Netflix organizes a free tour of the locations of its TV series in Europe. And we have been there

If you have traveled abroad and resisted the temptation to track down the locations where you shot the films and series that for one reason or another have remained in your heart, it is very likely that we would not believe you. One of the most beautiful things about holidays outside the city is, in fact, discovering how the productions manage to isolate the corners of a city by transferring them to the microcosm that only television and cinema can pack, arousing in the public that process of fascination and interest that it brings. millions of tourists still today to photograph themselves in front of Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment in the West Village and to immortalize themselves in the center of the famous glimpse of DUMBO – the one with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background – present in Once upon a time in America. Netflix has absorbed this lesson before the others, to the point of packaging a completely free tour for its aficionados capable of taking them to the most evocative locations of its flagship seriesfrom The paper house to Emily in Parisfrom Lupine to Bridgerton. The tour, organized by the streaming service together with Sandeman’s New Europe Tours and active only from 11 to 17 July, has its roots in three cities of extraordinary beauty – London, Paris and Madrid – helping tourists to discover them in a new light, living the same experiences, as the Americans say, that the characters of the TV series have lived until late at night in the middle of binge-watching. After two complicated years for everyone, after all, TV series were perhaps the only truly effective window to show us the worldwhich is why now is the time to return the favor by putting down the remote control and picking up the passport.

We from Vanity Fair Italy we had the opportunity to try for you two of the tours offered by Netflix and bookable here: that of Madrid and that of Paris, experiencing an adventure that made us savor not only the beauty of these two cities so steeped in art and history, but also the sensations we felt watching the series that were shot in these two places. Our journey started in Madrid, which for Netflix represents a particularly thriving market given that, from 2016 to 2021, the platform has released over 60 original titles in Spain achieving international success thanks to titles such as Elite, Welcome to Edén and especially, The paper house, which led subscribers from all over the world to spend over 6.7 billion hours in front of the taking of the State Mint to understand if the coup organized by the Professor was successful or not (even if, to be honest, The paper house it cannot be considered in all respects an original Netflix title having been purchased only at a later time, after being broadcast on Antena 3). Under a scorching sun but an incredibly bearable temperature for late June in Madrid, we waited for our guide at Plaza de Españawhere it was pointed out to us that the famous Riu hotels not far away was the location of some of the most famous scenes of EliteFuimos Canciones and, above all, Valeria – memorable the glass catwalk suspended in the void that created many problems on the set, given that one of the leading actresses suffered from vertigo. Shortly after we moved to Plaza de Callao which, in addition to hosting the cinema that serves as the basis for all the most important premieres in Spain – including that of the fourth season of Stranger Things – it was also the setting for a famous sequence from the first season of The paper house: the one in which the gang rains money on the crowd and in which the Professor’s face appears on the big screen announcing to the Nation the goal reached in front of the authorities.

A few meters further down, there is in the distance the Telefónica Building overlooking Gran Via, where the exteriors of the series were filmed The switchboard girlsespecially interesting for the use of authentic costumes from the 1920s and 1930s transported to the set from costume rental houses in Rome. The most particular stop of all, however, was Plaza de Chueca, in the center of the gay district of Madrid which we discover to be the largest in Europe – there are hundreds of shops showing ultra-tight rompers and tank tops worn by muscular mannequins that cannot fail to create expectations on the physical prowess of the homosexual community Made in Spain –. In this neighborhood, elected by Pedro Almodóvar as the headquarters for many of his films, the LGBTQ + community has found a home and a crossroads of cultures and emotions, not to mention the installation of Netflix set up at the Chueca subway stop which, like that of Porta Venezia in Milan, has become permanent, with the rainbow panels attached all year round to the walls of the platform. Last step: Plaza de la Memoria Trans, which hosts the favorite cafe of Valeria and also the place where the undersigned, along with dozens of foreign journalists and influencers, stuffed himself with tapas until he burst out. Leaving Madrid – which hosts the first Netflix production hub in Europe in Tres Cantos which has opened the doors, among others, to productions such as Elite and, soon, too The Longest Nighta kind of Sea Out Madrid) our journey continued towards Paris, which, to the delight of the writer, presented itself in its most spring-like guise while in Italy it was boiling due to the scorching temperatures.

In France and, in particular, in Paris, Netflix hit the bull’s-eye with over 116 original titles between 2016 and 2022, included Lupine and especially, Emily in Paristhe series created by the father of Sex and the City Darren Star which, according to the platform, would have aroused renewed interest in French culture in about 61% of subscribers. The tour, on this tour, came to life by Luxembourg Gardens, on the border between Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter: a very suggestive location that was the setting for a scene of Lupine, the one in which Assane Diop is disguised as a delivery boy – for the record, it took 2 days to shoot due to adverse weather conditions, in the presence of 50 extras -. Shortly after we moved to Place de l’Estrapade, location of both Emily Cooper’s apartment and Gabriel’s hunk’s hut – which, in reality, is an Italian restaurant called Black Earth – and, above all, of the boulangerie in front of which Emily takes a selfie while biting into a pain au chocolat. Pain au chocolat which, we can tell you, we also tasted to the delight of the colony of pigeons that gathered under our feet to nibble on the crumbs that rained heavily on the asphalt. Next steps: the Pantheon, background of many successful films; the Cinema Le Champo where Luc takes Emily to see Jules et Jim of Truffaut – even if her reaction is capital punishment -; And Saint-Michel squarethe place where fashion meets nightlife and fun – curiosity: in both seasons of Emily in Paris there are numerous garments by historical French designers such as Dior and Balmain, but also by newcomers such as Charles de Vilmorin, EGONlab and Victor Weinsanto.

After the bath in fashion, here is a dive into history with Notre Dame de Paris still trapped in the iron framework because of the accident that led to the destruction of its bell tower in 2019. Accident told on Netflix in the series Notre-Dame La Part du Feu to be released soon and dedicated to the people who fought to put out the flames and save this incredible work of art on the night of April 14-15. Last stages of the Parisian tour: Pont des Arts, background of the scene in which Emily looks out over the Seine looking straight ahead and holding her smartphone; the Louvre Museum which he granted to the 200 people of the troupe of Lupine to take a selfie with La Gioconda behind, and the neighbor Place de Valois, which would be the square where it is based Savoir, the marketing company that led Emily to eradicate her American life and move to France. In short, a tour, the one organized by Netflix, which succeeds in the very difficult task of bringing the visitor to a complete and immersive experience while not accessing any physical place, but teasing him about what Jane Austen would have defined “general splendor”. At this point you just have to go here and book your tour for free. Beware, though: the opportunity is only valid from 11 to 17 July and there are limited places. Hurry up and you will not regret it.

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