As the fourth episode of “Paris is Always a Good Idea” is released via Hallmark+ on August 13, 2026, fans are swooning over the unfolding love stories and idyllic backdrops, all filmed in France and Spain.
But the show’s stars, including Lacey Chabert and Scott Michael Foster, told EntertainmentNow that the unpredictable spring weather provided many behind-the-scenes hiccups that they had to work around, no matter how uncomfortable it got.
Lacey Chabert Says Filming at the Eiffel Tower Took Her Breath Away
Chabert, who’s the unofficial queen bee of Hallmark with 45 rom-coms and cozy mysteries to her name, has been acting since she was a kid, first rising to fame on the 90s drama “Party of Five.” But nothing quite prepared her for the whipping winds and unexpected snow that nearly derailed filming the penultimate scene on top of the Eiffel Tower.
She told EntertainmentNow, “We’d done all this preparing. I think it was the last day we were filming in Paris. It was, you know, the pinnacle of our (shoot) — we’re gonna be filming at the Eiffel Tower overnight. We were all so excited.”
“We get there and I mean, it’s spectacular,” Chabert recalled. “It takes your breath away. You’re like, ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime, pinch-me moment.’ We’re standing underneath the Eiffel Tower, about to roll, and it starts pouring rain. I mean, the tents are flying. They’re trying desperately to cover the equipment. It is freezing. And, of course, I’m wearing some little dress.”
But the crew had a limited number of hours to get their shots with Chabert and Foster. So, she said, “You just gotta roll with it. You know, the show must go on. And so everyone, our wonderful crew, pulled together and we incorporated using an umbrella. And then we go up to the second level to film the actual dialogue of the scene, and it started snowing! In March, in Paris.”
Hallmark“We were not wearing appropriate clothes for freezing snow,” Foster interjected, but noted that he’d just watched the Eiffel Tower scenes and was very relieved that their shivering wasn’t evident.
“I was so worried … about looking like we were cold in the moment,” he told EntertainmentNow. “You know, they’d be like, ‘Okay, and action! And we would just have to act like, ‘Everything’s fine! We’re doing great! This isn’t cold outside!’ But I watched it, and I think it looks very good. I don’t think you can tell.”
Lacey Chabert & Rebecca Hanssen Braved the Elements in Spain, Too
HallmarkThat wasn’t the only weather-related plot twist during the filming of “Paris is Always a Good Idea.” Chabert and Rebecca Hanssen also filmed in Spain (a stand-in for the Irish countryside in the series), which turned into a muddy mess at one point.
Hanssen, who plays Chabert’s sister Annabelle, told EntertainmentNow, “There is a moment in it where we’re in Ireland, and Annabella’s sitting, kind of looking out over this beautiful body of water. And when we’d started filming the scene, it was gorgeous sunshine, you know, and incredible views.”
However, Hanssen said they learned, “The weather can turn so fast. So I think we’d done one kind of wide take, and within five minutes, the heavens opened. Like the clouds just rolled in, and we were all drenched through to the bones.”
Like at the Eiffel Tower, the cast and crew had to make it work, Hanssen said. “You have to keep filming, and mercifully, it’s a very short scene. But you do just see me put my hood up halfway through and start walking away. I was meant to just kind of be on this cliff edge, and we changed the wording slightly in the scene. So that was definitely memorable — we were soaked!”
“Paris is Always a Good Idea,” based on Jenn McKinlay’s 2020 novel of the same name, follows nonprofit executive Chelsea Martin, played by Chabert, on a last-minute business trip to Paris. Though she’s been to the City of Lights many times, Chelsea has avoided returning since her last trip 10 years earlier was cut short by learning of her mom’s battle with cancer and subsequent death.
With help from her sister, she decides to revisit three past loves from her prior travels to Europe, curious to see if the spark still exists with any of them. The six-episode, limited series is available exclusively on Hallmark+.
