Where was ‘Champagne Problems’ filmed?

Champagne Problems is, like the wine it’s named after, a cut above the usual fare. For what could be no more than a Christmas-themed clone of Emily in Paris, it’s also considerably more charming and entertaining than it needs to be.

The tale of stressed New York finance exec Sydney Price (Minka Kelly) who finds that there’s more to life than work and cash on a whistlestop tour of festive Paris and the châteaux of the Ardennes, it hits all the comfort-view targets with ease but also brings along some fun and good taste.

Champagne Problems. (Featured L-R) Sean Amsing as Roberto Salazar, Flula Borg as Otto Moller, Thibault De Montalembert as Hugo Cassell and Astrid Whettnall as Brigitte Laurent on the set of Champagne Problems. Cr. Mika Cotellon/Netflix © 2025.Mika Cotellon/Netflix

Part of this is the cast: Kelly has barely aged in the 20 years since her role in the mighty Friday Night Lights but she’s certainly become a much better actor; as her foil Henri, Tom Wozniczka was last seen in Slow Horses, while his patriarchal father is none other than Call My Agent’s go-to Frenchman, Thibault de Montalembert.

And if the cast is Champagne to the usual sparkling wine, the scenery is also very much superior to the usual small-Canadian-town-plus-ski-slope of the average Christmas outing. We’re in the real Paris and the genuine Champagne region, and both town and country are in their brightest Christmas finery – the French capital festooned with party lights and unusually good cheer amid the grandeur and grace, and the snow deep and crisp and even among the vines when we head out north-east to the home of the bubbles.

Here’s our guide to where you’ll be headed in Netflix’s newest Christmas hit.

Champagne Problems. (L-R) Director Mark Steven Johnson, Minka Kelly as Sydney Price and Tom Wozniczka as Henri Cassell on the set of Champagne Problems. Cr. Mika Cotellon/Netflix © 2025.Mika Cotellon/Netflix

Where is the bookshop in Champagne Problems?

The Parisian bookshop in Champagne Problems is where the romance kicks off. Alone in her hotel, Sydney decides to find a book to give to her sister, and is directed by the concierge to Les Etoiles. Translated as “The Stars”, this bookshop is full not only of books but of mysterious corners and magical messages, written on walls, drapes and even the stairs – and it also contains a charming young French man who is very taken with Sydney. Sadly, it doesn’t really exist: it was built inside an old factory, L’Usine Deguerry, in the east of the city. Disappointed visitors should try the classic Shakespeare & Company on rue de la Bûcherie, a meeting place for intellectual expats for over 70 years, or the top floor book department of Le Bon Marché on rue de Sèvres, where the glass ceiling gives some of that old-Paris atmosphere.