Our visit to the F.R.I.E.N.D.S Experience
Two weeks ago, we were invited to the opening of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Experience in Paris by our friend, Peter Monbailleu, a fantastic producer and the person to call if you want to add a good dose of rock & roll to your projects. I was really looking forward to going, not only for the nostalgia but also to see some of my friends who worked on this experience.
I am American, but surprisingly, I only became passionate about the Friends series once I settled in Paris, 12 years ago. I had attended the recording of another pilot at the same place where Friends was recorded, but the series had never captured my interest. But in Paris, Friends was one of the few series I could watch in English, which helped me feel a bit at home. I binge-watched the 10 seasons during my first two years in France.
12 years later and here I am in Paris at the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Experience, visiting old acquaintances with new friends. Life holds lovely surprises.
I was eager to have fun on the sets, but Maddy was ecstatic. Being able to enter the world of Friends and relive all her favorite moments was a dream come true for her. As you can see, Maddy is a super fan of the series. She knows every episode by heart just like I know those of Sex & the City (ah, that’s an experience I’d love to have!).
But we had another mega fan of Friends with us, our good friend Karen Rudel (a little shoutout to Karen, she is a fantastic tour guide. If you want to visit Paris, check out her Sight Seeker’s Delight website!). Between Maddy and Karen, we had two Friends experts (Friendsperts?).
The experience is timed, so you start by waiting your turn (that’s where the excitement builds). First, you are shown a very well-made trailer that sets the mood and explains how the photo stations with QR codes will work. Then, we passed through the famous purple door to enter the magical world of Friends. The party could begin!
Our first stop was also the first photo station. Of course, it was the recreation of the famous couch in front of the fountain. We sat down, posed, and our photo was sent into the depths of the internet so we could retrieve it later.
Then there is an entire exhibit section where you can see iconic objects from the series. What Maddy and Karen preferred was seeing Rachel’s letter, the one Ross had fallen asleep on. The 18 pages were reproduced exactly, front and back, so everyone could finally read what was on them!
We had a lot of fun at the photo stations, especially the sofa stuck in the stairs (“Pivot!!”). Trying to recreate the series scenes was super fun.
But the highlight of the experience is undoubtedly the reproduction of the two apartments, the hallway, and Central Perk. That’s where everyone spends the most time taking photos and examining all the details.
However, upon closer inspection, our two experts were not completely convinced. To our surprise, the sets seemed smaller than in the series (are they life-sized? Maybe everything looks bigger on TV?). And the details were not completely accurate. That said, for an average fan like me, who liked the series but doesn’t know everything by heart, it was more than convincing! But for hardcore fans, it was sometimes a bit disappointing.
That’s actually what made us ask the question: who is this experience for? Super-fans, who will inevitably notice all the errors? Or people like me who are just happy to take photos and have fun on the sets without thinking too much?
The experience ends at Central Perk. Once out of the set, we found ourselves in the final part of the experience: the food corner, some additional photo stations, and the shop. We were surprised (and a bit disappointed) to see that none of these elements were decorated like the rest of the experience. I would have loved to eat in Central Perk or even a fictional Joey’s Pizza. And buy goodies inside the girls’ apartment. That would have made the sales part of the experience more memorable, immersive, and pleasant. But alas, it was not up to us!
Overall, the experience was really fun, and it’s very nice to get all your photos taken at the stations at the end so you can post them on Instagram! But honestly, what we liked best by far in the experience was the themed food sold in the food corner.
The food corner is run by a good friend who is also an extraordinary chef, Sonia Guerrero. She is the executive chef at Echo and the founder of Mango and Chillies. Her Ross’s Thanksgiving sandwich was incredible and finally helped us understand why Ross lost it when his coworker ate his! If you’re looking for a good reason to visit the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. experience, go for the recreations of the series’ iconic dishes!
A big thanks to my Parisian friends Maddy, Elena, and Karen for playing along fully with me! And props to my friend Alex Benamar (whom I met at university and hadn’t seen for 10 years) for his work on the recreation of the sets! It was great to be surrounded by all my friends at an experience that celebrates friendship.
