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A Review of Wendella’s Architecture Boat Tour in Chicago

• November 20, 2023
• Updated December 12, 2023
• In Illinois

Are you thinking about taking an architecture boat tour in Chicago?

If you ask anyone what to do when visiting Chicago, an architectural boat tour on the Chicago River is always highly recommended.

A boat tour is an easy way to see a large chunk of Chicago in a short amount of time. Plus, you get the added bonus of learning about Chicago’s history, like the Great Fire and the World’s Fair, and how it impacted Chicago’s landscape and skyline.

We took a boat tour with Wendella when we visited Chicago. We enjoyed the guide’s humor and her extensive knowledge about the city, buildings, and architects.

You have many options when it comes to Chicago River boat tours. However, we love that Wendella offers both 45 and 90-minute tours. And they are the only boat tour company that is open year-round!

The review below shares more about what to expect on a Chicago architecture tour with Wendella. Let’s dive in!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

What to Expect on a Chicago River Tour

A Chicago architecture boat tour is one of the best ways to learn about the city’s history while also seeing a large chunk of the city in a short amount of time. It’s a great option if you only have one day in Chicago . But we think it’s worth doing no matter how much time you spend in the Windy City!

On a Wendella boat tour , the guides narrate the tour, sharing funny jokes and interesting stories about famous landmarks like the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), Tribune Tower , and the Wrigley Building .

The tour offers a fascinating look into the city’s evolution, from the Great Fire of 1871 that spurred innovative architectural rebirth to the groundbreaking designs that define Chicago’s skyline today.

Wendella Architecture Tour: A Review

Tour Options

Wendella offers several different tour options to suit your time constraints and interests.

Their  45-minute Chicago River Architecture Tour  provides a short yet comprehensive tour of the city’s skyline. It shares interesting facts about the various buildings along the Chicago River (and others nearby) while sharing information about the city’s history, including the World’s Fair and the Great Fire.

Wendella also offers two 90-minute tours.  The 90-minute   Chicago River Architecture Tour  is a more extended version of the 45-minute tour, giving guests a more comprehensive tour that navigates all three branches of the Chicago River. This is the most popular tour for good reason.

Wendella’s Lake and River Architecture Tour   is their original tour offering. It not only takes you on the Chicago River but also Lake Michigan. You’ll get to enjoy and learn about Chicago’s skyline as seen from the Chicago River. Then, you’ll go through the Chicago Lock and float out onto Lake Michigan for the best view of the city.

Prices for the Wendella Chicago Boat Tour

How much a Wendella architectural boat tour costs depends on the tour you take. These are the prices as of publication:

• The  45-minute archi t ecture tour  costs $12 for kids ages 4-12 and $27 for anyone 13 and up. Children under 4 are FREE but still require a ticket.
• Both  90-minute tours  cost $19 for kids ages 4-12 and $42 for anyone over 12. Children ages three and under are FREE, but still, you need to reserve them a ticket.

Amenities on Board a Wendella Boat Tour

Plenty of amenities are   available to you during your architectural river tour on Wendella.

Let’s get the most critical amenity out of the way first. Yes, there are  restrooms on board ! So, if you’re visiting Chicago with kids, you don’t have to worry about them needing to use the bathroom right after the boat leaves the dock.

If you get hungry or thirsty on board, there is a  full-service bar  serving soda, wine, local beer, and cocktails. They also have some  snacks  available for purchase.

Lastly, although we recommend sitting on the top deck for the best views of the city, the below deck is climate-controlled. So, if you’re visiting Chicago on a hot day or during the winter, you’ll be plenty comfortable on board.

Wendella Chicago River Tour Experience

You’ll have fun on a Wendella boat tour! Most people agree that the Wendella architecture tour is a  more relaxed experience  compared to other Chicago boat tours. The guides tell corny jokes (almost on par with the Jungle Cruise at Disney) while sharing exciting history and tidbits about the architecture in Chicago.

The  45-mi nute tour  will take you along the Chicago River, first heading west and south before turning around. You’ll get views of the buildings in the Loop, West Loop, and River North neighborhoods, as well as the Navy Pier.

Wendella’s  90-minute architecture tour  follows a similar route as the 45-minute, except it heads further south on the Chicago River and explores some of the north branch.

If you opt for the  90-minute Lake and River tour , you’ll experience a shorter tour on the Chicago River, but then you’ll go through the Chicago Lock and enjoy the view of the skyline from the massive Lake Michigan.

This  map  on Wendella’s website gives you an idea of where you’ll be along the river and lake.

The boat tour on the Chicago River was very  smooth . No big waves to cause rocking of the boat. Of course, if you’re prone to motion sickness, you may want to take medication or wear a patch prior to boarding. We did not do the Lake and River tour, but it is probably rougher out on Lake Michigan than the river.

Fun Fact: There are almost two dozen bridges that cross the Chicago River in the downtown area, alone. You’ll go under several of them while you’re on your architectural boat tour!

Tips for Your Wendella Boat Ride

• Arrive early:  They ask you to arrive 15-30 minutes before the tour to allow time to board. We arrived precisely 30 minutes before the tour started, and people were already in line. If you want a seat on the top deck, get there early.
• Sit near a speaker or close to the guide:  The guides share so many interesting facts and silly jokes you don’t want to miss them because you can’t hear them. They use a microphone, but with the sounds of the city, the wind, and other passing boats, it can be hard to hear everything.
• Dress warmer:  Unless it’s the middle of summer, you’ll probably be a little colder on the boat than you are walking around the city. Between the water and the breeze from the boat, it makes you feel colder, so bring a jacket in the fall and spring, and don’t forget a hat and scarf in the colder months.

FAQs About Architectural Boat Tours in Chicago

How much is an architectural boat tour in chicago.

The cost of an architectural boat tour in Chicago depends on which company you use. Prices for a 90-minute boat tour can range from $19-$30 for kids and $42-$50 for adults. A 45-minute boat tour is less expensive.

How long is the Chicago architecture boat tour?

The average Chicago architecture boat tour is 90 minutes long. However, Wendella offers 45-minute tours. Plan at least an additional 30-40 minutes before the tours for parking and waiting to board.

Is there alcohol on the Chicago architecture boat tour?

Every Chicago architecture boat tour offers a full-service bar with beer, wine, and cocktails.

Is the Chicago River tour worth it?

If you’re trying to see as much of Chicago as possible in a short time, the Chicago River tour is worth it. You’ll learn a lot of history about the city, see impressive buildings, and learn about the architectural style, all from the comfort of a smooth sailing boat.

Where does the Chicago Architecture Tour go?

Every Chicago architecture river tour follows the Chicago River. Depending on the tour and the tour length, you might navigate all three branches of the Chicago River. Some tours also go out on Lake Michigan.

Do Chicago architecture tours run in the winter?

Due to the unpredictable weather, many companies that offer architectural boat tours don’t provide them in the winter months. However, Wendella offers both their 45-minute and 90-minute river tours in the winter, typically on weekends and holidays.

Other Chicago Architecture Boat Tours

We loved our Wendella architecture river tour. However, if you’re looking for more options there are several companies who offer architectural boat tours in Chicago.

• Mercury Cruises’ Urban Adventure Cruise offered May – October
• Chicago Architecture Center’s River Cruise offered March – November
• Shoreline Sightseeing’s Architecture River Tour offered May – December
• Chicago Line’s Architectural Cruise offered spring – November

Wrapping Up Our Wendella Architectural Boat Tour Experience

We loved our boat tour on Wendella. We took the 45-minute tour, and it was perfect for our family. It’s a great option when you have young children or are trying to pack a lot of time in Chicago, especially if you only have one day to enjoy the city like we did.

The tour was fascinating; we learned a lot about the history of Chicago and the city’s different architectural styles. It was the perfect way to see a lot of Chicago in a short amount of time.

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Lauren is the visionary behind Where the Wild Kids Wander. She is a travel enthusiast who lives outside of Philadelphia. For more than a decade, she's been hitting the road, exploring the nooks and crannies of the United States alongside her family. Her passions include visiting big cities and small towns and trekking through nature's trails. She loves sharing those adventures with fellow travelers.

Tours & Attractions , Architectural/Cultural Tours , Boat Tours , Special Interest Tours

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As Chicago’s original architecture boat tour, Wendella has been dedicated to serving Chicago’s families, visitors, students, guests and commuters for over 75 years. Family owned and operated for three generations, our mission is to provide you and your family with a safe, comfortable and affordable fun day on the waterways. Our experienced staff and expert tour guides, trained by Wendella’s in-house Education Department, work hard to ensure that you capture the true essence of Chicago’s past, present and future every time you step on board one of our vessels. Wendella offers our signature 90 minute Combined Lake and River Tour; the 75 minute Chicago River Architecture tour; the 45 minute Chicago Experience and our Chicago at Sunset Cruise. We also offer many specialty cruises including Wine Tasting and Fireworks. Taking Metra downtown? Ride the Chicago Water Taxi to Michigan Ave. Visit www.chicagowatertaxi.com for more information.

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• About this activity

Wendella's 90-min Chicago River Architecture Tour

• Mobile voucher
• Instant confirmation
• Expert Tour Guide - Never boring, always entertaining
• Full Service Bar - Alcohol, soft drinks and snacks.
• Climate Controlled Cabin
• Restrooms with Changing Tables - no need to hold it!
• Guest Service is our passion.

Activity location

• 400 North Michigan Avenue
• 60611, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America

Meeting/Redemption Point

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What's included, what's not.

• What's included What's included Guided Architecture Tour of the Chicago River
• What's excluded What's excluded Drinks and snacks are available for purchase.

Know before you book

• Children ages 3 years and younger are free.
• Full-service bar with wine, local beer, and craft cocktails, as well as an assortment of snacks, all for purchase. Pinkies up!
• Expert Tour Guide included
• Wendella is located at 400 N Michigan Avenue at the historic Wrigley Building. Wendella has four dock locations that extend west from the Michigan Avenue (DuSable) Bridge to Wabash Avenue

What you can expect

Experience the city’s legendary architecture from the best seat in the house—the river. Our experienced tour guides detail the 130 year long history behind the skyline, while our bartenders and staff keep you comfortable and entertained. This comprehensive tour navigates through the heart of the city on all three branches of the Chicago River, and lasts approximately 90 minutes. It’s the one thing everyone tells you to do in Chicago, done right.

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Enhanced cleanliness measures.

• Vehicles and venues cleaned with disinfectants
• High-touch surfaces cleaned and disinfected

Social distancing

• Contactless ticket redemption

Safety measures

• Hand sanitizer provided
• Individually wrapped food options available

7 things that might surprise you about the Chicago Architecture Boat Tour

Tourists aren't the only ones that love chicago architecture boat tours -- locals do, too, by francie swidler • published august 1, 2023 • updated on august 4, 2023 at 7:44 am.

There are plenty of ways to take in the sights, sounds (and smells) of Chicago, but you don't necessarily have to be on land to do that.

And you don't have to be a tourist, either.

📺 24/7 Chicago news stream: Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are

In fact, one of the most beloved ways — among locals and visitors alike — to experience city is by journeying across the Chicago River and Lake Michigan while a tour guide talks about buildings and regales you on the untold story of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

In other words: a Chicago Architecture Boat Tour.

"As you're going up and down the Chicago River and on Lake Michigan, you're seeing the city’s evolving architecture, which is changing every year" said Andrew Sargis, director of sales and marketing for Wendella Tours and Cruises .

Wendella, billed as Chicago's "original" architecture tour, in 1935 gave its first architecture tour of the city from a wooden diesel yacht out on Navy Pier, Sargis said. Now, upwards of 20 architecture tours are offered daily, with more on the weekends. On average, Wendella tours see roughly 100,000 passengers each month over the summer, Sargis said.

And though the majority of guests on any given Wendella architecture tour are tourists, Sargis said, locals take them, too.

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"I was surprised when I first started, we get a lot of repeat locals," Bobby Scheffle, a Wendella tour guide told NBC Chicago. "And always there's a lot of local people that come on when they have guests visiting them in town. They like to show off the city this way."

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But there's something else about the experience that makes it so very Chicago.

"I think it is really unique to experience the city from a boat on a river, because we think about other big cities in the United States -- there aren't many that have a river that go right through downtown," Scheffle said. "You feel like you're in the city, you hear the noise, and you see the buildings and all that."

Whether you're taking the ride for the first time or the 50th, bringing out-of-town guests out for a memorable activity or just itching to be a tourist in your own city, here are seven things to know about the Chicago Architecture Boat Tour.

Will weather stop a tour from running?

Wendella's architecture tours run year-round, Sargis said, although "weather is a factor."

Weather events like ice on the river or significant snowfall can impact operations, Sargis said, but they typically don't, since the Chicago River -- a federal waterway -- must remain navigable year-round.

While Wendella's boats do have climate-controlled indoor lounges, tours during the winter may run at limited times. But rain, snow, extreme heat or wind, unflappable Chicagoans still show up.

"We went on drizzly day a few years ago," Kathy Rambo wrote on NBC Chicago's Facebook page. "There were only about 10 of us on the boat!

And most often, the tour will run — rain or shine — so don't hesitate to bring a raincoat.

"I have certainly [given tours] under thunderstorms and downpours, and I've gotten drenched sometimes," Scheffle said. "I've never had a tour get canceled because no one bought a ticket. There's always someone wanting to come out here in the rain or the cold."

What's the best time of year (or day) to go?

It depends on when exactly your favorite time of the year is, and what you're hoping to see.

For Sargis, it's late summer. "There's this point of time in September when the weather is beautiful, but there's not that summer rush."

There are other times that Chicagoans may want to consider, too.

"St. Patrick's Day Celebration when they dye the river, and any Wednesday or Saturday night [over the summer], watching the fireworks over Lake Michigan , especially if you're local" Sargis said.

During the summer months, Wendella's tours run start as early as 9 a.m., with the day's final tour not ending until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., Scheffle said, "so if you want to come for a ride to see the city lights, you can come late, and it's also beautiful, just a little more difficult to see the colors on the buildings if that's what you want to see."

Laura Pubins, who lives in a suburb outside of Chicago, agrees.

"My favorite one was when we were on a boat at sunset," Pubins wrote to NBC Chicago on Facebook. "It was an awesome new view of the city."

What's the most photogenic spot on the tour?

For Sargis, it's "anything out on Lake Michigan," with the skyline in the background.

On the river though, there's one moment that captures the city best, Scheffle said, no matter what time of day you're taking the trip.

"The best place to take a photo on the 90-minute river tour is when we come up the south branch from Chinatown," Scheffle said. "That's the best place because you get the whole skyline from the south. It's really beautiful."

For locals though, it may not be what you're looking at, so much as how you're looking at it.

"You're looking at [the city] from underneath," said Chicago resident Nick Pappas, 55, who recently found himself on a 90-minute river tour. "It's just a different perspective on the river that you don't get on the street level. As amazing as that sounds, you're only, like, 20 feet down, but it gives you a whole different perspective."

What does the training for a tour guide look like?

According to Sargis, all Wendella tour guides are trained in-house -- and the spots are competitive.

"There's high demand," Sargis said, of the position. "There are more people that want to be tour guides than space available. It's certainly a popular job, and people want to do it." While the tour guide of any given architecture tour isn't made public, many people do request certain ones for private events, Sargis said.

For the tours, there's a general script, with highlights that must be mentioned, Sargis said. But improvisation, along with sharing personal history is encouraged, too.

"All of the tour guides have their own experience in the city, and will add parts of their history in it," Sargis said. "We have a tour guide that is a retired police officer, and he will interject anecdotes form his career. We have a tour guide that's a Vietnam War Veteran, and when we go by the Vietnam War Memorial, he will always discuss the importance of it to him."

For Scheffle, the training included joining multiple tours a week for two weeks and flashcards.

"For a while, I, just drove Uber and Lyft," Scheffle said. "And then, I remembered that I really liked Chicago. I like learning fun facts about it. And there are people in the city that have that as a job -- to tell people fun facts about Chicago and I started looking into tourism jobs in the city."

What's the most common question tour guides get?

Believe it or not, it's not always about The Great Chicago Fire , or Mrs. O'Leary and her cow, at least on Scheffle's tours.

"My favorite thing on the tour that happens is probably when little kids ask questions," Scheffle said. "The common question that a kid will ask, because I talk about the tallest building, second tallest building, third tallest building, a lot of times a kid will ask what's the shortest building in Chicago? Which I don't have a good answer for."

Are you supposed to tip your guide?

"It's up to the discretion of the client," Sargis said. "I would say a lot of our passengers do tip our tour guides."

What's the absolute best part of the tour?

Sure the tour is photogenic, and the city's history is fascinating. And though some may go on the tour to find out what buildings are new, others prefer to think about the old.

"My favorite building to talk about is probably the Board of Trade building," Scheffle said. "Just because I remember walking by it much younger and always, I remember, really being impressed by it, thinking was such a cool big city building."

For a local on the tour, the memories are nice. But a day out on the water in Chicago is just hard to beat.

"It's great. I don't have to work," said Pappas, who has lived in the city for 55 years. "Every time, it's a little treat to go down the river."

Video editors Ivonne Ramirez and DS Shin produced and created the video for this story.

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Chicago Lake and River Architecture Tour

Tickets for Chicago Lake and River Architecture Tour in Chicago 🎫 Ticket for 1 person to the Chicago Lake and River Architecture Tour 👉 A guide (oral or written) is available in English or Chinese - select when making your purchase Highlights 😮 A unique excursion that tells the story of more than 200 years of fascinating social, cultural and political history 🏙️ Get an up-close perspective of Chicago's internationally-known architecture as seen from the Chicago River 🚢 Venture through the Chicago Lock onto the calm, cool waters of Lake Michigan for expansive views of Chicago's extraordinary 26-mile skyline General Info 📅 Date: various dates (select when you purchase) 🕒 Time: various tour times (select when you purchase). All groups should arrive 30 minutes prior to the tour time. Boarding for each tour will begin 15-30 minutes before the tour time ⏳ Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes 📍 Location: starts at Wendella Tours & Cruises ♿ Accessibility: the experience is wheelchair & stroller accessible ❓ Please note: social distancing and other safety measures will be in place throughout the experience ❓ For this event, all sales are final and tickets can’t be refunded, changed or modified. For more information, please refer to our T&Cs

Description A Chicago family tradition since 1935, this is the tour that started it all. This unique excursion tells the story of more than 200 years of fascinating social, cultural and political history, and explores more than a century of groundbreaking architecture. The journey begins with an up-close perspective of Chicago's internationally-known architecture as seen from the Chicago River. Then venture through the Chicago Lock onto the calm, cool waters of Lake Michigan for expansive views of Chicago's extraordinary 26-mile skyline. Take the selfie of a lifetime on this inspirational experience! Get your tickets for Chicago Lake and River Architecture Tour in Chicago!

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Wendella Tours & Cruises

400 N Michigan Ave Suite C100, Chicago, IL , United States, 60611

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Public invited to tour Studio 804’s 2024 design-build project on Saturday, May 11

Wed, 05/08/2024.

Daniel E Rolf

LAWRENCE – Studio 804, the award-winning graduate design-build studio at the University of Kansas, will reveal its third energy-efficient home built in Lawrence’s historic Pinkney Neighborhood on Saturday, May 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Studio 804 offers a comprehensive education opportunity for graduate students entering the final year of the Master of Architecture program, transfer students, or professionals — anyone who wants to be a better architect by having had the experience of designing and constructing a sophisticated building in its entirety from the ground up. Students work on all aspects of the design and the construction process over the course of a nine month academic year.

Open house attendees are invited to tour exterior and interior spaces and learn about the design-build process from Studio 804 students and the studio’s founding director, Dan Rockhill.

Time: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Date: Saturday, May 11

Location: 436 Indiana, Lawrence, KS

Inquiries: [email protected]

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The Clover Home by Studio Park Architecture. (photo by Robert Tsai)

The Monterey Home is featured on the 2023 AIA Dallas Tour of Homes. (photo courtesy of Lloyd Lumpkins Architect)

The "Santa Clara Residence" in Forest Hills by A.GRUPPO Architects. (photo by Charles Davis Smith)

The Purdue Home (photo by Jenifer McNeil Baker)

The Yamini Home is featured on the 2024 AIA Dallas Tour of Homes. (Photo by Charity Clayton)

The Stonebridge Home (photo by Douglas Friedman)

The Yosemite House. (Photo by Terri Glanger)

The Blackland Home — Studio LEMA (photo by Hieu Le)

Dallas’ Top Architectural Home Tour Returns This Fall

An exclusive preview of the 2024 aia dallas tour of homes.

N early every neighborhood in Dallas hosts a stellar home tour. Whether they focus on historic preservation within the Park Cities , lead candlelit wine tours of Hollywood Heights, or unveil the modernist, mid-century gems surrounding White Rock Lake, the annual events highlight the design styles that make each neighborhood distinct. But only one allows guests to explore notable architecture across every coveted neighborhood: the AIA Dallas Tour of Homes.

With tickets ($50 to $125) now available for the 2024 AIA Dallas Tour of Homes , we’re offering an exclusive look at the eight striking dwellings, chosen from countless submissions by the Tour of Homes committee, that will open their doors on Saturday, October 26, and Sunday, October 27.

The Santa Clara Residence in Forest Hills | A.GRUPPO Architecture

The 1940s home in Dallas’ impressively arbored Forest Hills neighborhood has seen several additions over the years, but the quality wasn’t quite there. The latest renovation took the home back to basics, saving the original two-story home and incorporating it into an updated design. The new spaces are thoroughly modern, but feature well-crafted nods to its 1940s heart. 

The Monterey House | Lloyd Lumpkins 

This resort-like property shows what’s possible when you add an award-winning architect ’s touch to a basic developer-built home from the early 2000s. Known for his French and Spanish Renaissance designs in Dallas’ most prestigious neighborhoods, Lloyd Lumpkins transformed the standard home into a resort-like residence inspired by the owner’s travels to Mexico. Large-scale artworks (including a massive mosaic), a dance studio, and an in-house bar cater to the homeowner’s interests. 

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The Clover Home in Bluffview | Studio Park Architecture

The clean-lined Cape Dutch architecture of Florida’s Alys Beach served as inspiration for this Bluffview home ’s stunning stucco facade. The modern, Bermuda vibes continue throughout the 5,200-square-foot dwelling, with a calming color palette, soaring ceilings, and charming archways. 

Architect Wonjin Park, originally from South Korea, has worked under architects such as I.M. Pei in New York and Chad Dorsey in Dallas. One of his recent commercial works was the New York City Ballet rehearsal room.

The Yosemite House in Lakewood | Laura Juarez Baggett Studio

With a limited budget and aging-in-place in mind, Laura Juarez Baggett got creative with this Lakewood new build, which backs up to a small private lake. There’s a bird-watching platform, low-riser stairs with intermediate landings, and materials salvaged from previous homes. It feels like a modern treehouse, but all the daily-use spaces are on the main floor. 

Purdue House in University Park | Micheal Architecture

The Dallas-based architecture firm, founded by Andrew Stiglmeier in 2020, stays intentionally small so they can keep the design process as collaborative and personable as possible. The Micheal Architecture team recently completed the Ranch Houses for the new Omni PGA Frisco . 

For this project, a recent Chicago transplant had combined two small Park Cities’ lots to build a 6,000-square-foot home. The result is a modern glass house that utilized traditional materials to blend into its University Park surroundings. Built for entertaining, the home includes a large back patio and a two-story courtyard for gatherings. Unique additions include a golf simulation room and a striking open stringer steel stair.

The Stonebridge Home on the Katy Trail | Lionel Morrison 

Turtle Creek, while one of Dallas’ most beautiful neighborhoods, can also be one of the most challenging areas for builders thanks to its unique topography. Lionel Morrison , whose impressive collection of modern works in Dallas includes one of the coolest homes in Highland Park and One Arts Plaza, was up for the task. 

A formal garden, pool, and spa separate the property from the street, while both the guest house and the main home (made with custom-cut limestone brick with smooth, hand-troweled stucco) run parallel to the Katy Trail. 

The Yamini Home in Jan Mar | AMDG Studio

Sustaining damage from the 2020 tornado, this minimalist, mid-century modern gem was remodeled and expanded by architect Paul Vetter to include a more open floor plan, natural light, and new living spaces. The floors, fireplace, and finishes are either original or designed to blend as seamlessly as the large patio that wraps around the back of the home. 

The Blackland Residences | Studio LEMA

A collaboration between Studio LEMA and builder Ripple D+B , this series of homes in the back corner of the architect-driven Urban Commons neighborhood , the Blackland homes embrace their raw interior construction, offering a thoughtfully insulated blank canvas to a future homeowner. 

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Taylor Swift ‘privately reached out to Southport victims’ families’ before Wembley return

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Taylor Swift returned to the stage at Wembley stadium for the first time since her shows in Vienna were cancelled over an alleged terror threat.

The Lavender Haze singer, 34, chose not to mention the foiled attack tonight not the murder of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga event in Southport.

Instead, the BBC said it understands the Lover hitmaker reached out to the families of victims, Bebe King, six, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, before the performance.

Taylor’s three-and-a-half-hour extravaganza focussed on love and unity as a source previously claimed she was planning to put on the ‘best show of her life’ after a difficult few weeks.

She was even joined by fellow pop megastar and close friend Ed Sheeran , who she called her ‘second brother’, during the acoustic section

The powerhouse duo performed a medley beginning with their 2013 song Everything Has Changed.

They also duetted on Taylor’s hit End Game, which features Ed, before she returned the favour on his song Thinking Out Loud.

Taylor then played King Of My Heart blended with The Alchemy as the second surprise song.

Earlier in her set, coming out to sing her hit 22, Taylor Swift wore a T-shirt that read: ‘A lot going on at the moment.’ Taylor’s T-shirts often make references that are picked over by fans.

Thousands of fans descended on the venue, including some celebrities.

Idris Elba and Amelia Dimoldenberg, were spotted in the VIP area at the opening night of the August run.

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To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro.co.uk's London news hub .

Asked whether he was excited to be there, Idris said: ‘Oh my God, yeah. Can’t you tell?’

But when asked whether he considered himself a Swiftie he moved from side to side and looked uncertain. Elba said his favourite Swift song was London Boy.

Elba exchanged friendship bracelets with Sienna Lorenz, 19, a student at Nottingham University.

Ms Lorenz said: ‘I gave him a London Boy bracelet and it broke as soon as he touched it so I gave him the Style one and he said thank you.’

One dedicated Swiftie, a 19-year-old called Coco, arrived at the venue at 11am yesterday to secure ‘the best spot’ in the crowd.

Coco, who has camped for more than a day in the sunny weather , told the PA News Agency: ‘We wanted to come as early as we could, we wanted to be the first ones because you get the best view and you have the most space.

‘It’s way more relaxed. Lots of people find it uncomfortable to camp out but I think it’s really fun. You get to meet other people.’

Queues were steadily growing throughout the day, with thousands of fans arriving early to snap up merchandise and grab a prime spot in front of the stage.

Taylor is returning to Wembley Stadium for five nights, starting tonight before performing there on August 16, 17, 19 and 20, after initially playing three dates at the national stadium in June.

The concerts bring the UK leg of her Eras Tour to a close, after three planned concerts at Austria’s Ernst Happel Stadium were cancelled following a failed terror plot.

It comes after Taylor paid tribute to victims of the Southport attack last month, in which three young girls died after a mass stabbing at a holiday club themed on the singer, with the Lover star saying she was ‘completely in shock.’

Extra ‘presidential’ security measures have been put in place for her latest run of gigs in London.

What’s Wembley’s bag policy for Taylor Swift concert?

According to the Wembley Stadium website , the venue operates a restricted bag policy. Briefcases, luggage and large purses are banned.

Concertgoers can only bring one small bag into the stadium and it must be no bigger than A4 size.

A4 is: Height – 297mm (11.7 inches) – Width – 210mm (8.27 inches) Depth – 210mm (8.27 inches).

Bags that are half-full and folded over to reduce their size will also not be accepted.

Anyone carrying bags that do not meet the criteria above will not be allowed into the stadium. 

What time will Taylor Swift take to the stage?

The Eras Tour will start at slightly different times across the five additional dates in London.

However, Taylor normally walks out on stage between 6.30pm and 7.30pm and in the UK has typically kicked off proceedings at 7.20pm.

Her concerts on average last about 3 hours 15 minutes but have been known to go on for as long as 3 hours 45 minutes.

That means you can expect to leave Wembley at around 11pm.

Taylor Swift Wembley show times

The Eras Tour show times for each London date are as follows:

Thursday, August 15 Early Entry doors: 15:30 General Admission and Hospitality: 16:00 Show Start: 16:55

Friday, August 16 Early Entry doors: 15:45 General Admission & Hospitality: 16:15 Show Start: 17:10

Saturday, August   17 Early Entry doors: 15:45 General Admission & Hospitality: 16:15 Show Start: 17:10

Monday, August 19 Early Entry doors: 15:30 General Admission & Hospitality: 16:00 Show Start: 16:55

Tuesday, August 20 Early Entry doors: 15:30 General Admission & Hospitality: 16:00 Show Start: 16:55

Metro.co.uk has contacted Taylor’s reps for comment.

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If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

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Things to do in Perm: 13 reasons I loved Perm

I really, really liked Perm. If you’re looking for reasons to visit Perm – or maybe even for things to do in Perm, then look no further. I visited on my Trans-Siberian journey and was so happy I did. Let me try and convince you why!

I’m going to say it again: I really, really liked Perm . The city was somewhere I’d always been curious about – mostly because I wanted to visit Perm-36 , the only former Soviet detention camp that has been preserved and is open to the public. But the more I read about the city, the more I was convinced I would like it ( despite its less-than-stellar reputation throughout the rest of Russia ), but even I have to say I’m surprised by how much I liked the city. In fact, Perm was easily my favourite city I visited on the Trans-Siberian.

Perm was easily my favourite city on the Trans-Siberian.

Here’s a few reasons why Perm left such a positive impression on me.

Check out my full Trans-Siberian itinerary here .

13 reasons I loved Perm

The last city in europe.

Perm is the last city in Europe, travelling east

Perm has the right to officially call itself the last city in Europe , thanks to its location just to the West of the Ural mountains. Traditionally, Perm was the last big stop that traders would make before heading into Siberia via the Kama River and traversing Siberia’s extensive river network.

But for me, travelling from East to West, Perm was the first city in Europe I reached and it 100% felt like it. The architecture in the core city centre has a strong Tsarist, imperialist feel. Streets of beautiful, old, pastel-coloured brick buildings from the turn of the century felt a world away from Siberia’s mixture of Soviet blocks and traditional wooden architecture.

The best food on my trip

Hands down, the best food I ate on my entire three-week trip was in Perm . If you’re looking for the best places to eat in Perm, head straight for Ris-Lapsha ( Rice and noodles ), a really cool Asian restaurant that does fantastic dishes. Quite similar to Wagamama’s in the UK (if you know it) in terms of offering, but a hundred times nicer. It was recommended to me several times by local Permians as one of the best restaurants in Perm , so you know it has to be good. It’s a small chain, but the most central restaurant is on Permskaya Ulitsa (number 11) , but not marked on Google Maps.

Another great restaurant worth checking out is Toropomodoro , found in a small courtyard just off Ul. Lenina. The interior is a very intimate ( read: small ) exposed-brick set up, with just a handful of tables. The menu is surprisingly long and the pizzas are amazing . Also recommended to me by a local, this is another great choice if you’re looking for the best food in Perm.

The Perm Stefanov Holy Trinity Monastery

One of the most beautiful monasteries I came across during my trip was the Perm Stefanov Holy Trinity Monastery, found in the Motovilikha suburb. Our visit here was fleeting, but the monastery is just as beautiful inside as out. Located a bit further out from the centre of Perm, the monastery is nevertheless well-worth a short taxi ride to explore.

Dr. Zhivago

Gribushin House

If you’re a fan of Russian literature, you might also be familiar with Perm for its connection to the novel Dr. Zhivago . I haven’t read it personally, but the author, Boris Pasternak, set the novel in a town based on Perm; on the city’s tourist trail, you can visit several buildings that were the inspiration for locations in the novel. House Gribushin is a great example.

Natural beauty of Perm Krai

En route to Perm-36 – less than an hour outside of Perm

The city of Perm is found in the Perm Krai (the Perm region), which is roughly two-thirds the size of the UK, with a population of less than three million. We drove through just a tiny portion of the area to reach Perm-36, but even on this short drive, I was taken by just how beautiful and green Perm Krai is . As I mentioned in my blog post about Ulan-Ude , I didn’t manage to take as many day trips out of cities and I wanted, but it looks like there are a lot of possibilities to get out and see more of Perm Krai, if you have the time. Tour companies like Evrasia Tours have some amazing options if you are looking for day trips from Perm. I would have loved to explore more and maybe done some hiking in the north of the region.

Perm architecture

One of the beautiful riverside mansions in Perm

Perm is genuinely a really pretty city in my opinion: walking around and appreciating some of the city’s architecture is one of the nicest things to do in Perm. The main streets in the city centre have some beautiful buildings, typical of the more European-style from the Russian empire. (Of course there are plenty of Soviet high-rises, too.) If you follow the green tourist trail, you’ll be led around some of the city’s nicest buildings, but those along ul. Lenina are particularly picturesque. The old train station (Perm I) and the mansions along the river are other standouts.

PERMM – The Museum of Modern Art

Getting interactive at PERMM

Chances are, if you’re thinking of visiting Perm, you’ll have already read about PERMM , an art gallery which Lonely Planet touts as one of the few subversive spaces in Russia. I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of art (modern or classical), but I would say that this impressive space is probably worth checking out. The exhibition when I visited was fairly out-there , but still something that I could enjoy . And while the museum is probably a lot less controversial than it might have been (PERMM’s founder and curator was removed in 2013 for poking fun at the Sochi Winter Olympics), it’s still a very cool, independent museum of art and one of the best things to do in Perm.

On my way to my amazing meal at Ris-Lapsha (see above), I stumbled upon a really cool area that was full of street art, which isn’t the most common sight in Russia. I’m not sure if this was a designated graffiti zone or something, but the art looked VERY professional ( and very instagrammable ). The area was the short, pedestrianised stretch of ul. Permskaya, roughly from number 55-67.

Cologne meets Perm

Now one of the weirdest moments of my trip – or quite possibly my life – was when I happened to glance up from my phone on the tram, just as we travelled past a Kölsch bar. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Kölsch is a special type of beer native to the city of Cologne (where I live). I had genuinely no idea this bar existed and found it by pure chance.

I went back later to find that not only was the bar dedicated to the beer, but all things Cologne. The inside was decked out in red and white (the city colours), there were prints of Cologne cathedral on the walls and emblems for the local football team FC Köln everywhere. I was in heaven. A home away from home.

‘Happiness is not behind the mountains’

“Happiness is not far away”: the new symbol of Perm

Everybody loves a good local landmark. Even better when that landmark can easily and frequently be instagrammed. Luckily, Perm has just that; a sign on the banks of the Kama river, which means ‘ Happiness is not far away ,’ (but more literally translates to: ‘ Happiness is not behind the mountains’ ) has become the new landmark of the city. The sign is pretty popular for Instagrammers, particularly when the river floods and the letters appear to be floating on the surface of the water. I don’t mind saying I grew very fond of this landmark and must have revisited at least three times to take about one million photos .

Perm was historically the last stop before crossing the Ural mountains into Siberia, the saying has a lot of relevance here. (It also doesn’t hurt that Perm’s rival, Yekaterinburg, is found on the other side of those mountains.)

The friendly bear

It’s good luck to rub the nose of the Perm bear.

However, the official symbol of the city is actually quite different – it’s a friendly walking bear and is found on the city’s crest. (Big emphasis on the ‘ friendly’ – the bear isn’t a show of strength or aggression but friendship and curiosity.)

The new friendly walking bear: in magnet form

Now one thing that really appealed to me about Perm was the region’s new branding – including a very artistic take on the friendly, walking bear. In fact, it’s fair to say that the Perm Tourism Board where pretty confused when I rocked up asking if I could buy anything with the bear on it. Instead, they gave me a load of stuff for free, including a very nice magnet, a t-shirt and more leaflets than you could shake a stick at. I am a sucker for nice branding .

The Kama Riverfront

Within the city itself, the Kama river is a great place to spend some time when the sun is shining. One thing that really left a last impression on me from this journey was just the sheer size of Russia’s rivers – the Kama is a relatively short river, but it is huge! The promenade which runs along the river is really well kept – I would recommend taking a leisurely stroll if you are looking for things to do in Perm.

The idea of visiting Perm-36 is what put Perm on my Trans-Siberian itinerary. And I’m sure it’s the same for many other visitors passing through: visiting the former GULAG is probably the #1 thing to do in Perm. Perm-36 is the only preserved GULAG in the entire of Russia and today functions as a museum and memorial site that can be visited on a guide tour from the city.

However, it’s fair to say that if you’ve read A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , Perm-36 will probably feel quite tame. Despite being a forced-labour camp, the political prisoners here were entitled to certain luxuries not permitted elsewhere, allowing for trees and gardens to be grown in the barracks, for example. You can read more about the daily life of prisoners here .

A cleaner at the Perm railway station did this to a photo of Stalin in frustration of not getting a new uniform. She was sentenced to 10 years’ hard labour. Afterwards, she had restrictions on where she could live and work for a further five years.

Visiting is a fascinating look into the Soviet system of punishment – the on-site museum to the Stalinist purges is fascinating and tragic and shows just how casually the deaths of thousands were authorised by one man and his signature. If you are interested in Soviet history, do not miss the chance to visit.

More on the Trans-Siberian:

Heading East: Yekaterinburg: 36 hours in Yekaterinburg: what to see and do

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I seriously had no idea this city was such a gem!

It was such a great place to spend some time in! I expected to like it, but I was still really surprised how much. I would happily re-visit and spend some time exploring the Krai. Would fully recommend it for a weekend.

They also play metal in public

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I’m John – part-time traveller, blogger, British expat and general mastermind behind JohntheGo, a blog celebrating city breaks, budget trips and part-time travel. More about me .

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Falcon Mamba 7B’s powerful new AI architecture offers alternative to transformer models

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Today, Abu Dhabi-backed Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a research organization working on new-age technologies across domains like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and autonomous robotics, released a new open-source model called Falcon Mamba 7B.

Available on Hugging Face , the casual decoder-only offering uses the novel Mamba State Space Language Model (SSLM) architecture to handle various text-generation tasks and outperform leading models in its size class, including Meta’s Llama 3 8B, Llama 3.1 8B and Mistral 7B , on select benchmarks.

It comes as the fourth open model from TII after Falcon 180B, Falcon 40B and Falcon 2 but is the first in the SSLM category, which is rapidly emerging as a new alternative to transformer-based large language models (LLMs) in the AI domain.

The institute is offering the model under ‘Falcon License 2.0,’ which is a permissive license based on Apache 2.0.

What does the Falcon Mamba 7B bring to the table?

While transformer models continue to dominate the generative AI space, researchers have noted that the architecture can struggle when dealing with longer pieces of text.

Essentially, transformers’ attention mechanism, which works by comparing every word (or token) with other every word in the text to understand context, demands more computing power and memory to handle growing context windows. 

If the resources are not scaled accordingly, the inference slows down and reaches a point where it can’t handle texts beyond a certain length. 

To overcome these hurdles, the state space language model (SSLM) architecture that works by continuously updating a “state” as it processes words has emerged as a promising alternative. It has already been deployed by some organizations — with TII being the latest adopter.

According to TII, its all-new Falcon model uses ​​the Mamba SSM architecture originally proposed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Princeton Universities in a paper dated December 2023.

The architecture uses a selection mechanism that allows the model to dynamically adjust its parameters based on the input. This way, the model can focus on or ignore particular inputs, similar to how attention works in transformers, while delivering the ability to process long sequences of text – such as an entire book – without requiring additional memory or computing resources. 

The approach makes the model suitable for enterprise-scale machine translation, text summarization, computer vision and audio processing tasks as well as tasks like estimation and forecasting, TII noted.

Taking on Meta, Google and Mistral

To see how Falcon Mamba 7B fares against leading transformer models in the same size class, the institute ran a test to determine the maximum context length the models can handle when using a single 24GB A10GPU. 

The results revealed Falcon Mamba can “fit larger sequences than SoTA transformer-based models while theoretically being able to fit infinite context length if one processes the entire context token by token, or by chunks of tokens with a size that fits on the GPU, denoted as sequential parallel.”

In a separate throughput test, it outperformed Mistral 7B’s efficient sliding window attention architecture to generate all tokens at a constant speed and without any increase in CUDA peak memory. 

Even in standard industry benchmarks, the new model’s performance was better than or nearly similar to that of popular transformer models as well as pure and hybrid state space models.

For instance, in the Arc, TruthfulQA and GSM8K benchmarks, Falcon Mamba 7B scored 62.03%, 53.42% and 52.54%, and convincingly outperformed Llama 3 8B, Llama 3.1 8B, Gemma 7B and Mistral 7B. 

However, in the MMLU and Hellaswag benchmarks, it sat closely behind all these models. 

That said, this is just the beginning. As the next step, TII plans to further optimize the design of the model to improve its performance and cover more application scenarios.

“This release represents a significant stride forward, inspiring fresh perspectives and further fueling the quest for intelligent systems. At TII, we’re pushing the boundaries of both SSLM and transformer models to spark further innovation in generative AI,” Dr. Hakim Hacid, the acting chief researcher of TII’s AI cross-center unit, said in a statement.

Overall, TII’s Falcon family of language models has been downloaded more than 45 million times — dominating as one of the most successful LLM releases from the UAE.

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Touring the ‘Emily in Paris’ Season 4 Set With Lily Collins

Released on 08/15/2024

Hi, AD, Lily Collins here,

and welcome to the set of Emily in Paris.

[upbeat music]

So here we find ourselves in Agence Grateau,

formally known as Savoir,

which is a very important and special set for me

because it's where Emily

really found her footing and groundedness in Paris.

I mean, let's not lie,

a lot of adventure happens in these rooms.

I'm going out to lunch. A long lunch with wine.

It's 11:00 AM.

Well, c'est la vie.

I was so amazed at how big this set was

the first time I ever saw it.

I didn't realize that each of us would get our own office,

and that it would be so spread out,

and it would look so livable.

We joked that we would put mattresses in here

and actually sleep here because the crown molding,

the colors, it's so calm, the floor,

everything about it felt as though

they'd just taken a Parisian apartment

and put it into an office workspace.

So my mind was blown. There are chandeliers.

I mean, they really went above and beyond on this set.

In terms of the agency, you know, I really talked a lot

about finding this Haussmannian building.

You know, Haussmann did all this fantastic architecture

all through Paris, and I love his buildings.

When we found the exterior of the agency,

which is Place de Valois in Paris,

my aim was to mix and match the exterior with the interior.

So we survey all the windows

and we adjust the whole set inside

according to the space and the backing.

What you see here is the real backing Place de Valois.

Inside, the real place never existed.

Here, we like to call it the bull pen.

Luke sits over there, Julien sits over there.

And if we make our way in this direction, we have my office.

It looks pretty much the same from season one.

There's usually a few little knickknacks

that change on the desk

because obviously one would acquire more things.

But for Emily Cooper,

I like to think it's pretty darn clean most of the time.

And what I find to be really cool, it's all in the details.

We have Agence Grateau cards.

We have papers with our names on it.

We have envelopes.

They literally make a deck for each brand

that we're pitching if they're real or fabricated,

just in case one of us chooses to open it in a scene

and use it as a prop.

Like I said, attention to detail is so impressive on this.

Season four, Alfie, for the first time

he comes to the agency,

which to me is one of my favorite sets on the show.

I come into the scene at the agency to take on a new deal,

and I'm not too impressed by the ideas

that Emily's brought to the table,

but obviously she comes through and delivers.

We have the conference room,

which is sometimes the bane of our existence

because we usually have so many cast members

and there's so many angles that we're shooting.

We're usually in there for a couple of hours.

And it's where I had my first pitch meeting,

where I was pitching myself as Emily Cooper

coming to Savoir, which was a very monumental scene for me.

I'm Emily Cooper, and I'm so excited to be here in Paris.

These are technically awards

that our company has won for best marketing,

which I just realized are fabricated for our show.

Apparently, Agence Grateau is doing a good job.

And if you keep following me this way,

we have a fully functioning kitchen over here

and the door to my boss's office, Sylvie.

Now, she'd probably kill me for taking you in here,

but I'm gonna do it anyway, so come on in.

Sylvie, just curious.

Customary to knock, wait for a reply, and then enter.

[Emily knocking]

This office is where I have done many pitches to Sylvie.

It's where she's yelled at me,

told me I'm not doing a good job,

told me I'm doing a better job,

where I fought with my coworkers,

but this is where she sits, and usually it's not my view.

So I feel like today I'm, I don't know,

I have the upper hand a little bit,

but this office is also very calming to me.

I love the colors. I love the aesthetic.

I think it's really interesting

what Anne has done with this office

when it went from Savoir to Agence Grateau

and how she changed it.

I wanted different rooms to be really separate,

to give a depth of field.

And for Emily, she's like very girly,

so the color is slightly pink, but you don't really see it.

And from that, I went to Sylvie,

which is a bit colder because she's colder.

The conference room was a challenge.

The blue, it gives a very big contrast

with the other open space.

That's something I really like to do, is working on colors.

Bon appetit, ladies.

Bon appetit. [giggles]

I'd bon appetit him. [laughs]

That set was at the beginning of the first season

a real set.

We used a restaurant on the Place de l'Estrapade,

and we used the inside as well.

And then the next year we decided to make it bigger inside.

Anne Seibel made sure that we could have

a fully functional kitchen

so we could have a Michelin star chef

that actually created an entire menu

just for the restaurant.

The plates actually exist, but only in the story.

So whenever we were done shooting, I just ate the plates.

So we had red color matching the outside.

And then when his grandmother, Gigi, came in the script,

we decided to change a bit the look of it.

So we changed the table clothes, we moved the chairs,

we made the round table instead of just a banquette.

And the colors changed slightly.

Darren wanted something a bit more subtle,

more earthy, more Normandy.

So that's how it evolved.

This place got, gosh.

And maybe now it will evolve again.

We don't know what happened to Gabriel.

We're about to start shooting again,

and whenever I'm starting a scene inside the restaurant

and I'm like storming out the restaurant,

we cut and two weeks later I shoot it

in the actual Place de l'Estrapade.

It's a bit weird in terms of continuity,

but yeah, it's the magic I guess.

[bright upbeat music]

And finally, we are in my fabulous apartment,

which appears a little larger on camera. [laughs]

It's a confined space.

[Darren] Emily's apartment was inspired

by the chambre de bonne,

the maids' rooms that were on the very top floors

of Parisian buildings that still exist.

They have great views.

You know, they have pitched ceilings,

they're super romantic.

Oh my God, I feel like Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge.

The stairs from the first season to the second season,

we had to build it

because the people who rent the stairs in the real location

decided to paint it and renovate it.

So we had no more continuity with our show,

so we decided to build it.

So you have the stairs that we built on stage from scratch

to be able to have it on the second season the same.

As an example of Easter eggs, in Gabriel's apartment,

we decided to make a like an homage to Darren Star,

the showrunner.

And there is a poster where Darren is a jazz musician.

It's in the bedroom of Gabriel.

And I don't think anyone noticed

that this name is big on the wall.

After we'd been filming there a while,

I sort of looked at it, I was like,

Wait a second. Is that that?

There's my name on that picture.

Little things have changed here and there

because they would, seeing as though Mindy and Emily

have acquired more memories and adventures.

And this is actually really fun.

I noticed this when we came this year

that they had put our Polaroids up on this pole.

We were just becoming close friends,

and it was so fun to just explore Paris together

in a way that neither of us ever had.

So I love these little memories.

There's a few other ones scattered around,

but these are a perfect placement.

Also behind me, the fashion wardrobe,

which, you know, it's a little small.

I like to think that downstairs

maybe we have like a storage facility

or maybe some of the floorboards open up

and there's like all of our stuff jammed in there.

There's some of my running looks.

There's outfits. Like this was at Versailles.

This was in Provence.

And so it's nice to see that we get to incorporate

our actual outfits.

Same with the shoes, of course.

It's nice to have little props from each season

so that it really feels like a home.

Tiny bed. It is a tiny bed.

It only took us until this season

to realize that the couch actually pulls out into a bed

because we've never really shot there as a bed before.

We always just assumed that we both shared the bed.

And I walked into set one day, and Ashley and I were like,

Why is there a bed here?

And they said,

Well, obviously one of you sleeps on the couch.

And our minds we're pretty blown.

Hey, hi. What's up?

I think the experience shooting in Emily's apartment

is always intimate.

Even if the scene's not meant to be intimate, it's intimate.

We've got all the crews in there

and everyone's kinda running around.

And until they say, Action,

you're always gonna be in someone's way.

But it's just kinda like make yourself as small as possible

and then when it's time to go, get in there,

get the job done, and try and get out unscathed.

Honestly, I haven't really used this kitchen that much.

I think Ashley's probably used it more than I have,

but I have used it enough to tell you

that it's a working kitchen.

The faucet works, same as the bathroom.

And at the beginning of season three

when I was in the bathroom

freaking out to myself in the mirror and I cut my bangs,

I feel like that was a real moment for Emily.

A really nice way of making the bathroom memorable.

And I'll never forget shooting that.

We only had one bang piece.

We had to cut it right the first time, but it was fun.

All the locations are in Paris. Everything is here.

I've always been amazed at the number of real locations

we've been able to film at.

We filmed this fashion show in Versailles,

at the Hall of Mirrors.

We've filmed at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

We filmed at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs.

We've filmed in the Musee D'Orsay.

I think that's one thing

Emily in Paris does really well.

We have the key to the city

and they make the most out of it,

in building these sets as well.

It's a spectacle every time you come to set.

It's a joy.

Some really fun adventures that we've had this season

with different outdoor venues.

And a fall/winter season means new wardrobe, new looks,

new colors, lots of new hair and makeup.

I think we hit our record for looks this season,

so I'm very excited.

[Darren] To me, the show is about

transporting the audience somewhere.

And I think this season we do this in a bigger way

than we ever have before.

It has been so nice having you guys visit our sets,

but sadly, I have to go back to work now.

Hope to see you again soon. Merci.

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