The Châteaux de Chambord, Chenonceau and Villandry (Loire Valley)
Last year’s Amazon Prime series ‘The Serpent Queen’ tells the story of Catherine de Medici who, against all odds, became one of the most powerful and longest-serving rulers in French history. Catherine’s tale unfolds through flashbacks as she defends her actions and imparts the lessons she’s learned to her new servant girl, Rahima. Filming took place at the Château de Chambord, Chenonceau and Villandry. Bourges Cathedral is also highlighted.
Lille, Arras, Morbecque, Roubaix and Tourcoing (Northern France)
Collioure, Banyuls-sur-Mer and Argelès-sur-Mer (Occitanie)
French crime thriller series ‘Black Butterflies’, originally entitled Les Papillons Noir, was released on Netflix last year. It follows a novelist with writer’s block who is asked to write a memoir, but soon finds himself entangled in the bloodstained past of a serial killer. Filming locations include Morbecque, Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing and Arras in Hauts-de-France, and Collioure, Banyuls-sur-Mer and Argelès-sur-Mer in Occitanie.
Aix-en-Provence and Cassis (Provence)
Based on the detective novels of ML Longworth, BritBox drama series ‘Murder in Provence’ premiered on ITV in July 2022. It follows a sleuthing couple on their investigations in southern France, after having their romantic getaway upended by a murder at the local university. Filming took place on location in Aix-en-Provence, the setting for most of the outdoor scenes, supplemented by scenes in idyllic fishing harbour Cassis 30 miles to the south.
The Châteaux de Versailles, Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau (Ile-de-France)
Currently showing on BBC2 and iPlayer, ‘Marie Antoinette’ illustrates the fabulous and controversial destiny of one of France’s greatest queens. Film crews set up their cameras in the resplendent settings of three historic châteaux near Paris, the most important of which is of course Louis XIV’s own palace, Versailles. Its dazzling Hall of Mirrors and monochrome-tiled Marble Court were used, plus other interiors at Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte’s magnificent gardens.
Antibes (Côte d’Azur)
New-for-2023 ITVX series ‘The Reunion’, starring Ioan Gruffudd, is an adaptation of Guillaume Musso’s bestselling novel of the same name (also known as La Jeune Fille et La Nuit). Originally published in France in 2018, the story opens at a high-school reunion in the south of France where three former friends reconnect, still bound by a tragic secret tied to the disappearance of a girl 25 years earlier. Enjoy the Mediterranean backdrop of photogenic Antibes and its surroundings.
The D-Day Beaches (Normandy)
Inspired by true events, feature film ‘The Last Rifleman’ is a moving and heartfelt drama starring Pierce Brosnan as Artie Crawford, a World War II veteran living in a care home in Northern Ireland who has just lost his wife. On the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Normandy, Artie decides to escape his care home and embark on an arduous but inspirational journey to France, to pay his final respects to his best friend and find the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Apt and L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (Provence)
‘Emily in Paris’ is back for a third season on Netflix! After landing her dream job in Paris, Chicago marketing exec Emily Cooper embraces her adventurous new life while juggling work, friends and romance. Following a successful first two series filmed in Paris and on the Côte d’Azur, Season Three moves across to Vaucluse, with Apt, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and distillery Les Agnels revealed as specific filming locations for the show.
Saint-Malo (Brittany)
Villefranche-de-Rouergue (Occitanie)
Hugh Laurie and Mark Ruffalo unite for Netflix’s adaptation of bestseller ‘All The Light We Cannot See’, due out later this year. Based on the Anthony Doerr novel, the story follows Marie-Laure, a blind French teenager, and Werner, a German soldier, whose paths collide as they try to navigate the ongoing destruction of World War II. The novel spans more than 80 years of their story. Netflix filmed in Saint-Malo and chose Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a bastide town in Aveyron, Occitanie, as an additional location.
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