Paris, Texas was filmed mostly in Texas, with stops in the Big Bend region, Fort Stockton, Nordheim, Houston and Port Arthur, plus two scenes shot in California. Wim Wenders' 1984 drama follows a man who wanders out of the desert with no memory of the life he walked away from four years earlier. This guide covers 13 locations: what Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, Hunter Carson and Nastassja Kinski shot at each, and whether you can still see the place today. Exact pins are in the Go On Set app. The stops below run roughly from the opening desert walk to the search for Jane.
In this guide
- Where was the opening desert scene in Paris, Texas filmed?
- Where was the Terlingua gas station and general store filmed?
- Where was the Terlingua MD Clinic filmed?
- Where was the Marathon Motel filmed?
- Where was Shoemake Hardware Store filmed?
- Where was the Mojave Desert intersection scene filmed?
- Where was the Fort Stockton gas stop filmed?
- Where was the El Rancho Motel filmed?
- Where was the freeway overpass scene filmed?
- Where was the Nordheim main street scene filmed?
- Where was Broadway Grocery filmed?
- Where was the bank scene filmed in Houston?
- Where was the Peep Show filmed in Port Arthur?
- How should you plan a Paris, Texas locations trip?
- Quick answers about Paris, Texas filming locations
Devils Graveyard desert opening
The film opens on Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) staggering alone through the West Texas desert, disheveled and in a fugue state. That walk was shot at Devils Graveyard, a remote, arid stretch of Brewster County outside Big Bend National Park. The terrain is rough and mountainous, with jagged rock formations and sparse vegetation, which is why the empty, hot frame reads as a mirror of Travis's lost mind.
The land is privately owned, so you can't just drive in. Without specific permission, treat this one as a place to know about rather than a stop to reach.
Terlingua gas station and general store
Travis's first contact with other people happens at the Ginchy Gas House in the Terlingua ghost town. He walks out of the desert, slips through a fence into the old gas station and general store, and grabs a handful of ice from inside before collapsing on the floor. It is the film's earliest picture of his exhaustion.
The Ginchy Gas House has since been demolished. Terlingua still carries the remains of its old mining community, and traces of the spot where the scene was shot can be found around town. Expect an empty site and a lot of desert rather than a building to photograph.
Terlingua MD Clinic
Once Travis collapses, he wakes up in the care of Doctor Ulmer (Bernhard Wicki). In the film this is the Terlingua MD Clinic. In real life, Terlingua American Legion Post 653 played the part. The building is a veterans' post and community hub in the desert landscape of Terlingua.
The scene has a quick turn. Travis recovers and is on the move again, and when his brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) arrives at the clinic looking for him, Travis has already gone. The Legion post is a community building, so visit it as you would any local gathering place.
Marathon Motel
Walt gets Travis into the car and tries to draw him into conversation. Four years have passed since they last saw each other, and Travis stays silent. They end the drive at a small motel for the night, played by the Marathon Motel and RV Park in Marathon, Brewster County.
The motel dates to 1940 and sits on about 4 hectares (10 acres) of desert. It has ten rooms, an adobe-walled courtyard with a fireplace and fountain, and an RV park with 19 full hookups. It is a working motel, so you can stay the night where the brothers did.
Shoemake Hardware Store
Walt's practical side shows when he pulls up outside Shoemake Hardware Store to buy shoes for Travis. The real building is the High Desert Emporium, a gift shop in Marathon with an old-school general store feel. A verandah and entrance planters have been added since, but the rest looks much as it did in the movie. It is a shop, so you can walk in during opening hours.
Intersection in the Mojave Desert
Not everything in this story happens in Texas. The Kramer Junction scene was shot in California, in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County. Travis and Walt stop at a desert crossroads, and Travis suddenly remembers why he bought the land in Paris, Texas, and tells his brother. It is a short, quiet breakthrough in an otherwise silent road trip.
Kramer Junction is an unincorporated community on the high desert crossroads. It is open country, so the setting is easy to recognise without needing a building to point to.
Fort Stockton gas stop
This is the stop that gets the line. While Walt fills the tank and berates Travis for his silence, Travis finally mutters, "Paris. Did you ever go to Paris?" It is the first step in his explanation of his past and his obsession with Paris, Texas, and a turning point in the story.
The gas stop is now Los Gómez Restaurant and Takeout in Fort Stockton, Pecos County. The pumps are gone, but the futuristic triangular roof structure remains, so fans can spot it immediately. It runs as a Mexican restaurant with takeout and dine-in service, which makes it one of the easiest locations to visit properly: order a meal and look up at the roof.
El Rancho Motel
After running from Walt, Travis stops at a motel to shave his beard and change his clothes. The scene marks his attempt to shed his past. The El Rancho Motel in the film is the Executive Inn in Fort Stockton, a budget motel about 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) from the Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport. It is still an operating motel with in-room coffee makers and free Wi-Fi.
Freeway overpass in Granada Hills
Back in California, Granada Hills is a suburban neighborhood in the Los Angeles San Fernando Valley, and its freeway overpass stands in for the Texas road network. Travis walks across the bridge while a distant voice echoes. A man (Tom Farrell) rants about "man's salvation," then turns to speak directly to Travis. The moment is one of the film's most surreal.
The overpass is part of the neighborhood's everyday road system. Be careful around traffic if you stop to look.
Nordheim main street
The father-and-son road trip takes a detour in Nordheim, a small, flat town in DeWitt County. Driving across open Texan land, Travis spots a small main street in the distance, slams on the brakes, reverses, and drives in with his son Hunter (Hunter Carson). The spontaneous turn is typical of him. The town keeps the same low, understated look today.
Broadway Grocery
Also in Nordheim, the Broadway Grocery hosts a quieter father-and-son beat. After a night of drinking, Travis walks to his pick-up truck, visibly exhausted, and finds Hunter sitting inside reading a newspaper. It is a small scene about their growing bond.
The grocery was run by Elo Pfeifer from 1973 and appears to have closed in 2020. The building is disused, so it is an exterior view only.
The Bank in Houston
In the film's Houston stretch, Travis parks near a bank with Hunter and hands him a walkie-talkie. The boy's job is to watch for Jane (Nastassja Kinski) leaving the building. The location is Platinum Parking, a privately managed parking facility in downtown Houston, in the Harris County financial district. It is an ordinary lot, which is exactly what makes the tension of the scene work.
The Peep Show in Port Arthur
Travis and Hunter cruise through the back streets of Port Arthur and find Jane's car parked outside the Peep Show where she works. It is the moment Travis finally locates her. The film location, the Peep Show site in Port Arthur, Jefferson County, sits in a largely abandoned area. The original building has been demolished, and the neighborhood is mostly derelict buildings and vacant lots. Nothing from the scene survives, but the surroundings still carry the feeling the film captured.
How to plan the visit
- Group the stops by region. The Big Bend cluster (Terlingua and Marathon) covers five stops, Fort Stockton has two, Nordheim two, and Houston, Port Arthur, Granada Hills and Kramer Junction one each.
- Distances in West Texas are long. Plan the Terlingua, Marathon and Fort Stockton stops as one road trip, not a day of quick hops.
- Several stops are working businesses: the Marathon Motel, the High Desert Emporium, Los Gómez Restaurant and Takeout, and the Executive Inn. Treat them as customers, not photographers.
- Some places are gone or off limits. The Ginchy Gas House and the Peep Show building are demolished, Broadway Grocery is disused, and Devils Graveyard is private land. Respect residents, owners and private property everywhere.
- The Houston stop is a parking facility and the Granada Hills stop is a freeway overpass, so keep clear of traffic. Exact map pins are in the Go On Set app.
Quick answers
Where was Paris, Texas filmed?
Mostly in Texas: Terlingua, Marathon, Fort Stockton, Nordheim, Houston and Port Arthur. Two scenes were shot in California, at Kramer Junction in the Mojave Desert and in Granada Hills in Los Angeles.
How many filming locations does Paris, Texas have?
This guide covers 13, spread over eleven places in Texas and California.
Where was the "Paris. Did you ever go to Paris?" scene filmed?
It was shot at a gas stop in Fort Stockton, Texas, now Los Gómez Restaurant and Takeout. The triangular roof from the film is still there.
Can you visit the Paris, Texas filming locations?
Several, yes: the Marathon Motel, High Desert Emporium, Los Gómez Restaurant and Takeout and the Executive Inn are open to the public. The Ginchy Gas House and Peep Show building are gone, and the desert opening scene was shot on private land.