Audrey Hepburn in Paris

Through Fashionable Paris
in the Steps of Audrey Hepburn
Through Fashionable Paris
in the Steps of Audrey Hepburn
1. Givenchy headquarters, 3, avenue George V, 8e 2. No. 2, avenue Montaigne, 8e 3. Christian Dior, 30, avenue Montaigne, 8e 4. No. 3, avenue de Matignon, 8e 5. Stamp market, near avenue Gabriel, 8e 6. American Embassy, 2, avenue Gabriel, 8e 7. Maxim’s, 3, rue Royale, 8e 8. Ritz Hotel, 15, Place Vendôme, 1er 9. Palais Royal, 1er 10. Didier Ludot boutique, Palais Royal, 1er 11. Comédie Française, 1, Place Colette, 1er Through Fashionable Paris
in the Steps of Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn made five films on location in Paris: Funny Face (1957), Love in the Afternoon (1957), Charade (1963), Paris When It Sizzles (1964) and How to Steal a Million (1966). Funny Face was one of the first American films to be shot on location in the city and showcases almost every major tourist attraction. Other films explored some less well known areas. This walk will take you past locations from all five films in the chic 1st and 8th Arrondissements. A list of other locations easily reached by metro or Vélib’ is also included for hard‐core fans. Wear Givenchy. The walk starts at the Alma‐Marceau metro station. Take the exit marked Avenue Montaigne. When you emerge in the Place de l’Alma, keep the Eiffel Tower to your left, and cross the road. Walk up avenue George V to 1. Givenchy headquarters, at No. 3. This was the site of the first meeting between the young Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy in 1954. Audrey was about to film Sabrina. Although the movie was shot in Hollywood, it was Hubert de Givenchy who made the glorious dresses that Audrey wears on her return from cooking school in Paris. Okay, no apprentice cook who was the daughter of a chauffeur could really afford to dress like that, but that was 1950s Hollywood fantasy for you. Audrey and Givenchy hit it off from this first meeting, and the rest is history. Retrace your steps toward the metro entrance, and turn left into avenue Montaigne. Cross the road to find 2. No. 2, avenue Montaigne. In Funny Face (1957), this is the scene of the fashion parade for which Audrey is late. The building is not open to the public. Continue up avenue Montaigne, passing the chic Hôtel Plaza‐Athénée with its red awnings on the left. No. 30 avenue Montaigne, is the flagship of 3. Christian Dior. The building can be glimpsed in Paris When It Sizzles (Marlene Dietrich is seen emerging from a white Rolls‐Royce to enter the store). Enjoy the window displays of the many luxury brands located on this street. Continue all the way to the Champs Elysées. Work your way around the Rond‐Point and enter avenue Matignon, which is directly opposite avenue Montaigne. Look for 4. No. 3, avenue de Matignon. This is the supposed location of the room where William Holden is searching for inspiration in Paris When It Sizzles. Cross the road and enter the park. The gardens between the Champs Elysées and Avenue Gabriel feature in both Charade (5. the Stamp Market, which is crucial to the plot, is located here on Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) and How to Steal a Million (Audrey and Peter O’Toole plot the big heist sitting on a bench here). The tree‐shaded avenue Gabriel passes the palace of the French president and ends at No. 2, or 6. The American Embassy. (There are usually lots of security guards in this area.) The embassy is featured at the beginning and end of Charade. Walter Matthau pretends to work there, but it is Cary Grant who turns out to be the real diplomat. You will emerge into the Place de la Concorde. Walk past the Hôtel Crillon and turn left into rue Royale. Note the Art Nouveau exterior on your left at No. 3, rue Royale. This is 7. Maxim’s, the chic restaurant where Eli Wallach gets very friendly with Audrey in How to Steal a Million. Maxim’s maintains a boutique as well as a restaurant, in case you want a souvenir. Continue to rue St‐Honoré, turn right, and cross the road. Follow rue St‐Honoré (excellent window‐shopping) to No. 362. This is Cour Vendôme. It offers a shortcut to Place Vendôme. When you emerge into the Place, you will see the white awnings of 8. Hotel Ritz on your left at No. 15. The Ritz appears in three of Audrey’s films. The scene in which Audrey drives Peter O’Toole to the hotel in his E‐type Jaguar (she is wearing a fetching combination of nightdress, coat and gumboots) in the middle of the night in How to Steal a Million is a classic. This is also where Gary Cooper hangs out in Love in the Afternoon. And the magazine editor in Funny Face stays at the Ritz. Keeping the hotel on your left, take the road leading out of the Place Vendôme and then turn right into rue Danielle Casanova. This street offers many places to stop for refreshment, or you can buy a sandwich and have a picnic later in the walk, in the gardens of the Palais Royal. Cross avenue de l’Opéra and continue along rue des Petits Champs, which is directly opposite. Note the Passage Choiseul on the left, one of Paris’s many beautiful shopping arcades. Turn right into rue de Richelieu. Look for Passage Beaujolais, which is just a few doors down on the left. Walk through and you will find yourself at the back of 9. Palais Royal. The Palais Royal Theater is directly in front of you. Bear left and look for the archway leading into the Palais Royal colonnade and gardens. The Palais Royal is the site of the cat‐and‐mouse scene at the end of Charade. Audrey is trying to figure out whether Cary Grant or Walter Matthau is the bad guy, and the stark lighting highlights the colonnade and heightens the drama. If you walk the length of the Galerie Montpensier, you will pass the boutique 10. Didier Ludot. This designer has written an entire book on the subject of the little black dress (or LBD). Chanel may have created the original LBD, but Audrey gave it her own style in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Didier Ludot sells vintage haute couture—check to see if there is anything by Givenchy you can try on. At the very end of the colonnade is 11. The Comédie Française, where the bad guy in Charade gets his comeuppance. This is a good place to end the walk or to stop for coffee or a drink. But if you are a diehard Audrey Hepburn fan, you can also explore: 12. Le Cochon à l’Oreille, 15, rue Montmartre, 1er: this is the restaurant in which Walter Matthau and Audrey have a serious talk in Charade. (Metro: Etienne Marcel) 13. Hotel Maxim, 28, rue Censier, 5e: Cary Grant and Audrey spend time here in Charade (it is called the Hôtel St‐Jacques in the film). Several scenes were filmed in this Left Bank neighbourhood. (Metro: Censier‐Daubenton) 14. Musée Cernuschi, 7, avenue Vélasquez, 8e: this is the emptied‐out home to which Audrey returns at the beginning of Charade. (Metro: Monceau) 15. Musée Jacquemart‐André, 158, boulevard Haussmann, 8e: the exterior played the part of the Musée Kléber‐
Lafayette in How to Steal a Million; the interiors, however, were shot in a studio. (Metro: Miromesnil) 16. Palais de Chaillot, 35, avenue Raymond Poincaré, 16e: the Art Deco palace appears in Paris When It Sizzles. (Metro: Trocadéro) 17. Hotel Raphael, 17, avenue Kléber, 16e: Audrey usually stayed in this hotel while filming in Paris. (Metro: Kléber) And, of course, all those familiar sights from Funny Face: the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Winged Victory in the Louvre, the Opéra, the Pont des Arts . . . Points of interest addresses: 1. Givenchy headquarters, 3, avenue George V, 8e 2. No. 2, avenue Montaigne, 8e 3. Christian Dior, 30, avenue Montaigne, 8e 4. No. 3, avenue de Matignon, 8e 5. Stamp market, near avenue Gabriel, 8e 6. American Embassy, 2, avenue Gabriel, 8e 7. Maxim’s, 3, rue Royale, 8e 8. Ritz Hotel, 15, Place Vendôme, 1er 9. Palais Royal, 1er 10. Didier Ludot boutique, Palais Royal, 1er 11. Comédie Française, 1, Place Colette, 1er