Paris, Chicago, London: Outdoor Movies Around the World
New York isn’t alone in turning its parks into outdoor movie theaters each summer. Three cities that have made it a summerlong tradition:
Paris — La Villette. The largest park in Paris screens outdoor films nightly through late August, shown in their original versions with French subtitles. Classics like The Philadelphia Story share the programme with recent releases such as Matchpoint and Marie Antoinette. Entry is free; chair rental is 6.50 euros per night.
Chicago — Grant Park. Every Tuesday night through late August, the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival screens classics under the stars: Cary Grant in The Awful Truth, Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy, and Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Admission is free; films begin at sunset.
London — Somerset House. The 16th-century palace just off the Strand hosts an open-air cinema in its courtyard each summer. The programme mixes crowd-pleasers — Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — with classics like Rear Window. Tickets £12.50.