry looks like a glass pirate ship, and soon finds itself in choppy waters when Emily & Co. hop aboard. Following Sylvie’s talk at a ‘Future of Luxury’ conference, Marcello and Emily decide to have a lovers’ spat during the Q&A segment. Pas chic.
Sylvie and Giancarlo dine at rooftop restaurant Zuma Rome
In season 4, Sylvie reconnected with her former film professor, Giancarlo (Raoul Bova), adding more strain on her failing marriage. The pair’s rendezvous continues this season across many of Rome’s fancy eateries, notably, Zuma, a high-end Japanese restaurant with views of the Spanish Steps and the Barcaccia fountain.
Ostia Antica is the real Solitano
The fictional town of Solitano, where the Muratori family's cashmere business is based, is inspired by Solomeo, a real-life 12th-century village where fashion house Brunello Cucinelli has set up shop. On Emily’s latest visit, the sleepy ‘paradise’ is turned into ‘Disneyland’ when Princess Jane shares its location with her thousands of social media followers. These scenes are shot 30km southwest of Rome, in the ancient Roman city of Ostia Antica.
The gang head to Venice for Fashion Week
The group heads to the sinking city for an exciting designer’s debut. Emily and her Italian beau stay at the St Regis Hotel, eat tiramisu on the water’s edge and enjoy a champagne-fuelled gondola ride with Mindy and Nico (Paul Forman).
Mindy is a regular performer at Crazy Horse Paris
One of the City of Lights’ legendary nightlife venues, Crazy Horse Paris, becomes one of Mindy’s new stomping grounds when she returns to France after being a judge on Chinese Popstar. She performs pop hits, including Britney’s ‘Oops!... I Did It Again’.
A young Luc lived in artist’s colony Bateau Lavoir
Luc (Bruno Gouery) takes Emily on a walk down memory lane to see where he lived when he first moved to Paris. An aspiring painter in his youth, he found himself at the Bateau Lavoir, a famous artists’ colony that attracted the likes of Picasso at the turn of the 20th century. During his time there, the Cubist painter created Young Girl with a Flower Basket. As for Luc? He specialised in nude self-portraits…
Maxim’s Paris is the backdrop for Mindy and Alfie’s heart to heart
Known to symbolise 20th-century Parisian excess, Maxim’s is an iconic restaurant that has hosted royalty, aristocrats, artists and celebrities. It’s in its historic salon Mindy tells Alfie that instead of being cast as Satine in Moulin Rouge, she’s unwittingly been cast to play rat prostitute, Ratine, in Moulin Rat. Woody Allen’s time-travelling flick Midnight in Paris was also filmed here.
Gabriel and Emily reunite for dinner at Le Train Bleu
On the upper floor of the Gare de Lyon train station, this Belle Époque restaurant is where Emily and Gabriel reunite after his round-the-world trip. Surrounded by the dining room’s signature golden chandeliers and royal blue furnishings, they talk about his travels to Sri Lanka, Thailand and Amsterdam. Other famous diners have included Coco Chanel, Brigitte Bardot and, er, Mr Bean.
Alfie and Mindy dance the night away at Bains Paris
Starting life as a private bathhouse where Paris’s bohemian and intellectual elites would gather, Bains Paris became a legendary nightclub in the ’80s, welcoming rock ’n’ roll legends including David Bowie and Mick Jagger. Today, it’s a boutique 5 star hotel, club, spa and restaurant. It’s also where things start to get steamy between Mindy and Alfie as they perform an Argentine tango on its dance floor.
Emily tests out a new marketing trick at Hôtel du Louvre
Built in 1855, Hôtel du Louvre is one of Paris’ original luxury hotels. It has welcomed guests including Sigmund Freud and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and remains the only hotel that directly overlooks the Louvre Museum. Here, Emily invents a new marketing tactic by rubbing a hamburger on her hand to draw the attention of a potential client’s dog. Somehow, it works.
Sylvie and Giancarlo rendezvous at Hôtel Le Bristol Paris
Having dated and dined across Rome, Sylvie and Giancarlo continue their affair at Paris’ finest establishments, including Le Bristol. They reminisce about their ‘Belle Époque’ in St Tropez 40 years ago, and take desert in Giancarlo’s suite. The hotel’s newly revamped Impériale Suite will set you back $46,000 a night.
When can I watch season 5?
All 10 episodes are streaming on Netflix from 8am GMT on Thursday, December 18.
Is there a trailer?
Oui! Watch it below.
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