Maps of Movies
An American in Paris (1951)
Where An American in Paris says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Almost every Paris you see in this film was built in Culver City, California
View on the map
Scenes and places
Jerry and Adam's building and its ground-floor bar (1951)
Jerry, a war veteran trying to make it as a painter, shares a building with Adam, a struggling pianist. In the downstairs bar, Adam's friend Henri talks about his girlfriend Lise, and Jerry joins them before heading out to sell his art.
Set in Jerry and Adam's building, Montmartre — The Montmartre building where Jerry and Adam live, with a bar on the ground floor (the film's version of it is a studio set). Google Maps · Apple Maps
Montmartre is the hilltop district of northern Paris long associated with painters.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — The building and bar are studio sets; only a few opening minutes were shot in Paris. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Jerry sells his paintings in Montmartre (1951)
Jerry sets out his paintings in the street. Milo Roberts, a lonely heiress, notices his work, buys two canvases and takes him to her apartment to pay him.
Set in Montmartre street — A Montmartre street where Jerry displays his paintings for sale (a studio set). Google Maps · Apple Maps
Montmartre's open-air painters have been a Paris tourist image for generations.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Studio set; the film's source texts do not say which Paris street, if any, appears in the opening minutes. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Milo's apartment and dinner invitation (1951)
Milo pays Jerry and invites him to dinner. When he finds he is her only guest, he says he does not want to be a paid escort. Milo insists she only wants to support his career.
Set in Milo Roberts' apartment — Milo's apartment; no Paris address is named in the sources.
A set-built home of the wealthy patron who funds Jerry's career.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Studio set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The crowded bar where Jerry meets Lise (1951)
Milo offers to sponsor an art show for Jerry. Across the room he notices Lise, pretends they know each other and asks her to dance, not knowing she is the girl Henri loves. Milo leaves upset.
Set in Crowded bar — A crowded bar; no Paris name is given in the sources.
The bar is only described as crowded in the plot summary.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Studio set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The perfume shop where Lise works (1951)
The next day Jerry goes to the parfumerie, and his persistence finally wins Lise over. She agrees to meet him that evening, but wants to avoid public places.
Set in Lise's perfume shop — The parfumerie where Lise works; no Paris address is named.
A shop set in the film's version of Paris.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Studio set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
"Love Is Here to Stay" on the banks of the Seine (1951)
Lise wants to avoid public places, so Jerry and Lise share a romantic song and dance along the river. It is the first time they are alone together.
Set in Banks of the Seine opposite Notre-Dame — The Seine embankment facing Notre-Dame, where Jerry and Lise sing and dance (a studio set; the point shown is Notre-Dame). Google Maps · Apple Maps
Notre-Dame stands on the Île de la Cité in the middle of the Seine.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — The riverbank is a studio set built to look like the Seine opposite Notre-Dame. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Adam's concert-hall daydream (1951)
Adam daydreams that he is performing Gershwin's Concerto in F. As it goes on, he is also the conductor, the other musicians and even an audience member applauding at the end.
Set in Adam's imagined concert hall — An imagined concert hall that exists only in Adam's daydream.
A daydream stage with no real address.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Studio set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Jerry's studio (1951)
Milo rents Jerry a lavish studio and plans an exhibition in three months. Jerry refuses at first, then accepts on condition that he repay Milo when his work sells.
Set in Jerry's art studio — The lavish studio Milo rents for Jerry; the Latin Quarter is only its model, not a stated location.
Art director Preston Ames stayed in a similar room in the Latin Quarter before designing it.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Studio set; the art director had stayed in a similar room in the Latin Quarter. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Jerry and Lise by the Seine at night (1951)
Lise tells Jerry that she and Henri are to be married and will go to America. Though she feels duty-bound to Henri for protecting her during the war, the two declare their love before parting.
Set in Banks of the Seine — The Seine embankment where Jerry and Lise meet at night (a studio set; the point shown is Notre-Dame). Google Maps · Apple Maps
The Seine quays are among the best-known walks in central Paris.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — The riverbank is a studio set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The art students' masked ball (1951)
Dejected, Jerry takes Milo to the masked ball, where they run into Henri and Lise. Jerry admits to Milo that he loves Lise.
Set in Art students' masked ball, Montmartre — The costume ball in Montmartre (a black-and-white studio set). Google Maps · Apple Maps
Montmartre is the film's artists' quarter.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Black-and-white studio set by art director Preston Ames. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The ballet begins at the Place de la Concorde fountain (1951)
As Henri and Lise drive away, Jerry fantasizes a long wordless dance with Lise all over Paris, starting at the great round fountain on the Place de la Concorde.
Set in Place de la Concorde — The Paris square whose fountain opens Jerry's ballet (a 12 by 70 m backdrop on the MGM lot). Google Maps · Apple Maps
The Place de la Concorde is one of the largest squares in Paris, with two fountains.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Built as a backdrop about 12 m high and 70 m long on MGM's back lot. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The ballet at the Palais Garnier facade (1951)
Inside the ballet, the dance carries Jerry and Lise past a set modelled on the Opera Garnier facade, one of several Paris places the dream passes through.
Set in Palais Garnier — The Paris opera house whose facade appears in the ballet (a set on the MGM lot). Google Maps · Apple Maps
The Palais Garnier is the 19th-century opera house in the 9th arrondissement.
Filmed at MGM Studios set, Culver City, California — Studio set referencing the Opera Garnier facade. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Jerry Mulligan — An American war veteran trying to succeed as a painter in Paris.
- Lise Bouvier — A young Parisian who works in a perfume shop and is loved by Henri.
- Milo Roberts — A lonely heiress who buys Jerry's paintings and sponsors his career.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was the Seine dance in An American in Paris really filmed?
- Where was the 17-minute Paris ballet really filmed?