"Emily in Paris," starring Lily Collins, has been renewed for a fifth season on Netflix.
GIULIA PARMIGIANI/NETFLIX
Netflix renewed "Emily in Paris" for a fifth season just days after fully releasing season four.
As a fan of the show, I've visited seven of its iconic locations while in Paris.
From Emily's apartment to Gabriel's restaurant, here's how reality stacked up with the show.
"Emily in Paris" fans who binged the last episodes of season four and are already missing the messy love triangles and wild outfits on their screens can rejoice.
Whether you love her or hate her, Emily Cooper's story is not over yet.
A month after the first batch of season four episodes racked up nearly 20 million views within the first few days of premiering, Netflix confirmed a fifth season is on the way.
Following Monday's announcement, the show's creator, Darren Starr, indicated the storyline will pick up right after Emily's decision to move to Rome to open up the Italian outpost of Agence Grateau as well as pursue a romance with season four newcomer Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini).
"Emily's going to have a presence in Rome," Star told Netflix Tudum. "It doesn't mean she's not going to be in Paris, but she's going to have a presence in Rome."
Since the series debuted in 2020, I've been a big fan. So when I had the opportunity to travel to Paris in 2022, I spent a day visiting Emily's stomping grounds.
From Gabriel's restaurant to Emily's apartment, here's what seven different "Emily in Paris" locations look like in real life compared to the show.
The Eiffel Tower frequently features as a romantic destination in "Emily in Paris." But my experience was quite the opposite.
The Eiffel Tower in "Emily in Paris" and in reality.
One of the most beautiful shots used in the show is in the fifth episode of season two. In the episode titled "An Englishman in Paris," Savoir hosts an event aboard a boat on the Seine that cruises by the Eiffel Tower at night. It's beautiful and encapsulates the romantic narrative often associated with the landmark.
But when I visited the Eiffel Tower during the day, I found the reality was quite different and that the landmark was a little disappointing up close. Part of the reason was that the tower was under construction when I was there, which meant parts of it were covered by scaffolding. (It's not under scaffolding anymore.) Another letdown was how crowded it was with tour groups, which definitely took away from any romantic views I could've had.
Emily started her time in Paris working for a PR firm called Savoir, run by Sylvie Grateau (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu). The office in real life is nearly identical to the show.
Emily's offices are next to an art gallery that is open in real life.
Netflix, Maria Noyen/Business Insider
Emily initially comes to Paris after her firm in Chicago acquires a public relations firm called Savoir in France.
From episode one, we see Emily attempt to integrate into the work culture in Paris at Savoir's offices, which are located in an area known as Place de Valois. After Sylvie quits Savoir and starts her own firm called Agence Grateau, she opens up an office in the same location in season three.
Like the show, the office is in a quiet courtyard next to an art gallery. But what viewers might not know is that it's also in a prime location — it faces a beautiful five-star hotel, and the Louvre museum is only three minutes away.
Emily's apartment building is just as picturesque in real life as it is in the show.
Emily moves to Paris and lived on the fifth floor of an apartment building where her longtime love interest, Gabriel, also lives.
Netflix, Maria Noyen/Business Insider
While in Paris for work, Emily is put up in a rented apartment on the fifth floor of a traditional French building.
When I visited, I saw the exact place in the courtyard where Emily hosts a dinner party for her birthday in season two, and a few groups of tourists were taking selfies outside.
In the show, Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) is the chef at the restaurant Chez Lavaux. In reality, filming took place at an Italian restaurant called Terra Nera.
Gabriel's restaurant in "Emily in Paris" is actually an Italian restaurant in real life.
Netflix, Maria Noyen/Business Insider
In season one, Gabriel — Emily's longtime love interest — is introduced as the chef at a French restaurant called Les Deux Compères, which he later buys. The food spot is renamed Chez Lavaux in season two but is later renamed again to L'esprit de Gigi, after his grandmother, in season three.
Season four sees Gabriel achieve his dream of earning a Michelin star.
However, in real life, filming took place just down the street from Emily's apartment building at an Italian restaurant called Terra Nera.
It might not be Michelin-starred, but like the show, the real restaurant exterior was painted a deep shade of red and was bustling with diners when I visited.
Filming inside Gabriel's restaurant must've taken place elsewhere because the restaurant's interior looked completely different in reality.
The inside of Gabriel's restaurant was clearly filmed elsewhere.
Netflix, Maria Noyen/Business Insider
When I had dinner at Terra Nera with a friend, I couldn't help but notice how different some elements of the restaurant looked in real life compared to the show.
The most noticeable change was that no open kitchen provided diners with views of the chefs. Instead, a selection of wines lined the restaurant wall where the kitchen was in the show.
Overall, the restaurant was a lot smaller than it appeared in "Emily in Paris." It also didn't serve traditional French food — although the seafood pasta I ordered was delicious.
The Boulangerie Moderne, Emily's local bakery, was closed when I visited. Graffiti aside, the exterior looked similar to the show.
Emily discovers a love for French baking her local boulangerie.
Netflix, Maria Noyen/Business Insider
Like in "Emily in Paris," the Boulangerie Moderne is next to Terra Nera and Emily's apartment building.
In season one, Emily discovers a love for French baked goods at the Boulangerie Moderne, so I was looking forward to seeing how it compared to different bakeries I'd already visited in Paris.
Sadly, the bakery was closed when I visited it on a Sunday afternoon. A metal shutter was pulled down in front of the establishment, which was covered in graffiti, and there weren't any customers sipping coffee at tables outside.
In season one, Emily dumps her Chicago boyfriend on the phone in front of the Pantheon in Paris. In real life, the monument looked too busy with tourists to have an intimate conversation.
Emily dumps her long-distance boyfriend from Chicago over a phone call in public in season one.
Netflix, Maria Noyen/Business Insider
In episode two of the first season of Emily in Paris, Emily breaks up with her boyfriend back in Chicago because he is reluctant to visit her in Paris.
She dumps him over a phone call while standing in front of the Pantheon, a monument in the Latin Quarter of Paris close to her apartment, Gabriel's restaurant, and the Boulangerie Moderne.
I ended up passing by the Pantheon on my way to Emily's neighborhood, and it was busy with tourists and young French teenagers hanging out in front of the monument.
Given the number of people around, one of my first thoughts was that it wouldn't have been my first choice of location to break up with anyone over the phone.
Emily meets her friend Mindy (Ashley Park) in a park close to the Savoir office. Filming took place at the Palais Royal Gardens.
Emily and Mindy become fast friends after meeting on a bench in Paris.
Netflix, Maria Noyen/Business Insider
In season one of "Emily in Paris," Emily befriends Mindy, then a nanny working for a French couple, on her lunch break.
In the scene, viewers see Emily bring a baguette and cheese to a park bench when the children Mindy is nannying run past her, knocking her food to the ground.
Filming took place at the Palais Royal Gardens. It is less than a five-minute walk from Savoir's offices, making it a realistic option for Emily to visit on her lunch break.
The park itself was quiet and beautiful in real life. It also featured the same green benches with inscriptions written in French as seen on the show.
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