“I had this idea in my head that it’d be Girls Gone Wild craziness,” says Sofia Coppola, “and now I’m glad to know that it’s a nice place to go for a long weekend.” Coppola, who just won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled, spent “a little over two months” working in New Orleans, as well as at Madewood Plantation House about 90 minutes by car west of the city. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and Colin Farrell, in a story based on a Thomas Cullinan novel (and a 1971 film based on the book). While Coppola’s version is set in Virginia, there were major upsides to filming in Louisiana, she says. “They have a film production culture so you can get great film crews—and also I just thought it’d be fun to be in New Orleans,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like any other city, it’s haunted and decadent and has a unique personality.” And, thanks to her list of faves, one that’s easy to navigate, even if you’re visiting with kids.
The Cast-and-Crew Favorite
“Pêche was our favorite place, the place we went the most often, a fish restaurant in the Warehouse District. (It’s near the Children’s Museum which is really cute.) I long to go back for the crab and cucumber salad.”
The Old-School French Quarter Spot
“Antoine’s is a famous old classic which is really fun. We went and visited the wine cave, which goes down the whole block. It’s really impressive.”
The New-School French Quarter Spot
“We’d go to Angeline’s—a nice, basic place for Sunday dinner—before driving out to [the Madewood Plantation] location. They had this kinda classic New Orleans food—like a lighter version of heavy, though you could still get fried chicken. So when we were shooting in Thibadoux, which is on the way to Baton Rouge, we’d go to Angeline on Sunday night then drive out there for the week. It was like our last meal before we had to go out to the motel [in the country].”
The Place for a Quick Lunch
“The Vietnamese soup place called Lilly’s—that was near the Garden District house we shot in—has really good pho, another staple that kept us going.”
The Coffee Shop
“HiVolt was right near the Garden District location where we shot. It’s a little cute neighborhood coffeehouse, and we’d go there for lunch. They had something with roasted vegetables with a poached egg and chimichurri sauce—that was the thing I always got—and this matcha almond milk latte. They had lots of healthy, simple things.”
The Best Place for a Massage
“I had good ones at The Woodhouse Spa. When you’re working on the weekends you need a little pampering.”
The Spot to Grab a Souvenir
“Nadine Blake in the French Quarter, they had nice little gift things. I got nice, little vases, and a tablecloth for our house.”
The Still-Great Standby
“I still love the muffaletta from Central Market—we took them out on our location scouts.”
The Bars Worth Your Time
“Napoleon House is the greatest of the classic French Quarter Bars. It's 150 years old and barely changed a lick. Cosimos is a another classic. The Spotted Cat, dba, and Three Muses are among my favorites for music and cocktails. And The R Bar on Royal is the perfect dive with free haircuts on Sundays—though I didn’t do the free haircuts!”
