Last Updated on 6 September 2026 by frenchflicks
France has provided the backdrop for some of the most romantic, beautiful and atmospheric movies ever made. From the cobblestone streets of Paris to the glamorous French Riviera, the lavender fields of Provence and the rugged coast of Brittany, these films capture very different sides of the country.
And they aren’t all French movies. Some were made in Hollywood, some in France, and some are international productions. What they have in common is that France is more than a backdrop. It’s part of the story.
Planning your first trip to France? Dreaming about returning, or simply looking for a movie that will transport you there for a couple of hours? Here are 20 movies guaranteed to give you a serious case of envie de France.
Paris
Paris is one of the most filmed city in the world, but the best movies don’t just show the Eiffel Tower. They capture the cafés, neighborhoods, gardens and everyday magic that make the city so irresistible.
1. Before Sunset (2004)
Where: Paris
Few movies capture the pleasure of simply walking around Paris better than Before Sunset.
Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) reunite in Paris nine years after meeting in Vienna, spending an afternoon walking through the city and talking about love, relationships and the lives they ended up living.
There are no explosions, elaborate set pieces or grand romantic gestures.
Just two people walking and talking through Paris.
And that’s exactly why it works.
From the banks of the Seine to the city’s streets and cafés, the movie makes Paris feel less like a tourist destination and more like a place where you could spend an afternoon getting wonderfully lost.
Watch this if: You want to experience Paris like a local rather than a tourist.
2. Amélie (2001)
Where: Montmartre, Paris
If one movie could be used to convince someone to visit Paris, Amélie would be a pretty good choice.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s whimsical romantic comedy follows Amélie Poulain, played by Audrey Tautou, a shy young woman who secretly sets out to improve the lives of the people around her.
Much of the movie takes place around Montmartre, and its Paris is almost impossibly charming: neighborhood cafés, tiny shops, colorful streets and the Sacré-Cœur overlooking the city.
Yes, the Paris of Amélie is highly stylized. But that’s part of its appeal.
Watch this if: You want the most romantic, whimsical version of Paris imaginable.
3. Midnight in Paris (2011)
Where: Paris
Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris takes the fantasy of Paris one step further.
American writer Gil Pender, played by Owen Wilson, visits Paris with his fiancée and discovers that every night at midnight, he can somehow travel back to the city’s literary golden age of the 1920s.
The movie moves between modern Paris and the Paris of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Picasso, but it’s the city itself that steals the show.
The opening sequence alone is essentially a love letter to Paris.
Watch this if: You dream about wandering through Paris after dark and imagining all the people who walked those streets before you.
4. Paris, je t’aime (2006)
Where: Paris
What better movie to include in a list about falling in love with France than one whose title literally means Paris, I Love You?
Paris, je t’aime is an anthology of 18 short films, each set in a different part of Paris. Directors from around the world, including the Coen brothers, Alfonso Cuarón and Wes Craven, each offer their own interpretation of the city.
The result is less a single story than a collection of little love letters to Paris.
It’s also a great way to see different neighborhoods and sides of the city rather than the usual handful of landmarks.
Watch this if: You want to explore the many different faces of Paris in one movie.
5. Ratatouille (2007)
Where: Paris
Yes, it’s an animated movie about a rat who wants to become a chef.
It’s also one of the most lovingly rendered portraits of Paris ever put on screen.
Pixar’s Ratatouille takes you through Parisian markets, rooftops, restaurants and winding streets, culminating in one of the most memorable depictions of French food in popular cinema.
And if you’re traveling with children, this one is practically mandatory.
Watch this if: You want Paris, French food and something the whole family can enjoy.
The French Riviera
For a completely different France, head south.
The Côte d’Azur means sunshine, turquoise water, glamorous villas, beautiful towns and a lifestyle that seems designed for long lunches.
6. To Catch a Thief (1955)
Where: French Riviera
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly on the French Riviera. Need we say more?
Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief follows retired jewel thief John Robie as he tries to clear his name while wealthy visitors to the Riviera are being targeted by a mysterious copycat.
The plot is fun, but the real star is the location.
Monaco, Nice and the hills above the Mediterranean provide the perfect setting for one of Hollywood’s great romantic thrillers.
And Grace Kelly’s wardrobe isn’t exactly going to make you dislike the Riviera either.
Watch this if: Your idea of France involves sunshine, glamour, Mediterranean views and very expensive-looking hotels.
7. La Piscine (1969)
Where: French Riviera
La Piscine is practically summer in the south of France condensed into two hours.
Alain Delon and Romy Schneider play a couple spending an idyllic holiday at a villa near Saint-Tropez. Then an old friend arrives, and the atmosphere begins to change.
The swimming pool, the villa, the heat and the Mediterranean setting create an almost hypnotic sense of summer.
It’s beautiful, sensual and increasingly tense.
Watch this if: You want to see the French Riviera at its most glamorous and effortlessly chic.
8. Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Where: French Riviera
Based on Françoise Sagan’s famous novel, Bonjour Tristesse follows a young woman spending the summer with her wealthy father on the Côte d’Azur.
The movie captures the Riviera’s combination of breathtaking scenery and privileged summer living, while beneath the surface, family tensions are building. It’s another reminder that French Riviera movies don’t necessarily need much plot.
Give them a villa, a pool, the Mediterranean and enough complicated relationships, and you’re already halfway there.
Watch this if: You want old-school Riviera glamour with a darker edge.
Provence and the South of France
Leave the coast behind and head inland.
Here, France becomes quieter: stone villages, vineyards, olive trees, lavender fields and long lunches in the sunshine.
9. Jean de Florette (1986)
Where: Provence
Claude Berri’s Jean de Florette takes you deep into the Provençal countryside.
The story follows Jean, played by Gérard Depardieu, who moves with his family to a rural village to start a new life as a farmer.
The landscape is beautiful, but the story is anything but idyllic.
The movie, along with its sequel Manon des Sources, is one of the great cinematic portraits of rural Provence.
Watch this if: You want to see Provence beyond the postcard version.
10. Manon des Sources (1986)
Where: Provence
The companion film to Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources continues the story several years later.
It is impossible to watch these two movies without wanting to see the Provençal landscapes for yourself. The hills, dry stone buildings, fields and small villages make rural Provence feel almost like another world.
And if you’ve ever dreamed of escaping city life for a little house in the French countryside, this probably won’t help.
Watch this if: You want a beautiful, atmospheric portrait of rural Provence.
11. A Good Year (2006)
Where: Provence
Ridley Scott’s A Good Year is essentially a two-hour advertisement for moving to Provence.
Russell Crowe plays a London-based investment banker who inherits a vineyard in the south of France and travels there expecting to sell it.
Naturally, things don’t go according to plan.
The movie gives you vineyards, village markets, old stone houses, sunny terraces and the kind of Provençal lifestyle that makes answering emails suddenly seem like a terrible idea.
Watch this if: You have ever fantasized about quitting your job and opening a vineyard in France.
12. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Where: Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, Occitanie
An Indian family opens a restaurant in the south of France directly across from a Michelin-starred French restaurant.
The food rivalry is fun, but the French village setting is what makes the movie irresistible.
Stone buildings, outdoor markets, rolling countryside and long meals make this a particularly good choice if your idea of France involves food and rural life rather than Paris.
Watch this if: Your ideal French holiday involves a market, a village and a table covered in food.
Brittany and the French Coast
France’s Atlantic coast has a completely different character from the Mediterranean.
It’s wilder, windier and often more atmospheric.
13. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Where: Cherbourg, Normandy
Jacques Demy’s colorful musical is set in Cherbourg, a port city in Normandy.
The story follows Geneviève and Guy, two young lovers separated when Guy is called away for military service.
Catherine Deneuve stars as Geneviève, in the role that helped make her an international star.
Every line of dialogue is sung, the colors are extraordinary, and the movie has an unmistakably French romantic sensibility.
It also gives you a glimpse of a France far removed from Paris.
Watch this if: You like old-fashioned romance, gorgeous cinematography and musicals that are unlike anything Hollywood produces today.
14. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Where: Brittany
Set on an isolated island off the coast of Brittany in the late 18th century, Portrait of a Lady on Fire follows a painter commissioned to create a portrait of a young woman.
The rugged coastline is crucial to the movie’s atmosphere.
This isn’t the sunny, postcard version of France. The Brittany shown here is windswept, remote and dramatic.
And it’s spectacular.
Watch this if: You want a more wild and atmospheric side of the French coast.
The French Alps
France isn’t only beaches and vineyards.
Head east and you’ll find some of Europe’s most spectacular mountain scenery.
15. Belle and Sebastian (2013)
Where: French Alps
Set during World War II, Belle and Sebastian follows a young boy and a huge white dog living in a mountain village in the French Alps.
The story is aimed at families, but the scenery is the real reason to watch.
Snow-covered mountains, alpine villages and wide-open landscapes make this one of the best choices on the list for anyone who wants to see France’s mountainous side.
Watch this if: You’re looking for something family-friendly with spectacular scenery.
16. The Crimson Rivers (2000)
Where: French Alps
For a completely different take on the Alps, try The Crimson Rivers.
Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel star as two detectives investigating a series of disturbing murders in a remote university town high in the French mountains.
The movie is dark, atmospheric and tense, with the snowy Alpine landscape providing an unforgettable backdrop.
This certainly isn’t the France of sunny terraces and lavender fields, but that’s precisely what makes it interesting. The mountains feel isolated, imposing and almost menacing.
Watch this if: You want your French scenery with a side of murder mystery.
France Beyond the Tourist Trail
Some movies don’t fit neatly into one region. Instead, they show a France that feels more everyday, eccentric or unexpected.
17. Chocolat (2000)
Where: Rural France
A mysterious woman and her daughter arrive in a small French village and open a chocolate shop during Lent.
The village itself is fictional, but the movie captures the idea of a small French community beautifully: the church, the town square, the cafés, the river and the slow pace of life.
And yes, you will probably want chocolate while watching it.
Watch this if: Your dream France is a tiny village where everyone knows everyone.
18. The French Dispatch (2021)
Where: A fictional French town
Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch takes place in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé.
It isn’t really an attempt to portray a geographically accurate France. Instead, it’s Wes Anderson’s highly stylized fantasy of France, inspired by French cinema, cafés, journalism and mid-century aesthetics.
Think of it as France filtered through Wes Anderson’s imagination.
Watch this if: You like quirky movies, beautiful production design and an extremely stylized version of France.
19. The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)
Where: Marseille and beyond
The latest major adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic adventure begins in Marseille before taking its hero across France and the Mediterranean.
Pierre Niney stars as Edmond Dantès, and the Château d’If, Marseille’s coastline and the dramatic landscapes give the movie a wonderful sense of place.
It’s also a great reminder that French cinema can deliver a huge-scale adventure just as well as Hollywood.
Watch this if: You want France with sword fights, castles, revenge and spectacular scenery.
20. The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023)
Where: Paris and across France
If The Count of Monte Cristo makes you want more historical France, The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan is an obvious next stop.
This lavish French adaptation takes you through 17th-century France, from Paris to castles, forests and royal courts.
François Civil stars as D’Artagnan, alongside Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris and Pio Marmaï.
It’s fast-paced, entertaining and much more action-packed than the average period drama.
Watch this if: You want to explore France while watching sword fights rather than sipping wine.
The France You Want to Visit
One of the best things about watching movies set in France is realizing just how different the country can look from one film to another.
Want romantic Paris?
Start with Before Sunset, Amélie or Midnight in Paris.
Want sunshine and glamour?
Put on To Catch a Thief or La Piscine.
Want lavender fields and a slower pace of life?
Go straight to Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources or A Good Year.
Want dramatic coastlines?
Try Portrait of a Lady on Fire or The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
Want mountains?
Belle and Sebastian will take you there — or try The Crimson Rivers if you’d rather have your Alps covered in snow and murder.
And if you’re looking for a movie that captures the simple pleasure of French food, villages and everyday life, Ratatouille, Chocolat or The Hundred-Foot Journey are hard to beat.
The best part is that you don’t have to choose just one.
You can travel through France without leaving your sofa.
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