Maps of Movies
Breathless (1960)
Where Breathless says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
A stolen car, a hotel on the Seine and an unrecorded roadside: Michel's Paris is almost all real streets, but the place where it goes wrong has no filming spot on record
View on the map
Scenes and places
The theft in Marseille (1959)
Michel, a brash small-time crook who idolizes American movie gangsters, steals a car and heads north for Paris.
Set in Old Port of Marseille — The port city where Michel steals a car and sets off for Paris. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A working harbour at the heart of Marseille, lined with fishing boats.
Filmed at Vieux-Port, Marseille (Vieux-Port, Marseille, France) — The film's opening sequence is placed at Marseille's Old Port. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The policeman on the road (1959)
Pulled over for crossing a solid line, Michel impulsively shoots a motorcycle policeman, and the car thief becomes a wanted man.
Set in Route nationale 7 — A stretch of the RN 7 road to Paris; the film does not say which stretch, and no filming spot is recorded.
The old national road that ran from Paris towards the Mediterranean.
Arriving at the Île de la Cité (1959)
Set in Île de la Cité and Notre-Dame — The island in the Seine with Notre-Dame cathedral, listed among the film's Paris sequences. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The medieval island at the centre of Paris, with the cathedral of Notre-Dame.
Filmed at Île de la Cité, Notre-Dame de Paris (Île de la Cité, Paris, France) — Listed as a filming spot for the Paris sequences. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Looking for Patricia's room (1959)
Michel arrives in Paris and asks at the hotel for Patricia Franchini. She is out, so he goes looking for money and for her.
Set in Hôtel de Suède — The small hotel on the Seine where Patricia, an American student, is staying. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A small hotel on the Left Bank quay opposite Notre-Dame.
Filmed at Hôtel de Suède (now Les Rives de Notre-Dame), 15 quai Saint-Michel (Latin Quarter · Quai Saint-Michel, Paris, France) — The hotel for the film's room scenes; the coordinates are for the quai, not the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Meeting Patricia on the Champs-Élysées (1959)
Michel finds Patricia hawking papers and asks her to run off to Rome with him. She wants to stay and study.
Set in Avenue des Champs-Élysées — The grand avenue where Patricia sells the New York Herald Tribune. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The wide avenue running from the Arc de Triomphe down to the Place de la Concorde.
Filmed at Avenue des Champs-Élysées (8th arrondissement · Champs-Élysées, Paris, France) — Where Michel finds Patricia. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The travel agency on Avenue George V (1959)
Michel goes to a travel agency to collect money owed to him. His acquaintance is hard to pin down, and so is the cash.
Set in Avenue George V — The avenue where the travel agency of Michel's debtor is, near the George V metro station. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A broad avenue in Paris's 8th arrondissement, off the Champs-Élysées.
Filmed at Avenue George-V travel agency (8th arrondissement · Avenue George V, Paris, France) — The agency where Michel goes to find Tolmachoff. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at George V metro station (8th arrondissement · Avenue George V, Paris, France) — Metro station named in the film's location list. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The daytime drive past the Concorde (1959)
Set in Rue de Rivoli and Place de la Concorde — A daytime car sequence along the rue de Rivoli and the Place de la Concorde. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The huge square at the end of the Tuileries Garden.
Filmed at Place de la Concorde (Place de la Concorde, Paris, France) — The daytime car sequence runs here and along the rue de Rivoli. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Under the Eiffel Tower (1959)
Set in Eiffel Tower and Champ-de-Mars — The Eiffel Tower and the Champ-de-Mars gardens. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The wrought-iron tower on the Champ-de-Mars lawn.
Filmed at Tour Eiffel, Champ-de-Mars (Champ-de-Mars, Paris, France) — Listed as a filming spot. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The long scene in room 12 (1959)
Michel and Patricia spend a long morning talking in her room: about love, fear, Faulkner and Rome. Patricia tells him she may be pregnant.
Set in Hôtel de Suède, room 12 — Patricia's room, where the pair talk at length. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The same Seine-side hotel, now rebranded, where the film's bedroom scene is set.
Filmed at Hôtel de Suède (now Les Rives de Notre-Dame), 15 quai Saint-Michel (Latin Quarter · Quai Saint-Michel, Paris, France) — The long two-hander is set in room 12 of this hotel. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Chasing the white Ford (1959)
Michel takes off in pursuit of a man in a white Ford, speeding through the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter.
Set in Rue Galande and Rue Saint-Jacques — Latin Quarter streets where Michel gives chase in his car. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A narrow old street in the Latin Quarter near Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre.
Filmed at Rue Galande (Rue Galande, Paris, France) — Michel chases the man in the white Ford here. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at Rue Saint-Jacques (Rue Saint-Jacques, Paris, France) — A second daytime car sequence. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Past the Dior boutique (1959)
Patricia asks Michel to buy her a dress at Dior. He refuses, saying it is only good for the free phone calls.
Set in Avenue Montaigne — The luxury shopping street where the Dior boutique is. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A tree-lined avenue of couture houses in Paris's 8th arrondissement.
Filmed at Avenue Montaigne (Avenue Montaigne, Paris, France) — They drive past the Dior boutique. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Patricia drops by the newspaper office (1959)
Patricia stops at her newspaper's office. A man buying France-Soir recognises Michel from the front page.
Set in Herald Tribune office, Rue de Berri — The office of the New York Herald Tribune, where Patricia sells the paper. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A street just off the Champs-Élysées where the Paris edition of the Herald Tribune was based.
Filmed at Rue de Berri (Rue de Berri, Paris, France) — Patricia's first visit to the Herald Tribune office; a newspaper seller recognises Michel here. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The press conference at Orly (1959)
Patricia joins a crowd of reporters putting questions about love and women to the novelist Parvulesco.
Set in Orly Airport — The airport where Patricia goes to interview a visiting writer. Google Maps · Apple Maps
Paris's main airport south of the city.
Filmed at Paris-Orly Airport (Orly Airport, Paris, France) — The interview with the writer Parvulesco is filmed here. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The house where he was born (1959)
Racing across Paris, Michel points out the house where he was born and moans about the ugly building opposite.
Set in Rue de Vaugirard and Rue Bonaparte — A street corner on the Left Bank; the film's location list gives the junction but no coordinates.
A busy Left Bank junction in the 6th arrondissement.
Patricia questioned by the inspector (1959)
A police inspector questions Patricia about Michel at her office. She admits only that she has seen him a few times.
Set in Herald Tribune office, Rue de Berri — The same newspaper office, where the police now question Patricia. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The same street office as before.
Filmed at Rue de Berri (Rue de Berri, Paris, France) — Patricia is questioned by Inspector Vital. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Losing the police at the cinema (1959)
Patricia ducks into a cinema to lose the detective on her tail.
Set in Cinéma Mac-Mahon — A movie theatre in the 17th arrondissement. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A neighbourhood cinema near the Arc de Triomphe.
Filmed at Cinéma Mac-Mahon, 5 avenue Mac-Mahon (Avenue Mac-Mahon, Paris, France) — Patricia gives the police the slip here. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Switching cars at the Concorde (1959)
With the police closing in, Michel realises his stolen car is too well known and decides to swap it for another.
Set in Place de la Concorde at night — The square at night, with the car sequence that follows the cinema. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A grand square on the right bank, floodlit at night.
Filmed at Place de la Concorde (Place de la Concorde, Paris, France) — The night car sequence passes through the square. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Looking for Antonio in Montparnasse (1959)
Still trying to collect the money he is owed, Michel hunts for his friend Antonio in the cafés of Montparnasse.
Set in Brasserie Le Select — A brasserie on boulevard du Montparnasse, where the night sequence takes place. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A famous Montparnasse café-brasserie.
Filmed at Brasserie Le Select, boulevard du Montparnasse (Boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris, France) — The night sequence is shot in front of Le Select. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Hiding out on Rue Campagne-Première (1959)
With nowhere safe to stay, Michel and Patricia hide at the home of a friend's friend while he waits for a cheque to be cashed.
Set in Rue Campagne-Première — A short street in Montparnasse where the pair are offered a place to stay. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A short Montparnasse street long known as an artists' address.
Filmed at Rue Campagne-Première (Rue Campagne-Première, Paris, France) — The street listed for the film's last Montparnasse sequences; the coordinates are for the street. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Michel Poiccard — A young, brash criminal who idolizes American movie gangsters.
- Patricia Franchini — An American student and aspiring journalist who sells the New York Herald Tribune on the Champs-Élysées.
Questions answered on the map
- Where was the long bedroom scene in Breathless really filmed?
- Where do Michel and Patricia swap the stolen car?