Are French McDonald's Restaurants Really As Nice As They Appear On Emily In Paris?

Millions of viewers all over the world have watched Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) navigate her complicated love and career life for years on "Emily in Paris." The third season dropped this past December and created quite the buzz on social media, particularly from fans who have never been to the City of Love.

The first episode of Season 3 includes a scene with Emily and her secret love interest, Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), in a McDonald's restaurant in Paris. She describes it as "so chic," partially because "there's no Grimace. No Hamburglar." Later, the pair is shown eating and chatting in a spacious dining area with lots of windows and natural light in the background. The scene piqued the curiosity of many fans, prompting the question: "Are French McDonald's restaurants that chic in real life?"

Erin McDowell, a New Yorker who'd never been to Paris before watching the show, decided to find out the answer for herself. She traveled to France shortly after the third season dropped, dined at a McDonald's in Paris, and shared her opinions about the experience online.

McDowell visited the McDonald's in the Latin Quarter of Paris, as she mentioned in her Insider review. She noted the building's "large paned windows" and "modern and sleek" dining area, but she was underwhelmed by both, compared to what she saw on "Emily in Paris." She found the dining area to be smaller and have fewer windows than the one in the show. Plus, McDowell made no mention of any opulent glass pastry displays, like the one pictured above, so it's safe she didn't see any. Overall, she wasn't impressed during her visit, but it turns out, she simply chose the wrong location.

Spotern claims the McDonald's episode was filmed at a real McDonald's on Avenue des Champs-Élysées; it wasn't a set or some other restaurant staged to look like a McDonald's. And speaking of that photo above, if it looks like the one that Emily and Gabriel walk past in the show, that's because it is. A real display case at a real McDonald's. 

You can also find customer-submitted Google photos of the restaurant, including one of the spacious dining area that matches the one depicted in the show. And this isn't the only chic McDonald's in Paris. There's also one on Rue Saint-Lazare with mosaic-tiled floors, located in a 130-year-old building (via LinkedIn). 

So are French McDonald's restaurants really as nice as they appear on "Emily in Paris?" Yes, as a matter of fact, they are, if you pick the right location.