Hotels that have served as backdrops for cult films and TV series
Forget popcorn, go to the other side of the lens. From the Riviera to the palaces of Paris, these addresses take center stage. Here's a selection of five-star versions of your favorite scenes, minus the credits.
To cross the threshold of a palace lobby is sometimes to feel a strange frisson of déjà-vu. It's not an optical illusion, but the memory of a film that has permeated the walls. Some establishments have such a cinematic aura that they end up stealing the show from the actors. We no longer come just for the comfort of a suite, but to walk in the footsteps of a soap opera heroine or a tuxedoed spy, where every nook and cranny seems to be waiting for the next"Action!
Relais & Châteaux Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence
Baumanière is the original anchor of Provencal chic, where the white stone of Les Baux seems to have been carved to catch the spotlight. Founded by Raymond Thuilier, this 20-hectare estate is an enclave where olive trees and yew trees serve as luxury extras for five characterful buildings. It's a regular haunt of the cinema, and with good reason. In 1956, for The Passionate Life of Vincent Van Gogh, Vincente Minnelli was looking for the soul of Provence: he found Kirk Douglas wrestling with his demons on the terraces of the Oustau, under a blazing sun that didn't forgive any Technicolor false notes. Five years later, the atmosphere changed radically: Georges Lautner laid down his tracks for Le Monocle Noir. Paul Meurisse, looking bored, transforms the estate into a spy hideout. As for Charlotte Rampling, she cast her magnetic gaze here in 1974 for Caravan to Vaccarès. The 53 rooms, decorated with a taste that would make any set decorator look like an amateur, combine furniture found in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue with contemporary design. A luxury that has the elegance not to overdo it.
- Where to find us Baumanière D27, Mas de, 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence
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Relais & Châteaux Baumanière
Grand Hôtel Cabourg MGallery in Normandy
Listed as a Monument Historique, this establishment cultivates an authenticity " in its juice " that has casting directors in a frenzy. Overlooking the main beach since 1907, this institution boasts 71 rooms with a hushed decor that successfully blends the Belle Époque spirit with a contemporary touch. Lucky guests wake up on a balcony with a breathtaking view of the English Channel, where the changing light of the Normandy coast seems to have been invented for Technicolor. at the liner's reception desk, travelers can be divided into two camps: the " Proustians ", who have come to occupy room 414, where the author of La Recherche locked himself away to write his seven volumes, and the Omar Sy fans. Since the triumph ofIntouchables, the sea-facing restaurant table, where François Cluzet rediscovered love under six-metre ceilings, has become the five-star's other pilgrimage. Long before this box-office hit, the palace was the scene of Vic's first lovemaking in La Boum, with Mathieu, then a room service trainee.
- Where to find us? Les Jardins du Casino, 14390 Cabourg
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The Carlton a Regent Hotel in Cannes
Overlooking the Croisette with seaside insolence, the Carlton has been the headquarters of the seventh art since it welcomed the first Festival journalists in 1946. Here, every square meter of marble seems to have witnessed a contract signed on the corner of a table, or a kiss stolen from under the eye of a camera. After seven years of renovation, the Cannes icon has undergone a facelift designed by Tristan Auer, adding two new wings, a Mediterranean garden and an infinity pool to its listed facades. The 332 guest rooms and suites are now refined and uncluttered. The real ghost of the place remains Alfred Hitchcock. In 1955, the master of suspense invested the palace for The Hand in the Snare, transforming room 623 into the setting for an electric romance between Cary Grant and a Grace Kelly more luminous than ever. Today, you can enjoy a private shot in the palace's most prized suite,Grace Kelly, or in the immoderation of the 380 m²Sean Connery suite, complete with private elevator. Here, you'll find the heritage of the jury presidents and the modernity of an Anatolian table at Rüya, before ending the day with your feet in the sand at the Beach Club.
- Where? 58 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06414 Cannes
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Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat
Sometimes all it takes is a pair of pumps and a camera to shake up the habits of a centuries-old palace. When season 2 of the phenomenon series Emily in Paris landed at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, the Four Seasons group immediately jumped on the bandwagon, launching a tour based on the heroine and her friends' Côte d'Azur escapade. Bentleys exiting the plane, shopping expeditions in Monaco under the wing of a personal shopper and beauty treatments in the cabana: the complete panoply of the American on holiday was a real hit. Although the offer is no longer officially online, staff are still busy behind the scenes putting together these tailor-made experiences. Demand continues unabated, driven by customers eager to transpose fiction into reality. on screen, we rediscover this immaculate liner of legend, where Pierre-Yves Rochon's decoration magnifies off-white and marble, capturing the special light of the peninsula. Fans will easily recognize the iconic Club Dauphin swimming pool, surrounded by umbrella pines and exotic plants, where Emily and her accomplices sip their cocktails facing the horizon. The rooms, with their generous volumes and sober elegance, are extended by terraces where the blue of the Mediterranean invites itself for breakfast.
- Where? 71 boulevard du Général de Gaulle, 06230 Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
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Le Meurice in Paris
The first Parisian palace to be built in 1835, Le Meurice is a place where you end up losing your bearings. Under the moldings, the shadow of Salvador Dalí, who had his quarters here, still seems to float next to that of Zola. Cinema has naturally made this its home. In 2011, Woody Allen set up his camera here for Minuit à Paris. We follow Owen Wilson in a nocturnal vertigo where we cross paths with Picasso or Fitzgerald at the bend in the corridor. But the walls of Le Meurice also hold more serious memories. In 2014, the film Diplomatie recreated the historic face-off between General Von Choltitz and the Swedish consul, saving the capital from destruction in August 1944. Today, Philippe Starck's touch has overturned the Grand Siècle pomp. We sit down to a feast at Alain Ducasse 's before slipping away to Bar 228, where jazz has been accompanying confidences for decades.
- Where? 228, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
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Hôtel Barrière Le Normandy in Deauville
Since 1912, this Anglo-Norman silhouette, with its picturesque half-timbering and turrets overlooking the beach, has been the setting for an idyll that has taken the world by storm. In 1966, Claude Lelouch set down his camera here for Un homme et une femme, a Palme d'or winner and two-time Oscar winner. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Anouk Aimée can be seen again in the famous suite 401, since renamed after the film, sealing for eternity the link between the establishment and the seventh art. Within its walls, eras cross: from the opening of Coco Chanel's first boutique to the arrival of Brad Pitt for the American Film Festival. Recently renovated, this jewel of heritage has been restored to its former glory, while preserving the soul of a manor house. We come here for the charm of the slate roofs and the atmosphere of an enchanted interlude, where every nook and cranny still seems to whisper the famous"chabadabada" that continues to put Deauville on the international map.
- Where? 38 rue Jean Mermoz, 14800 Deauville
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Hôtel Barrière Le Normandy
Château de la Chèvre d'Or in Èze
Between Nice and Monaco, perched 430 meters above sea level on its eagle's nest, this jewel of Èze, restored in 1953, has been transformed into a labyrinth of luxury, with 45 rooms named after illustrious guests such as Cocteau and Nietzsche, hidden away in the cobbled streets of the medieval village. The seventh art has found a timeless setting here. In 2007, Rob Reiner set down his cameras here for The Bucket List. We follow Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman on their ultimate odyssey, stopping off in the blue Mediterranean after lion hunting in Tanzania or admiring the Taj Mahal. More recently, it was the duo of Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin who took over the premises for the film Blind. Between the animal sculptures in the gardens and the opulence of the marble, the hotel, a Relais & Châteaux member, cultivates an Alice in Wonderland atmosphere, where every staircase leads to a suspended terrace.
- Where to find us Rue du Barri, 06360 Èze
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Les Rives de Notre-Dame in Paris
It was here, in the former Hôtel de Suède, that Jean-Luc Godard set up his camera in 1959 for À bout de souffle. Cinema remembers Jean-Paul Belmondo smoking in bed, between lines, facing Jean Seberg who seeks truth in cigarette smoke. While the tiny room 12 in the film disappeared during the restructuring, the soul of this XVIIᵉ century mansion, set facing the Seine, remains intact. Completely transformed in 2022, the establishment has swapped its makeshift refuge decor for that of a hushed 4-star Parisian apartment. Each room is now unique, designed to offer a level of comfort that Michel Poiccard would certainly not have denied between two escapes. Ideally located opposite the Île de la Cité, just a stone's throw from the Luxembourg Gardens and the Sorbonne, the hotel cultivates a rare intimacy in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Saint-Michel. Today, guests no longer come here for a hideaway, but for a breathtaking view of the towers of Notre-Dame and the rooftops of the Île Saint-Louis.
- Where? 15 quai Saint-Michel, 75005, Paris
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Hôtel de Paris, Monte-Carlo
On the Place du Casino, time seems to have stood still on the evening of a baccarat victory. Inaugurated in 1864, this palace is not only Monaco's center of gravity, it's also the headquarters for tuxedo-clad icons and legendary duels. It was here, at the counter of the Bar Américain, that the mythology of the small screen sealed a historic encounter in 1971. After a memorable chase from Nice, Lord Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore) and Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) faced off for the first time in the pilot ofAmicalement vôtre. More recently, in 2010, the palace served as the backdrop for Romain Duris' stratagems in L'Arnacœur. We follow his attempts to seduce Vanessa Paradis, using the splendor of the suites and terraces as accomplices in a high-voltage romance.
Today, the establishment has retained this aura of prestige after a pharaonic renovation. While the Belle Époque facades remain unchanged, the rooms and suites, like the spectacular Princess Grace Suite, feature white marble and precious woods. You'll be seated at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV, before returning to the leather armchairs of the bar, where jazz accompanies your confidences.
- Where to find us Place du Casino, 98000 Monaco
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