A moonlit lithograph of the church tower of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont with the dome of the Panthéon behind and a few figures in the square — Saint-Étienne-du-Mont and the Panthéon by moonlight, Thomas Shotter Boys, 1839. Thomas Shotter Boys · CC0

Owen Wilson, who played Gil, in February 2011, three months before the film opened Cannes. Eva Rinaldi · CC BY-SA 2.0
Ernest Hemingway in his 1923 passport photograph. United States Government (passport photograph) · Public domain
Tom Hiddleston, who played F. Scott Fitzgerald, in April 2011. Melinda Seckington · CC BY 2.0
F. Scott Fitzgerald, about 1921. Scribner’s publicity photograph · Public domain
Alison Pill, who played Zelda Fitzgerald, in September 2011. GabboT · CC BY-SA 2.0
Zelda Fitzgerald in 1923. Alfred Cheney Johnston · Public domain
Woody Allen, who wrote and directed it, at the Cannes Film Festival, May 2011. Bernard Boyé · CC BY-SA 3.0
Gertrude Stein in Paris in 1924 with Hemingway’s baby son, Jack. Unknown photographer (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library) · Public domain
Adrien Brody, who played Salvador Dalí, in April 2011. David Shankbone · CC BY 3.0
Salvador Dalí, photographed by Carl Van Vechten in 1939. Carl Van Vechten · Public domain
Rachel McAdams, who played Inez, in January 2010, the year the film was shot. SpreePiX Berlin · CC BY 2.0
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, photographed by Paul Sescau about 1894. Paul Sescau · Public domain

Paris, summer 2010 · and every summer before

Midnight in Paris

The bell has not struck. Twelve strokes to midnight.

Gil waits on a church step behind the Panthéon; at midnight a car takes him back to the 1920s. The step is real, and so is nearly everything else: a small crew dressed real cafés, a taxidermist and a fairground museum rather than building sets. Strike midnight, then go and find them.

Where this comes from

Faces: Owen Wilson (2011) · Eva Rinaldi · CC BY-SA 2.0; Ernest Hemingway (1923) · United States Government (passport photograph) · Public domain; Tom Hiddleston (2011) · Melinda Seckington · CC BY 2.0; F. Scott Fitzgerald (1921) · Scribner’s publicity photograph · Public domain; Alison Pill (2011) · GabboT · CC BY-SA 2.0; Zelda Fitzgerald (1923) · Alfred Cheney Johnston · Public domain; Woody Allen (2011) · Bernard Boyé · CC BY-SA 3.0; Gertrude Stein (1924) · Unknown photographer (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library) · Public domain; Adrien Brody (2011) · David Shankbone · CC BY 3.0; Salvador Dalí (1939) · Carl Van Vechten · Public domain; Rachel McAdams (2010) · SpreePiX Berlin · CC BY 2.0; Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1894) · Paul Sescau · Public domain.

Place Sainte-Geneviève, 5th arrondissement

Before midnight.
The step is still there.

The tall Gothic-Renaissance facade of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont under a grey sky, with its bell tower and a square in front — Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, behind the Panthéon. Gil waits on the steps on the left side of the church. Cmcmcm1 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The steps where Gil sits waiting for a vintage Peugeot to take him back to the 1920s are on the left side of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, just behind the Panthéon.

Many people look for them in Montmartre; they are on the Left Bank, in the 5th arrondissement. The production notes name rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève as the street where Gil goes at midnight.

The Paris tourist office’s Ciné-Balade walks the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the Panthéon and Saint-Étienne-du-Mont on its way from Odéon.

The steps are on the left side as you face the church, just behind the Panthéon. It is a working church: sit, but keep the way clear.

Where this comes from

Paris je t’aime, the Paris tourist office

Midnight in Paris: a cinematic stroll (Ciné-Balade)

The Left Bank · From €19 · choose a date when booking

A 2 hour 15 minute walk from Odéon to the Panthéon and on to Saint-Michel: Shakespeare and Company, Polidor, the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève and Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, with clips played on a tablet. In French and English; meet at the Danton statue.

Book the walk

Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Geneviève, which climbs to the church. Bahnfrend · CC BY-SA 4.0
The street that climbs to it
The production notes name rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève as where Gil goes at midnight.
Where this comes from
Shakespeare and Company, 37 rue de la Bûcherie, in April 2012. Jim Linwood · CC BY 2.0
Shakespeare and Company
Near the end, Gil comes out of the bookshop after a café stop on the quai de la Tournelle.
George Whitman opened the shop on rue de la Bûcherie in 1951; Sylvia Beach had run her own bookshop on rue de l’Odéon from 1919 to 1941. More than 30,000 writers and readers have slept in the shop, invited to stay for free.
Bookshop open Monday to Wednesday 10am–8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am–9pm, Sunday noon–7pm; the café 9am–7pm daily. It sometimes closes early for events.
Where this comes from
Square Jean XXIII, the garden behind Notre-Dame, in 2016. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0
The garden behind Notre-Dame
The production notes place the scene where the museum guide translates for Gil in this garden behind Notre-Dame.
Works on the cathedral’s surroundings, budgeted at €50 million, were due to start in autumn 2025 and finish in 2028; the square is to go back to its 1848 layout, gates and all, and to stay closed meanwhile.
Works on the surroundings of Notre-Dame were due to run from autumn 2025 to 2028 with the square closed: look in from the riverside and check before you go.
Where this comes from

Strike midnight first, or come in anyway

After midnight.
Three invitations, three real addresses.

You are invited

Dinner with Hemingway

Polidor, 41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince

A black-and-white head-and-shoulders photograph of a young Ernest Hemingway in a jacket and tie — Ernest Hemingway, 1923. United States Government (passport photograph) · Public domain

The dark wooden corner frontage of Polidor with its painted sign, under a cream stone apartment building — Polidor at 41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, in 2019. Celette · CC BY-SA 4.0

After leaving the Fitzgeralds, Gil is taken to Polidor to meet Ernest Hemingway.

Polidor was founded in 1845 as a crèmerie; its own history names Verlaine, Rimbaud, Gide, Joyce, Hemingway, Artaud and Kerouac among those who found refuge there.

Accounts differ on the frontage: the production designer’s interview shows a Polidor exterior dressed for the 1920s, while The Cine-Tourist says a substitute frontage at 16 rue des Patriarches was used.

Open every day, noon to 10.30pm. Métro Odéon.

Where this comes from

Polidor

Dinner at Polidor

The Left Bank · Daily, noon–10.30pm

The crèmerie of 1845 where Gil meets Hemingway, at 41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince. Open every day, noon to 10.30pm.

See the menus

You are invited

Gertrude Stein will read your book

27 rue de Fleurus (her street, not the film’s house)

A black-and-white photograph of Gertrude Stein smiling at a baby in a pram in a Paris park — Gertrude Stein in 1924, with Hemingway’s son Jack. Unknown photographer (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library) · Public domain

A quiet Paris street junction with a bookshop on the corner and tall apartment buildings — Rue de Fleurus in the 6th arrondissement, the street where Gertrude Stein lived at number 27. This is the street, not her house. Mbzt · CC BY-SA 3.0

Gil visits Gertrude Stein, played by Kathy Bates, at home; her real address was 27 rue de Fleurus. Stein offers to read Gil’s manuscript.

The film’s exterior is not her house, and The Cine-Tourist could not find where it was. The house is not open to the public.

A private building, not open to the public, and not the house the film used. Walk the street and leave the residents in peace.

Where this comes from

You are invited

Zelda’s party, among the merry-go-rounds

Musée des Arts Forains, Bercy

A black-and-white portrait of Zelda Fitzgerald with sculpted curls and a fur collar — Zelda Fitzgerald, 1923. Alfred Cheney Johnston · Public domain

A hall of old fairground rides: a carved carousel horse and a gilded fair organ under red drapes — Inside the Musée des Arts Forains at the Pavillons de Bercy, 2022. Pavillons de Bercy · Musée des Arts Forains · CC BY-SA 4.0

Anne Seibel found it, though it was not in the script; Allen liked it so much he moved Zelda Fitzgerald’s cocktail party there from the apartment planned for it.

Its halls hold genuine 19th- and 20th-century fairground and stage objects, among them a hundred-year-old merry-go-round; visits are by guided tour, all year round, booked ahead.

Guided tours only, all year round, booked ahead.

Where this comes from

Pavillons de Bercy

Musée des Arts Forains

The Right Bank · Guided tours by reservation

Old merry-go-rounds and fairground rides at Bercy, where Zelda’s party was moved. Guided tours only, all year round, booked ahead.

Book a tour

With a budget under $10 million and no construction allowed, Anne Seibel dressed real places instead of building sets.

Where this comes from

46 rue du Bac, 7th arrondissement

Feather lamps.
Light the taxidermist’s shop for a wedding.

The shop is dark. Light a lamp.

Light every lamp to see what the room was for.

· · ·
· · ·
· · ·
· · ·

A working shop: open Monday to Saturday, 10am–7pm. Look, but do not touch the specimens.

Where this comes from

Deyrolle

The Left Bank · Monday to Saturday, 10am–7pm

The taxidermist’s shop where the wedding was shot, at 46 rue du Bac, with cabinets of curiosities, insects, shells and teaching boards.

Plan a visit

The dark wooden shopfront of Deyrolle with its gold lettering, people walking past on the pavement — Deyrolle, 46 rue du Bac, in 2013. flightlog · CC BY 2.0

A white stuffed rabbit standing on its hind legs on a wooden cabinet beneath framed butterfly boards — Inside Deyrolle: a stuffed white rabbit under framed butterflies, 2005. bixentro · CC BY 2.0

A black-and-white portrait of Salvador Dalí with a thin moustache and slicked hair, looking sideways — Salvador Dalí in 1939, one of the guests Gil drinks with. Carl Van Vechten · Public domain

Rue de Varenne and the Tuileries

By day, with Paul.
He will tell you all about it.

Rodin’s bronze Thinker on a tall stone plinth against a blue sky with white clouds — The Thinker in the garden of the Musée Rodin, May 2012. Nick Loyless · CC BY 2.0

The production filmed at the Musée Rodin, where Paul argues with the tour guide played by Carla Bruni.

Paul, played by Michael Sheen, is an intellectual pedant. Allen offered Bruni the part over breakfast with her and her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, promising no rehearsal and only a couple of days’ shooting.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6.30pm; full price €14. Métro Varenne.

Where this comes from

Musée Rodin

The Left Bank · €14 · Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6.30pm

The house and sculpture garden at 77 rue de Varenne where Paul argues with the guide.

Plan a visit

Walk the Water Lilies

The production filmed in the Musée de l’Orangerie, among Monet’s Water Lilies.

A wide Monet canvas of dark water lilies with a yellow glow of setting sun in the middle

Walk along the canvas

You are at the left end, under the willows.

Claude Monet, The Water Lilies: Setting Sun, painted between 1914 and 1926, at the Orangerie. Claude Monet · Public domain

A long Monet water-lily canvas with willow trunks, hung on a white curved wall — One of Monet’s Water Lilies on the curved wall of an oval room at the Orangerie, March 2011. Adrian Scottow · CC BY-SA 2.0

Its exhibition Monet, painting time runs from 30 September 2026 to 25 January 2027, in a season marking the Monet centenary.

Open 9am–6pm. Book a timed ticket; the first Sunday of the month is free, with an online slot.

Where this comes from

Musée de l’Orangerie

The Right Bank · 9am–6pm · timed tickets

Monet’s Water Lilies in the Tuileries. Book a timed ticket; the first Sunday of the month is free with an online slot.

Book a slot

3 rue Royale, 8th arrondissement

Every era wants another.

2010

Owen Wilson smiling in a grey suit and blue tie — Owen Wilson, who played Gil, in February 2011, three months before the film opened Cannes. Eva Rinaldi · CC BY-SA 2.0

wants the 1920s

Gil idolises Hemingway and Fitzgerald and dreams of finishing a novel in Paris.

Card 1 of 3.

Where this comes from

The carved dark-wood frontage of Maxim’s with a red awning lettered in gold and Art Nouveau lamps — Maxim’s at 3 rue Royale, September 2011. Britchi Mirela · CC BY-SA 3.0

A horse-drawn carriage takes Gil and Adriana to the Belle Époque, where they mingle with Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin and Degas.

The Cine-Tourist says the film appears to use the real restaurant, not a reconstruction. It opened on rue Royale in 1893 and is listed as a historic monument; today it is a restaurant and bistro.

Untapped New York calls it a Belle Époque restaurant with an Art Nouveau dining room, for anyone who, like Adriana, dreams of an earlier century.

A working restaurant and bistro: book a table to go inside.

Where this comes from

By train, out of Paris

The outings.
Where the in-laws take the tour, and where Gil finds a record.

A narrow alley between shuttered antique stalls under green climbing plants — An alley of the Marché Paul Bert at Saint-Ouen, out of hours, 2022. Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0

6 km from the church steps

Marché Paul Bert

Saint-Ouen

Gil buys a record from Gabrielle here.

Paul Bert Serpette calls itself the flagship of the Saint-Ouen flea market: 350 dealers over 12,000 square metres, from furniture and jewellery to design and vintage clothes.

Just north of the Paris ring road at Saint-Ouen. Check the dealers’ opening days before you go.

Where this comes from

The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, with chandeliers, gilded statues and sunlight on the parquet — The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, May 2011. Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0

17 km from the church steps

Versailles: the grounds and the Hall of Mirrors

Versailles

The Cine-Tourist counts Versailles and Giverny as the standard tourist outings, shown briefly.

The palace opens 9am–6.30pm and is closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.

The palace opens 9am–6.30pm and closes on Mondays. A Passport is €35 to 31 October, €25 from 1 November.

Where this comes from

Château de Versailles

Château de Versailles Passport

Out of town · €35 to 31 Oct · €25 from 1 Nov · 9am–6.30pm

The whole estate, with a timed visit of the palace and the Hall of Mirrors. The palace closes on Mondays.

See tickets

A green rowing boat on a pond under bamboo and weeping willows — Monet’s water garden at Giverny, September 2019. Jean-Pierre Dalbéra · CC BY 2.0

65 km from the church steps

Monet’s house and gardens, Giverny

Giverny

The house and gardens are open daily from 1 April to 1 November 2026, 10am–6pm, with last admission at 5.30pm.

An adult self-guided ticket is €13, and booking online is strongly advised.

Open daily to 1 November 2026, 10am–6pm (last entry 5.30pm), then closed for the winter. Adults €13; book online.

Where this comes from

Fondation Claude Monet

Monet’s house and gardens

Out of town · Adults €13 · daily 10am–6pm to 1 Nov 2026

The water garden and house at 84 rue Claude Monet, Giverny. The 2026 season ends on 1 November; book online.

Plan a visit

The Pont Alexandre III lit up at dusk with a gilded statue on its pillar and the golden dome of the Invalides behind — Pont Alexandre III and the Invalides at night, August 2019. Pierre Blaché · Public domain

The rain.
Pont Alexandre III, the last scene.

A dry night on the bridge.

Gil is on Pont Alexandre III in the closing sequence; Gabrielle has made it clear he belongs in his own time.

It is in the daylight views of the prologue, and Gil is on the bridge in the closing sequence. The film opens on Paris in sunshine and in rain, to a jazz standard.

Where this comes from

Where it is now

13 places you can visit, from the church steps to Monet’s pond. Gertrude Stein’s home on rue de Fleurus is a private building, never used by the film: it is named, not mapped.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The steps are on the left side as you face the church, just behind the Panthéon. It is a working church: sit, but keep the way clear.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Bookshop open Monday to Wednesday 10am–8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am–9pm, Sunday noon–7pm; the café 9am–7pm daily. It sometimes closes early for events.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Works on the surroundings of Notre-Dame were due to run from autumn 2025 to 2028 with the square closed: look in from the riverside and check before you go.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open every day, noon to 10.30pm. Métro Odéon.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working shop: open Monday to Saturday, 10am–7pm. Look, but do not touch the specimens.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6.30pm; full price €14. Métro Varenne.

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, behind the Panthéon. Gil waits on the steps on the left side of the church. Cmcmcm1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Place Sainte-Geneviève, 5th arrondissement
The church steps, Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
The steps where Gil sits waiting for a vintage Peugeot to take him back to the 1920s are on the left side of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, just behind the Panthéon.
The steps are on the left side as you face the church, just behind the Panthéon. It is a working church: sit, but keep the way clear.
Where this comes from
Shakespeare and Company, 37 rue de la Bûcherie, in April 2012. Jim Linwood · CC BY 2.0
37 rue de la Bûcherie, 5th arrondissement
Shakespeare and Company
Shakespeare & Co. is on the production’s list of locations.
Bookshop open Monday to Wednesday 10am–8pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am–9pm, Sunday noon–7pm; the café 9am–7pm daily. It sometimes closes early for events.
Where this comes from
Square Jean XXIII, the garden behind Notre-Dame, in 2016. Guilhem Vellut · CC BY 2.0
Behind Notre-Dame, Île de la Cité
Square Jean XXIII
The production notes place the scene where the museum guide translates for Gil in this garden behind Notre-Dame.
Works on the surroundings of Notre-Dame were due to run from autumn 2025 to 2028 with the square closed: look in from the riverside and check before you go.
Where this comes from
Polidor at 41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, in 2019. Celette · CC BY-SA 4.0
41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, 6th arrondissement
Polidor
After leaving the Fitzgeralds, Gil is taken to Polidor to meet Ernest Hemingway.
Open every day, noon to 10.30pm. Métro Odéon.
Where this comes from
Deyrolle, 46 rue du Bac, in 2013. flightlog · CC BY 2.0
46 rue du Bac, 7th arrondissement
Deyrolle
The surreal wedding was shot at Deyrolle: Anne Seibel made special feather lamps and dressed the room around the wild animals on display.
A working shop: open Monday to Saturday, 10am–7pm. Look, but do not touch the specimens.
Where this comes from
The Thinker in the garden of the Musée Rodin, May 2012. Nick Loyless · CC BY 2.0
77 rue de Varenne, 7th arrondissement
Musée Rodin
The production filmed at the Musée Rodin, where Paul argues with the tour guide played by Carla Bruni.
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6.30pm; full price €14. Métro Varenne.
Where this comes from

Oetker Collection

Le Bristol Paris

The Right Bank · Rates on booking

The hotel where Gil, Inez and her parents stay, at 112 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The film shot its room on location, changing only the lighting, curtains, props and flowers.

Check rooms

Stay

Where the in-laws stayed.

Le Bristol on the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, where the film shot its hotel room.

Oetker Collection

Le Bristol Paris

The Right Bank · Rates on booking

The hotel where Gil, Inez and her parents stay, at 112 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The film shot its room on location, changing only the lighting, curtains, props and flowers.

Check rooms

Go there

Walk it, eat there, see the paintings.

The tourist office’s Midnight in Paris walk, dinner at Polidor, Deyrolle, the Rodin garden, the Orangerie, the fairground museum, Versailles, Giverny and marketplace tours.

Paris je t’aime, the Paris tourist office

Midnight in Paris: a cinematic stroll (Ciné-Balade)

The Left Bank · From €19 · choose a date when booking

A 2 hour 15 minute walk from Odéon to the Panthéon and on to Saint-Michel: Shakespeare and Company, Polidor, the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève and Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, with clips played on a tablet. In French and English; meet at the Danton statue.

Book the walk

Polidor