Maps of Movies
Before Sunset (2004)
Where Before Sunset says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
One walk, one afternoon: every Paris place Jesse and Céline passed through, and the apartment that is somewhere else
View on the map
Scenes and places
The bookshop where it starts (2004)
Jesse is finishing a talk about his novel, a retelling of one night with Céline in Vienna nine years ago, and he has a flight to catch within the hour. Journalists press him on whether the two people in the book ever meet again. Then Céline appears, having seen the poster for the reading.
Set in Shakespeare and Company — The Left Bank bookshop where Jesse gives his talk and Céline turns up. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A famous English-language bookshop on the Left Bank, where visiting writers read and a few sleep among the shelves.
Filmed at Shakespeare and Company, 37 Rue de la Bûcherie (Latin Quarter · Rue de la Bûcherie, Paris, France) — Filmed right here. The film opens inside this bookshop. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Facing Notre-Dame across the Seine, in the 5th arrondissement. It is a working bookshop, so go during opening hours.
Around the corner: Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre (2004)
They step out of the bookshop and turn the first corner. The talk starts straight away, with neither quite believing the other is really there.
Set in Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre — The short street just around the corner from the bookshop where their walk begins. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A short street beside the church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, with Notre-Dame close by.
Filmed at Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre (Latin Quarter · Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, Paris, France) — A film-location blog names this street as the first one of the walk, just around the corner from the bookshop; the exact stretch is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: A minute's walk from the bookshop, on the Left Bank side of Notre-Dame.
Down Rue Galande (2004)
Jesse and Céline walk out together, and she takes his arm to steer him around the corner. They start catching up as they go, with his departure time hanging over the whole walk.
Set in Rue Galande — A narrow pedestrian street where Céline steers Jesse away from the bookshop. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A narrow pedestrian street of the 5th arrondissement, a few steps from the bookshop.
Filmed at Rue Galande (Latin Quarter · Rue Galande, Paris, France) — Only one film-location blog places this scene on Rue Galande; the exact stretch is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: A short walk from the bookshop, in the 5th arrondissement.
Turning off Rue de l'Ave-Maria (2004)
The walk has crossed the river into the Marais. They keep going without a plan, and Céline picks the next turn.
Set in Rue de l'Ave-Maria — A quiet Marais street, where the pair turn toward Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A short, quiet street in the Marais, close to the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis.
Filmed at Rue de l'Ave-Maria (Marais · Rue de l'Ave-Maria, Paris, France) — Only one film-location blog says the pair turn into Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul from this street; the exact stretch is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: In the Marais (4th arrondissement), a short walk from the Saint-Paul metro stop.
Into the Saint-Paul quarter (2004)
They keep walking and talking, away from the shop and into a quieter, narrower lane with a church looming ahead. Neither seems to be steering toward any destination.
Set in Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul — The pair turn into a narrow lane in the Marais with the church tower ahead. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A narrow lane in the Saint-Paul quarter of the Marais, with the Saint-Paul–Saint-Louis church in view.
Filmed at Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul (Marais · Saint-Paul village, Paris, France) — A location list and one blog both name this street for the Marais walk; the exact stretch is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: In the 4th arrondissement, near Métro Saint-Paul.
Turning onto Rue Charlemagne (2004)
When they reach the church, Céline touches Jesse's arm and turns him to the right. She chooses the route and he simply follows.
Set in Rue Charlemagne — Céline guides Jesse right onto this street beside the church. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A street of the 4th arrondissement that runs along the side of the church.
Filmed at Rue Charlemagne (Marais · Rue Charlemagne, Paris, France) — A location list and one blog both name this street; the exact stretch is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: In the 4th arrondissement, a few minutes' walk from Métro Saint-Paul.
The detour down Rue Eginhard (2004)
They take a short side street that leads almost nowhere new. The walk matters to them more than the route.
Set in Rue Eginhard — A short side street the two take on their way through the Marais. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A short street in the Marais that the longer road beside it already reaches.
Filmed at Rue Eginhard (Marais · Rue Eginhard, Paris, France) — Only one film-location blog names this street; the exact stretch is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: A short lane off Rue Charlemagne in the 4th arrondissement.
Céline's speech on Rue Saint-Paul (2004)
The stroll winds up on a street where Céline launches into an impassioned speech about cheap labour and a planet she thinks is doomed. For a moment the conversation is about the world, not just the two of them.
Set in Rue Saint-Paul — Céline's impassioned talk about cheap labour and the planet. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A long street through the Marais, where the walk through the old lanes comes to an end.
Filmed at Rue Saint-Paul (Marais · Rue Saint-Paul, Paris, France) — Only one film-location blog places this scene on Rue Saint-Paul; the exact stretch is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: In the 4th arrondissement, beside Métro Saint-Paul.
Coffee at Le Pure Café (2004)
They finally sit down for coffee, and Jesse bums one of Céline's cigarettes. Across the table they take stock of how nine years have changed each of them.
Set in Le Pure Café — The café where they sit down for coffee and compare the nine years apart. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A corner café on Rue Jean-Macé in the 11th arrondissement, now a stop for film fans.
Filmed at Le Pure Café, 14 Rue Jean-Macé (Bastille area · Rue Jean-Macé, Paris, France) — Filmed right here. Le Pure Café is the café of the coffee scene. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: 14 Rue Jean-Macé, 11th arrondissement. Check opening hours before going.
Walking the Promenade Plantée (2004)
After coffee Céline leads Jesse up onto a garden walkway built on an old railway line. They walk it side by side, talking, as the time before his flight runs down.
Set in Promenade Plantée — An elevated garden walkway on an old railway line, where they walk and talk. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A garden walkway raised on a disused railway line, often compared with New York's High Line.
Filmed at Promenade Plantée (Coulée verte René-Dumont) (12th arrondissement · Coulée verte, Paris, France) — Filmed on this walkway; the park is given as a whole, so the exact stretch is not known. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Climb the stairs at 90 Avenue Daumesnil and walk east along the path.
Boarding the boat at Quai de la Tournelle (2004)
Instead of walking on, Jesse proposes something touristy, and they board a sightseeing boat on the Seine. Sitting side by side, they let the river carry the talk.
Set in Quai de la Tournelle — The riverside quay where they step aboard a sightseeing boat. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A Left Bank riverside quay by the Pont de la Tournelle, where boat cruises leave.
Filmed at Quai de la Tournelle (Seine · Quai de la Tournelle, Paris, France) — Filmed on board a bateau mouche leaving from this quay; the quay is given, not the exact berth. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Quai de la Tournelle, 5th arrondissement, on the Left Bank.
Stepping off at Quai Henri IV (2004)
Near the end of the ride Céline tells Jesse's driver where to wait for them. The boat docks at that address, and the car is there.
Set in Quai Henri IV — The quay where the boat ride ends and the car is waiting. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A Right Bank quay of the 4th arrondissement, just across the water from where they got on.
Filmed at Quai Henri IV (Seine · Quai Henri IV, Paris, France) — The ride is filmed to end at this quay; the exact landing spot is not given. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: Quai Henri IV, 4th arrondissement, across the river from the Île Saint-Louis.
Céline's door (2004)
Jesse persuades the driver to drop Céline at her apartment, though she keeps telling him not to miss his flight. He insists on walking her to her door.
Set in 10 rue des Petites-Écuries (address given in the film) — The address Céline gives for her apartment in the film. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The address Céline gives is in the 10th arrondissement, but the courtyard filmed for it lies across town.
Filmed at Cour de l'Étoile-d'Or (11th arrondissement · Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris, France) — Not here, there: the apartment was filmed in this courtyard off Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: 75 Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. It is usually a gated courtyard, so look from the entrance.
Characters
- Jesse — An American novelist on a book tour in Paris with a flight home in a few hours.
- Céline — A Parisian environmental activist who turns up at his reading nine years after Vienna.
Questions answered on the map
- Where is the bookshop from Before Sunset?
- Which Paris streets do Jesse and Céline walk first in Before Sunset?
- Where do Jesse and Céline turn into the Marais in Before Sunset?
- Where does Céline give her speech on the street in Before Sunset?
- Where is the coffee scene in Before Sunset filmed?
- Where is the elevated garden walk in Before Sunset?
- Where do Jesse and Céline board the boat in Before Sunset?
- Where is Céline's apartment in Before Sunset actually filmed?