Emily spends most of Season 1, Episode 7 trying to meet the demands of American actress Brooklyn Clark, but on the upside at least she also spends most of it at the fashionable Parisian Palace, the Hôtel Plaza Athénée (25 Av. Montaigne; dorchestercollection.com; rooms from €2,200). If your budget doesn’t stretch to Brook’s prestigious Haute Couture Suite (from €16,000) then like Emily, soak up some of the glamour – or at least let go of some stress – over a drink at the hotel’s swanky Le Bar. This is also Sylvie’s choice for a meeting with ex-husband Laurent in season 2, episode 10. The gilded gold Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse at sister hotel Le Meurice makes an appearance in Season 3 Episode 8 as the setting for Sylvie’s breakfast with Nicolas’ father, Louis de Leon.
Where Emily spends her birthday Part Un
Cimetière du Père Lachaise
A cemetery doesn’t sound like somewhere Emily would throw a fête (unless it was the setting for a Savoir Halloween party) so she was understandably dubious when Luc took her to Cimetière du Père Lachaise (Père Lachaise Cemetery) at 16 Rue du Repos (free admission) for a birthday lunch at the grave of Honoré de Balzac.
While you might not spot many locals rolling out the picnic blanket, you will spot nature-starved Parisians enjoying a stroll through one of city’s most bucolic spaces. It’s also Paris’ biggest cemetery and the final resting place of other notables including Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, and Edith Piaf. A map obtained at the entrance will help you search them out.
Where Emily spends her birthday Part Deux
Marché Bastille
As croissant- and champagne-loving Emily knows, one of the best ways to immerse yourself in French culture is through the food. And luckily for her, when it comes to planning an al fresco birthday dinner party outside her apartment building (on place de l’Estrapade) she has Chef Gabriel to take her grocery shopping. Gabriel’s favourite Parisian food market is Marché Bastille (2018 Bd Richard-Lenoir) in the 11th, although the scene was actually filmed at the smaller but also delicious Marché d’Aligre (25-11 Rue d’Aligre) in the 12th. He likes to get there at 7am but unless you’re cooking up a storm at Chez Lavaux, you don’t need to set the alarm quite that early.
Once you’re done browsing stop by the oyster stand at Marché Bastille for midday oysters and a glass of white wine, and over at Marché d’Aligre, try to snag a spot on a terrace at one of the cafés surrounding the market.