Our Lupin filming locations list takes you to the Louvre, Port d’Arsenal, Rue de Rome, French National Library and Normandy’s Falaise d’Aval. Created by George Kay and François Uzan and made by Gaumont, the French language Lupin Netflix series has hit the streamer’s Top 10 around the world with English language dubbing helping the crime drama to cross the language barrier.
Inspired by the classic gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, Assane Diop (Omar Sy) sets out to avenge his father’s death. He gets closer to Inspector Gabriel Dumont (Vincent Garanger) and Hubert Pellegrini (Herve Pierre), who he holds responsible.
Before long, Detective Youssef Guedira (Soufiane Gerrab) is on the trail, and Assane’s wife Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) and teenage son (Etan Simon) are drawn into the cat and mouse game.
Where is Lupin Filmed?
Lupin is filmed in Normandy and Paris, from the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Champs-Elysees and Labrouste Reading Room to popular restaurants and the Catacombs.
And then there are the everyday Parisian bridges and streets, multistorey car park, Rue de Liege, Rue Dunkerque...
The Louvre’s high profile made a statement in the first episode of Lupin, but the Netflix series showcases the whole city, not just the major attractions. Though there are plenty of those too.
“We wanted to shoot in more intriguing, more secret places in Paris, the Paris known to the Parisian who lives there, who works there and who still like to discover the city… The different faces of Paris.”
Françoise Dupertuis, Production Designer
And the Normandy scenes? Well, they were more important than you might realise.
The Arsène Lupin novels were written by Maurice Leblanc to rival Sherlock Holmes. Leblanc created the gentleman thief in the 1900s, when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes mysteries were already well established.
And he set them in a fashionable resort of the day - Étretat , on the Normandy coast.
The Netflix Lupin series filmed the Part 1 finale at Étretat , making a reference to the original Lupin books. And they’re referenced throughout the series as well, with Assane connecting with his father and his son through the classic novels.
The Louvre
The Lupin team filmed at the real Louvre in Paris. Episode 1 features several areas including the actual gallery where the Mona Lisa is displayed, and the pyramid atrium.
If the tale of Marie Antoinette’s necklace sounds familiar, you might recognise it from French history or literature. The Affair of the Diamond Necklace was a real scandal in Louis XVI’s court which also inspired an Alexandre Dumas story.
Louvre Metro station played a unique role in the run-up to the series’ release. Omar Sy posted an Instagram video of his own Lupin-style undercover adventure pasting the promotional poster up on an advertising board in the station.
Assane and Claire’s Restaurant Meeting
The restaurant where Assane and his wife meet in Episode 1 is L’Appartement Saint-Martin in Paris.
It’s situated in a scenic location in the 10th arrondissement, overlooked by the historic Porte Saint-Martin. And the Porte Saint-Martin is the archway Claire walks under, turning to show Assane the paper rose.
The Tower Block
The tower block where Assane enlists help with the Louvre heist is in the Croix-de-Chavaux in Montreuil. It’s a residential development to the east of Paris.
And the statement building seen in the shot of Assane approaching the high rise belongs to the Conservatoire de Montreuil. Built from concrete and steel in the mid-70s, the National Centre for Music and Dance’s pod-like design was created to give each classroom its own soundproofing.
Assane’s Apartment
Assane and Claire’s apartment location is the Lycée Jacques Decour, as Françoise Dupertuis revealed in an interview with Conde Nast Traveller.
“I loved Assane’s apartment, where we are supposed to see him planning, watching, and thinking. It had to be a bit out of the ordinary. Assane couldn’t have an apartment like any other and we were able to find that.”
Françoise Dupertuis, Production Designer
The entrance is seen throughout the series, and so is the apartment.
You might be wondering how they filmed Assane’s apartment scenes in a school? As you can see in certain shots, like Raoul’s return in Part 2, the roof slopes down sharply in places. That’s because the production team built the apartment set in the attic space of Lycée Jaques Decour.
Benjamin’s Antique Shop
Benjamin Ferel’s (Antoine Gouy) shop in Lupin is located in the famous Les Puces fleamarket in Saint-Ouen, just outside Paris.
Each area of Les Puces de Saint-Ouen has a different speciality. Marché Biron is home to glass-fronted antique shops, like Assane’s friend’s shop, and accordingly it’s at the pricier end of the scale.
It’s been a popular tourist spot for centuries, so it’s easy to visit this Lupin location. You can even plan your visit in advance, with a virtual tour of the market’s treasure troves.
The Pellegrini House
Musée Nissim de Camondo. Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pellegrini family home location in Lupin is the Musée Nissim de Camondo on Rue de Monceau, Paris. We see it again in a Part 2 flashback to 1995 to the day when Babakar Diop (Fargasse Assandé) was first hired by Pellegrini.
And we revisit it when Benjamin guides a drone to Hubert’s office three weeks before the concert.
The museum on Rue de Monceau is filled with 18th Century art and treasures, with many of those appearing onscreen. But the collection is tinged with sadness.
The head of a prominent socialite family, Moïse de Camondo, had thrown himself into the world of art and antiquities for decades. And that interest extended to the house on Rue de Monceau, where he sought complete perfection in every aspect of its design.
He would eventually donate everything to the French nation. Musée Nissim de Camondo was founded in the name of the 25-year-old sony, who was killed in WWI. To compound the tragedy, his sister died in Auschwitz along with her own husband and children.
Monsieur de Camondo gifted his collection to France in the form of the commemorative museum.
The Prison
Lupin’s jail scenes were shot at Bois d’Arcy prison, just outside Paris. The jail Assane is sent to in Lupin Part 1 Episode 2 is the centre where his father was imprisoned, with all the sequences filmed at Bois d’Arcy.
Omar Sy spent time with the inmates before filming his scenes, to get an impression of what life in the prison is really like.
Jardin de Luxembourg
The park where Assane meets Juliette Pellegrino is the Jardin de Luxembourg, situated between Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter.
The grand building you can see in the background is the Palais du Luxembourg, built for Henri IV’s consort, Marie de Médici.
Jardin de Luxembourg is also home to the Fontaine des Médicis, named for the famous Italian dynasty Henri IV’s consort was descended from.
The Town Hall
Assane tracks down Inspector Dumont in the old 3rd arrondissement town hall. It now functions as the Mairie de Paris Centre, serving as city hall to all of central Paris.
This Lupin filming location can be found on Rue Eugène Spuller, where it faces onto the elegant city garden of Square du Temple - Elie Weisel.
It’s part leisure space and part botanical garden with ponds, rare trees, and dedicated play areas.
The Musée d’Orsay
Musée d'Orsay. Pierre Blaché from Paris, France, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Shots of the Musée d’Orsay in Lupin were filmed at the real museum in Paris, including shots of the museum’s galleries and clock.
The clock Assane looks through is a unique feature of the Musée d’Orsay that harks back to history as a railway station.
The current building was constructed as a train station at the time of the World’s Fair in 1900 - the same exhibition the Eiffel Tower was created for.
After falling out of use, Orsay station was saved when it was listed as a Historical Monument in the late 1970s, and the idea of housing a museum collection within this unusual space started to attract interest.
Pont des Arts
The Netflix Lupin filming location where Assane gives his son Raoul an Arsène Lupin book is Pont des Arts. It leads to the Louvre, where Diop first started his mission to avenge his father.
It was Assane’s father who introduced him to the Lupin novels, and it’s here that he shares the mutual interest with his son. So this scene is set in the ideal place.
Dating back to 1804 in its original form, the bridge from Lupin is also known for the padlocks clipped on by tourists.
After the trend took off, the sheer number of padlocks risked causing damage to the bridge, and others like it in Paris and across Europe.
So it’s no longer permitted - but giving a book to a family member on the bridge is totally acceptable.
The Library
Bibliothèque nationale de France. GFreihalter, CC BY-SA 3.0
Assane meets Benjamin in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France at the Richelieu building in the 2nd arrondissement. And the room you can’t help noticing is the Labrouste Reading Room (one of five reading rooms within the complex).
The reading room is the architectural centrepiece of the BNF Richelieu Site, designed by architect Henri Labrouste in the mid-19th Century. It’s notable for Labrouste’s use of iron, and the tubes that surround the library, letting researchers send their requests and receive books directly to their desks.
The Richelieu library’s collection is just as remarkable. Louis XIV founded the collection in the 1660s when he effectively ran out of shelf space in the Louvre – and it’s expanded many times over in the centuries that followed.
Today, the French National Library holds the largest collection of art, archaeology and heritage materials in the world.
Chace on the Steps
Assane walks down a set of stone steps in Part 1 Episode 5 – we think these are the steps on Rue d’Alsace. The train station at the foot of the stairs is Gare de l’Est.
Before Assane reaches home he realises he is being followed, and runs through the streets of the 10th Arrondissement.
Multistorey Car Park
The multi storey car park Guedira chases Assane through is around the corner from Rue d’Alsace. It’s the Garage d’Abbeville, an everyday parking garage.
With Guedira in pursuit, Assane runs up through the multistorey before escaping over the rooftops. Of course, his getaway lets us in on some spectacular views over the city.
Assane Poses as a Detective
Assane impersonates a detective on Rue de Rivoli. The sequence was filmed around one of the wooden doors under the arches, opposite the Jardin de Tuileries near Place de la Concorde. You can see the railings and foliage of the Jardin in some shots.
In the scene, the bold gentleman thief asks two police officers to look out for a burglar reported in the area, while he speaks to the resident. Assane continues the ruse and convinces her to hand over diamonds and a Faberge collector’s piece.
The Train to Normandy
Assane, Claire and Raoul’s train journey in Lupin Part 1 was filmed on a railway line near Paris. In the scene, Guedira finds himself on the same train as his suspect, and phones in the sighting for instructions on how to proceed. When Guedira makes himself known, Assane creates a diversion.
The Lupin railway scene was filmed around Villeneuve-St-Georges and Triage-Villeneuve stations on the Paris RER line. The shoot took place in secrecy, but locals were recruited as extras for the sequence.
Claire and Assane’s Restaurant Date
Claire tells Assane she’s pregnant in a restaurant – we think this is Le China in Bastille, which Architectural Digest confirmed as a filming location.
In the restaurant flashback sequence in Episode 6, you can see chic red walls and tall windows in the style of Le China’s decor. The location also matches Lupin’s onscreen geography, with many of Assane’s day to day scenes taking place around Bastille.
Passerelle de Mornay
Passerelle Mornay. Tangopaso, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In a flashback sequence, Assane and Claire talk about baby names on the Passerelle de Mornay bridge, spanning the Canal St-Martin at Port d’Arsenal.
This bridge links the Bastille and Arsenal areas, the same neighbourhood as many other Lupin filming locations.
The same bridge appears in the theatre episode in Lupin Part 2, when Assane is briefly reunited with Claire and Raoul.
The Seaside
Where is the seaside in Lupin Episode 5? The seaside location in Lupin is Étretat , a coastal town on the north coast of France.
Assane and his family walk down the cliffside path to the beach, before Raoul goes missing on the beach.
Claire and Assane walk in the direction of the Falaise d’Aval cliff formation as they search the crowds for their son.
The white cliffs are a celebrated local sight that even inspired Maurice Leblanc to set one of the original Lupin stories in the area. And in fact, Étretat is so key to the Lupin novels that it’s home to a dedicated Arsène Lupin museum.
So it follows that the film The Adventure of Arsène Lupin featured Étretat, and so did the classic series (mostly known to French viewers). Though you might have spotted the beach from Lupin in other films over the years – it also appears in Luc Besson’s Lucy.
Normandy Countryside
Guedira shoves Raoul into the boot of the car by the sign to Bourneville in Normandy. The town of Bourneville has actually been absorbed into Bourneville-Sainte-Croix.
The countryside resembles the fields to the northwest of the town, where there are single carriageway routes leading up to woodland and the outskirts of Bourneville itself.
Lorenzo Archetiers
We see teenage Assange and Claire on Rue de Liege in the Part 2 Episode 1 flashback, when young Claire walks away carrying her violin case.
Assane follows Claire across Place de l’Europe to a music shop on Rue de Rome, and waits outside while she takes it inside.
Guedira and Dumont’s Rendezvous Point
Guedira drives Raoul to the rendezvous point at the corner of Rue Dunkerque and Rue Gerando, where the associate asks the driver why he’s not at the Hyatt.
The location where Guedira pulls over is just minutes from Lycée Jacques Decour, the filming location used for Assane’s apartment. It’s on Avenue Trudaine, in the 9th arrondissement.
Park Hyatt Paris Vendome
Rue de la Paix. Britchi Mirela, CC BY-SA 3.0
Mr Pellegrini greets Raoul at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, before his daughter makes her speech . The branding on the upscale stores on either side of the entrance is different, but the hotel appears to be the Hyatt Paris as described.
On the other hand, not everything about the Pellegrinis is as it appears...
The Oyster Bar
The chic restaurant where Assane dines with Juliette Pellegrini is Prunier on Avenue Victor Hugo in Paris.
Prunier is known for its oysters and caviar, and is exactly the type of place you’d go to impress someone.
Arc de Triomphe
Assane ‘steals’ a courier bike and takes Juliette for a ride around the Arc de Triomphe.
Built in 1806 on the orders of Napoleon, and seen sporting the French Tricolore, it’s one of the most iconically Parisian Lupin filming locations.
It’s also in exactly the right place for Assane’s joyride - Avenue Victor Hugo leads straight to it. The trip would only take a matter of minutes.
The Catacombs
Paris Catacombs. The original uploader was MykReeve at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
The flashback sequence was filmed at the real Paris Catacombs on the edge of Montparnasse. In the scene, the ticket assistant gives the boys a map to the unexplored tunnels within the Catacombs.
The Catacombs were created in the 18th Century, when citizens complained that Parisian cemeteries were becoming foul.
So the city made use of old quarry sites, relocating bones from overpopulated cemeteries to their new underground resting place.
As you can see when young Assane and Benjamin approach the vendor in Lupin Part 2, it’s all concealed by smart boulevards and leafy squares.
Theatre Loading Bay
The street where Philippe Courbet (Stefan Crepon) oversees Pellegrini’s Digitaloc delivery and Assane sets up for the concert is Rue Edouard Colonne. We see it again at the end of the Lupin theatre episode.
The Théâtre du Châlatet
Théâtre du Châtelet. Pline, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Pellegrini’s gala is held at the Théâtre du Châlatet in the Lupin Part 2 finale. In Episode 10, we see all round this real Parisian theatre, and the stunning auditorium takes pride of place.
But because this is Lupin, there’s plenty of action behind the scenes. We see the dressing rooms, staircases and corridors as Assane makes his move against Hubert Pellegrini.
Of course, the Théâtre du Châlatet seen in Lupin is a real theatre where you can visit to watch a performance.
The building dates back to 1862 and was designed by Gabriel Davioud, who created the Théâtre de la Ville on the same block - along with a host of iconic Parisian structures.
The Getaway Car
Look out for great Parisian views in the getaway car scene. Philippe and Benjamin’s getaway car is parked on Rue Edouard Colonne in the Part 2 finale. They approach from Quai de Gesvres, running round the corner to the vehicle.
The bridge you can see in the background in Pont au Change, leading towards a turreted building that’s illuminated on the other side of the Seine. It’s actually the Conciergerie, a UNESCO site whose elegant walls hide some grim history.
It was once a royal palace, but during the Revolution it was used to hold prisoners - its most famous inmate was Marie Antoinette.
Now this Lupin filming location’s brief background appearance will be important in a minute, and here’s why...
Pont-Neuf
Pont Neuf. Rmrfstar, CC BY-SA 3.0
Following the theatre showdown, the bridge location Assane jumps over is Pont-Neuf.
Though the name translates as New Bridge, Pont-Neuf dates back 400 years to the reign of Henri IV, making it the oldest bridge in Paris.
To reach Pont-Neuf from the theatre, Assane had to run west. He crosses the bridge to the location where his boat is moored, beneath Pont-Neuf - the correct side of the river to sail back east.
Remember the Conciergerie we saw earlier, on the opposite bank to the theatre? It’s one of the first locations our gentleman thief passes as the song plays.
Which means, Assane planned the route to take him past the scene of Hubert Pellegrini’s reveal.
And of course, the route takes him from Pont-Neuf - where you can see views of the Eiffel Tower - past most of central Paris.
The Canal Basin
Assane steers the speedboat into Bassin de l’Arsenal, the canal basin that serves Canal Saint-Martin and links up with the Seine. The tower in the distance is the Colonne de Juillet, which stands in the middle of Place de la Bastille.
The police approach from Boulevard Bourdon, while Assane runs back towards the Bastille area.