As the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union (sorry Europe – we do love you honest!), here’s a few of Love London Love Culture’s favourite films shot in Europe…
1. The Sound of Music: who doesn’t love a bit of singing in Austria? This Oscar winning film starring Julie Andrews also provides the audience with an opportunity to see some of the country’s beautiful landscape – who wouldn’t want to sing in the hills of Austria?
2. Roman Holiday: watching Audrey Hepburn explore the city of Rome is enough to make you want to visit Italy and explore at your leisure and celebrate your life. It is a joyful and heart wrenching film that really celebrates travelling. Who wouldn’t want want to spend more time travelling to the places that you want to?
3. Chocolat – based on Joanne Harris’s excellent book, this charming film about a small town in France is filled with many of the elements that we have come to associate with France – with particular emphasis on the food and the charming countryside.
4. Ratatouille – seeing Paris through animation and the eyes of a rat will instantly make you appreciate Paris in a completely different light. Beautiful food and beautiful scenery means that it will always remain a popular city to visit!
5. Mama Mia! – As much as the film is about the music, another highlight is the stunning landscape of the Greek island that they filmed on, adding to the infectious holiday spirit of the film. The release of this musical film probably led to an increase of weddings taking place in Greece!
6. French Kiss – this hilarious romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan takes place in a wide variety of locations across France, showcasing the very best parts to the audience. After watching this, there is no doubting that you will want to explore France.
7. Letters to Juliet – set in a variety of locations in Italy (although Verona is the main setting), this charming if simplistic romantic comedy might have some patchy acting but at the same time the locations more than make up for this!
8. The Italian Job – as well as being one of the most iconic British films, about a gang of robbers planning a job in Italy, it is a chance to see Italy in a completely different way and to appreciate the British sense of humour in a different setting!
9. Charade – another classic Audrey Hepburn film, this time set in Paris. If you like a great action thriller with a hint of romance and comedy then give this a watch. It reveals a slightly different side to Paris that isn’t normally seen on screen and is well worth a watch to see the chemistry between Hepburn and Cary Grant.
10. To Catch a Thief – another classic film to complete the list, this time starring Cary Grant alongside Grace Kelly. This film follows a former criminal as he attempts to find the true culprit behind a series of robberies on the French Riviera before the police arrest him instead. The film is glamorous in terms of setting and style as well as being a classic Alfred Hitchcock film.