When I think of Marie Antoinette (2006), I think of it as the quintessential chick flick. It’s a period film and a ‘reimagined’ biopic of a Queen, and we’re all queens so that’s a big tick. The film also features a lot of stuffing your face with sweets and cake, also good. And the authentic Marie Antoinette film locations offer a two-hour decadent escape. This is what luxury looks like.

Of course, all of that doesn’t come without a heavy dose of high blood sugar and crippling debt in the non-film world. But nevertheless, it’s a highly entertaining period film like no other.

Marie Antionette (2006) is a semi-real (with a lot of modern embellishments) biopic of Queen Marie Antionette. It begins with Marie Antionette meeting her future husband Louis XVI of France and the events leading up to the French Revolution.

One of the best components of Marie Antoinette is the incredibly authentic locations. Director Sofia Coppola was given free reign over the Palace of Versailles and many other Châteaus in France.

All of the Marie Antoinette Film Locations in France

Palace/Château of Versailles, Place d’Armes, Versailles, 78000

I cannot emphasise enough how amazing it is that Sofia Coppola was granted access to use the Palace of Versailles as a film location. The Palace was the home of the French Monarchy and is now an extremely popular tourist destination. I should know, I was one of those tourists. The Palace of Versailles is not just one of my favourite Marie Antionette film locations, but one of the best film locations ever, hands down.

Aside from a few rules like not to open the curtains lest the natural light ruin the old fabrics, the crew were allowed to film in Marie Antionette’s bedroom, the hall of mirrors and the private quarters of the Palace. And not to mention the acres and acres of pristine gardens at the rear of the Palace.

I really believe it makes a huge difference to the visual style of the film. The Palace is so enormous and infamous for being a huge money-drainer, I’m not sure Marie Antionette would have achieved the same goal using more modest French estates as replicas.

However, other Châteaus were utilised: given the Palace of Versailles was still open to the public during filming and is such a historic landmark, it’s unsurprisingly that other less important stately homes were also needed for filming locations. Maybe because if you accidentally knock over a vase in Château de Millemont the whole room won’t gasp.

All of the other stately homes used as stand-ins for the Palace of Versailles:

• Château de Vaux le Vicomte, Maincy, France, 77950
• Château de Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, France, 77300
• Lycee Hoche, 73 Avenue de Saint-Cloud, Versailles, 78000
• Château de Millemont, 42 Rue de l’Église, Millemont, France, 78890
• Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, France, 60500

Hôtel de Soubise, 60 Rue des Francs Bourgeois, Paris, 75004

This hotel in the centre of Paris was also used as a film location for the Palace of Versailles. It looks very secluded considering it’s situated in one of the busiest cities in the world!

But if you compare the bushes in the below picture to the ones in my picture of the Palace of Versailles above – they’re exactly the same! It’s really weird. Is this style of bush popular in France? Do they hire the same gardener?

Opéra National de Paris Palais Garnier, 8 Rue Scribe, Paris, 75009

And finally, this Italian-style Opera House is the final Marie Antoinette film location on the list. In the film, Marie Antoinette takes a trip to Paris and where better can a Queen spend an evening than a night at the Opera?

And that’s all of the Marie Antoinette film locations in France. Specifically, Versailles and Paris! Have you watched Marie Antoinette or visited the Palace of Versailles? Let me know in the comments below!

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