Part I
- Château de Sonnay near Chinon (between Tours and Angers) in the Loire Valley (Château de Lalisse or Le Domaine de Lalisse in Épernay, Champagne in the film)
Stay tuned for Part II!
All photos were taken by myself, Livia © Chamelle Photography
All retouching was done by me. I’ve adjusted the colour in my photos to look like scenes in the tv series Emily in Paris.
Emily in Paris filming locations – Part I – Château de Sonnay, Cravant-les-Côteaux, France (near Chinon, in the Loire Valley)
Seen in:
- Season 1, Episode 8 (“Family Affair”, released 2 October 2020) and
- Season 2, Episode 8 (“Champagne Problems”, released 22 December, 2021)
Oh Emily! What a girl. I’ll admit, I didn’t want to like the Netflix tv series Emily in Paris. Really, I didn’t. I thought it would be cheesy and lame and ‘fake’ and let’s face it, while some parts are somewhat unrealistic on the whole I found the series very enjoyable, relatable and hilarious! Although I never lived in Paris I did live as a single woman in France for quite a long time so there were many similar scenarios I experienced myself. It’s kind of hard and embarrassing (and long) to explain and tell my stories… but if you know, you know ;P I’m sure most single women living in France have experienced similar things…
It’s been 7 years since I did my Amélie photoshoot and 6 years since I wrote my Amelie blogpost. After a huge series of major life changes including moving house 5 times, moving continents and cities, getting married, having a baby and raising a young child and living through the world’s longest lockdown during the pandemic… I was itching to do another costumed photoshoot in France again!
I spent months and months planning these photoshoots.. Finding the locations, figuring out how to get there and fit it all in into our holiday plans.. Also sourcing and buying the outfits, shoes and accessories which look very similar to Emily‘s (all while spending as little as possible).
I collected a ton of information for you and will give you ALL the details you need to know to find your own little piece of Netflix’s Emily in Paris. You may even see some photos of me dressed up as Emily! *chuckle*
Photos of ‘Emily in Paris’ filming locations and an ‘Emily in Paris’ inspired costume photoshoot
When I told Hubby (who has also been watching Emily in Paris with me and actually enjoying it) I wanted to visit Camille‘s family chateau, the first thing he said to me was, “But Champagne is too far away…” There’s no way we’d have time to go there… and I was like, “No… this is the best bit. Although the château in the series is in the Champagne region (Épernay to be specific) in real life it’s the Château de Sonnay in the Loire Valley where we’ll be staying (my in-laws live there and Hubby grew up there).
We (I, Hubby and our son) were warmly welcomed to the Château de Sonnay by the current owner, Frédéric de Foucaud who is a direct descendant of one of the castle’s previous owners and residents. He is very friendly and speaks English fluently. He explained a bit about the filming of the Emily in Paris scenes there and also showed us the gîtes (guesthouses) where some of the cast and crew stayed (more details about that below)… well the exterior anyway… as there was currently an Australian family from Melbourne staying in all three of them while we were there!
Frédéric happens to be a friend of the tv series’ production designer, Annie Seibel which is how Emily in Paris came to be filmed there. She said, “The chateau is very charming and Darren Star just fell in love with it, which I did not expect as the number of rooms I needed was not enough and there was no pool.” The tv version of the château is fictional and is called Château de Lalisse and is located in Épernay in the Champagne region. It includes a large swimming pool. Unfortunately, the real life château lacks a pool but has a very creative alternative as we’ll see later… 😉 The real one does include a winery and impressive wine cellar though, just like it does in the show.
Having briefly read my (this) blog and seen my Instagram accounts and seeing my love of Le Petit Prince, Frédéric also explained to me that the castle has ties to the Saint Exupéry family… yes that’s right, the ancestors of the famous aviator and author, Antoine de Saint Exupéry! Wow! How amazing. I did bring my Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) figurine but while I was absolutely melting in the sun I’d forgotten to take a picture of him with the castle… oops.
We had a lovely time wandering around the grounds (although the day we went it was extremely hot and sunny, unlike on the tv series which was filmed on much cooler and cloudier days).
History of the Château de Sonnay
Recorded history about the château and region starts from about 1000AD and there have been many many owners and inhabitants of this famous château since. The château was apparently named after a Sonay (with only one ‘n’) family and dates back to the 1268. It has been operating as a winery since the mid-1800s.
(Translated and summarised from the Château de Sonnay website)
Born in Tours in 1837, Frédéric de Sonnay was Secretary to the Sub-Prefect of Saint-Quentin (Aisne), then Mayor of Cravant from January 1878 to February 12, 1900, the day of his death in “Sonnay”.
It was on his initiative, and thanks to the fortune of his wife, that the castle underwent its second phase of 19th century modifications. It was then deeply modified and enlarged around 1880. The East wing was doubled by a symmetrical West wing, in place of the former outbuildings which were demolished, and the entire South façade was then treated in the neo-classical style, inspired by the Château de Cheverny (which I also visited on this trip back to France), as later inspired the famous Moulinsart/Marlinspike Hall in the adventures of Tintin comics.
The little chapel was erected in a vague location in 1446 and was moved around many times until the early 2000s where it was finally moved to the south, near what was probably its original location. This restitution was initiated by Frédéric de Foucaud for the “Saint Jean d’été” (St John the Baptist Day) in 2002, in response to the pious wishes of his mother, born Catherine Dehollain.
This recreation received the Rossini Prize for the best religious restoration in the national competition for the preservation of VMF heritage (French heritage society) in 2002.
The creation of the surrounding gardens, which could be said to be “English style” at the time of its conception, also dates from the end of the 19th century. Encompassing several vineyards belonging until then to different owners, the plots were brought together to blend together different varieties of cedars, redwoods, chestnut trees and laricio pines.
To the west of the new château, new outbuildings were erected in response to the fashion of the moment: a heated orangery housing many orange trees, a large stable for horses and cabriolets and a garage with a mechanical pit for the first cars.
Many works were carried out: the steeply sloping orchard that once skirted the staircase connecting the castle mound to the barnyard was removed, and the hillside is notably dug in order to establish a new farm composed of barns, houses of dwellings, barns and stables.
And in order to give substance to the description of 1770 boasting of a “clos (walled vineyard) in the most beautiful exposure” giving “the best red and white wines of Touraine”, Frédéric de Sonnay planted new vines.
The “Château de Sonnay” cru received its first distinction with the Regional Agricultural Competition of Tours in 1873, which awarded it a gold medal for its wine. This distinction was later confirmed to him during the Universal Exhibition of 1878, with an “Honourable Mention” awarded by the Minister of Agriculture at the time: Pierre-Edmond Teisserenc de Bort.
The vineyard was then decimated by phylloxera (a crop destroying insect) in 1888, and the appellation “Château de Sonnay” produced in the 21st century comes from a new generation of vines planted in the late 1970s on the initiative of the current owners.
A brief history and timeline of the owners and inhabitants
In 1863, Frédéric de Sonnay married Xaverine-Louise Blouquier de Trélan, daughter of Baron de Trélan. Xaverine had a brother and three sisters, two of whom are related to the Saint-Exupéry family: Sarah-Jeanne who married Henri de Saint-Exupéry, future owner of the Château d’Assay, and Alix who married Fernand de Saint-Exupéry, future grandfather of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the aviator and writer.
Many years later… Jean de Saint-Exupéry (the son of Fernand, and the father of Antoine) met and married Marie de Fonscolombe la Mole with whom he had 5 children. Their second child, Marie de Sonnay, married Henri Le Breton de Vannoise called “the Baron”.
One of their daughters, Yvonne, married Paul de Foucaud, a cavalry commander who left Brittany and his fiefdom out of love for his young wife.
Of their two children, Max de Foucaud, the eldest, married Catherine Dehollain, in 1946, on the rubble of the “Chemin des Dames” where his parents’ family property stood, totally devastated by the Great War… Max is the father of the current proprietors, and passed away in 1992.
Max and Catherine had 6 children who are : Paul-Emmanuel de Foucaud, Ludovic de Foucaud, Inès de Foucaud ép. Couëtoux du Tertre, Patrice de Foucaud, Hedwige de Foucaud ép. Oldra, and Frédéric de Foucaud.
Winery
Today you can visit and buy some of their delicious wine from Fréderic de Foucaud (by appointment).
The Pool
Unfortunately there is no swimming pool in real life but I did find this cute inflatable one, complete with an inflatable flamingo just like my Freddy the flamingo (that I took with me to the lavender fields)!
Les Gîtes de Sonnay
You can also stay in the beautiful gîtes (guesthouses/cottages) where Darren Star, Lily Collins and other members of the cast/crew stayed while filming their scenes at the Château de Sonnay. Book 1, 2 or all 3. They are 4-star level of comfort and they have 5 star reviews!
Location
The château is located near Chinon, 40mins from Tours and just over 3 hours from Paris.
The Making of “Emily in Paris” at the Château de Sonnay
Check out the cool behind the scenes video!
