Paris is the capital of France, situated on the River Seine, at the heart of the lle-de-France region. Its also known as “The City of Love” and “The City of Light”.
Though several Hollywood movies have been shot here, considering the global stature of this city, not as many Bollywood movies have been shot here in Paris. And the ones that have been shot here, most of them have bombed at the box office, which means the Indian audience really didn’t get to see much of Paris. So unless you show them the Eiffel Tower, they’ll mistake it for any other city in Europe.
But then its definitely a place where most Bollywood stars love to holiday, and even the Indian tourist who’s planning a vacation to Europe makes sure that Paris is there on their itinerary.
Shraddha Kapoor loves Paris, shares her top attractions
Shraddha Kapoor loves Paris, tells us what not to miss in the first city of fashion.
Like most women, even Shraddha Kapoor desired to go to the most romantic destination in the world – Paris, while she was growing up. And she did fulfill her dream.
So which places would Shraddha recommend to someone who will be visiting Paris? Here are some suggestions from Shraddha (when in Paris):
- Spend a summer afternoon in the greenery of the Jardin du Luxembourg and indulge in some people-watching while sipping a cool drink
- Visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa. You’ll see how small it actually is in real life. You must also see the Napolean III apartments in the museum.
- Walk around the Marais neighbourhood. Its great for shopping, has cute boutiques and nice cafes to chill in.
Skip the Moulin Rouge. Personally, I feel it was quite overrated. The Zangoora in Delhi is much more spectacular.
When asked whom she would have loved to go to Paris with, Shraddha Kapoor gave a diplomatic answer (probably she wanted to indicate that she and Aditya Roy Kapur have parted ways).
“I would like to take Priyanka Chopra along with me. I choose her because I admire her work and she is an absolute rockstar as a person. I love her and I am big fan of her. We would do some girly bonding and I am sure we will have lots of fun together,” Shraddha.
Shraddha Kapoor’s Love for Paris | Eiffel Tower Replica Launch. Shraddha unveiled the 40-ft replica of popular tourist attraction Eiffel Tower at the fashion event organized by kanakia Group.
Bollywood Films Shot in Paris
‘An Evening in Paris’ (starring Shammi Kapoor & Sharmila Tagore) was shot extensively in Paris.
In recent times, Kangna Ranaut starrer ‘Queen’, SRK starrer ‘Don’, ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’, ‘London Dreams’ and a few other movies have also been shot here.
Title track of ‘An Evening in Paris’ (1967)
Aditya Chopra’s Paris Shoot Runs into Rough Weather Post Terror Attacks
One of Bollywood’s biggest directors, Aditya Chopra (director of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge), who’s directing the film Befikre (with Ranveer Singh and Vani Kapoor) after a gap of 7 years, wanted to shoot his upcoming film in Paris. However, after the terror attacks in Paris, Aditya Chopra and his crew were worried whether their team could be subjected to more security checks and clearances, thus taking up valuable shot time.
But because the film is a romantic drama, Aditya Chopra wanted to film it in Paris. The team waited for a few days, and continued with their shoot in Paris.
Film Shooting in Paris
Shooting in the streets of Paris is free whereas shooting indoors or on location of museums, gardens, parks, stadiums, swimming pools etc. involves a charge stipulated by the Council of Paris. For more information regarding conditions and authorization for shooting, yu may checkout the Paris Films Website- www.parisfilm.fr/uk/.
Bollywood in Paris
Bollywood films are not just popular with the Asian diaspora based in Paris, even the french love the melodrama, songs and dances, colorful costumes, beautiful Indian women and the happy ending in hindi movies!
That also explains why ‘Bharati’- a Bollywood Musical and Bollywood Show is so popular in Paris.
Some dance clubs in Paris have regular ‘Bollywood Nights’, where the required dress code is ‘Indian ethnic’ and DJs play the latest chart-busters from Bollywood movies.
Bollywood at Cannes
The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival (2013) red carpet looked a lot like the Bollywood Filmfare Awards. Freida Pinto, Sonam Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (both promote L’oreal Paris products), Amisha Patel, Vidya Balan (appointed the jury member this year), Big B were present at the esteemed French film festival.
Euro 2016 (Football Tournament) in Paris
Paris, also hosted the Euro 2016 (football tournament). Surprisingly, Euro 2016 was also the reason, tourists and business travelers stayed away from Paris (initially), because the general perception was that flights, trains and roads will be filled with football fans (and soccer is certainly not a gentleman’s game), and so the travel tickets may be very expensive or not available.
The warnings about terrorist-attacks during the tournament and strikes by train staff have also put-off several tourists, resulting in mass cancellations.
The good thing is that (for those who love to plan at the last moment), as a result of all the uncertainty, a host of last-minute deals were available during Euro 2016. So, as long as you avoid match venues (easy to do considering the size of the country), you can expect some great deals.
Holidaying in Paris
SRK loves to visit the Fashion capital – Paris with his wife and kids; this star couple adore the ‘city of love’. They also make it a point to visit the Euro Disney, as it’s their kids favorite place in Paris.
Couple of years back ‘Kareena & Saif’ were seen shopping and sightseeing in Paris. The couple also took some time out to attend the Jeager LeCouture Reverso 80th anniversary party in the city.
Paris Tourism
When you’re talking about Paris, the first thing that comes to mind is the Eiffel Tower, probably the most popular landmark in France. Its also among the most-visited paid monument in the world. The Eiffel tower gets its named after ‘Gustave Eiffel’, the engineer whose company designed and constructed it.
Paris’ architecture differs vastly and may look like an urban engineering conundrum, yet it looks beautiful. Things to do and see in the world’s most visited city: View of the entire city from Montmartre; majesty of the Champs-Elysees; Wall of “I Love You’s”; engineering marvel of the Eiffel Tower; eroticism of Pigalle; the grandeur of the River Seine, and more.
Here are 10 things you must do when in Paris.
- Checkout the largest and most opulent castles in the world – ‘The Palaces of Versailles’
- Take a trip down the River ‘Seine’ onboard the Bateaux Parisiens River Cruise (best way to see famous landmarks of Paris)
- See the Arc De Triomphe (iconic monument in Paris)
- For the finest art work in the world, visit ‘The Louvre Museum’
- Visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame
- Take a trip to ‘O Chateau Wine Tasting’ to savor some exquisite wines of France.
- Visit the Orsay Museum – exhibits work of world renowned artists such as Delacroix, Manet, Guaguin, Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, van Gogh and many more.
- Get a stunning view of Paris city from the 56th observation floor of the Montparnasse Tower
- Palais Garnier (huge opera house that was built for the Paris Opera), one of most beautiful buildings on the Paris skyline.
- Grevin Wax Museum to see the world’s most famous people dramatically posed (made of wax)
Paris is a great place to visit, with endless things to do. In addition to the fine art at the museums, there are other great photography exhibits. Lots of beautiful parks and gardens as well for families to enjoy. So wish you the most enjoyable trip to Paris.
