Impressions from a Night at the Moulin Rouge
WELCOME, to the Moulin Rouge. It’s a theater, a show, a movie, a red windmill, a symbol of Montmartre, and a staple of Paris.
In this blog post I am going to tell you everything you need to know about the Moulin Rouge, from its history, to how to book your tickets, to what to expect day of, and what my final impressions were.
A bit of history
The Moulin Rouge is a historic cabaret show in the heart of Montmartre, a neighborhood in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It opened in 1889 (same as the Eiffel Tower!) during the Belle Epoque, a period of peace and “joi de vivre” which ended with the start of World War One.
Before it was the Moulin Rouge, it was the Jardins de Paris, an outdoor cafe and music hall with a towering stucco elephant. Historically a bohemian and artistic neighborhood, it made sense that Montmartre was home to a new theater pushing the boundaries of entertainment and propriety.
Perhaps the most famous dance to emerge from the Moulin Rouge is the French can-can, a high energy, raucous dance which involves many legs being thrown high into the air. Before there was the can-can, there was the quadrille, a dance so orderly it eventually birthed the chahut, or a few minutes of improvisation to allow the men to blow off some steam.
When the women in the dance decided to take up the same mantel, it was provocative and controversial, and became a way for women to challenge the established order. You can read more about it on the Moulin Rouge’s website here.
Getting Tickets
I booked my tickets through Get Your Guide, a super user-friendly ticketing platform. I loved it because it allowed me to choose my date and ticket type easily. You can also book your tickets through the Moulin Rouge site.
When booking your tickets you have a few options when it comes to customizing your experience. From what I could tell, the most popular ticket choice was the show with champagne
This is the option I booked and from what I saw, it seemed like the most popular choice. You are seated with your group and are allocated a half bottle of champagne per person.
Check tickets here.
The dinner-and-a-show option comes with fine dining French menu, in addition to champagne. You can choose between four menus, one of which is vegan, and one vegetarian. You do need to print your tickets for this option.
Check tickets here.
Some more information!
- According to the Moulin Rouge website, children over 6 years old are welcome (as long as you are aware shows may have nudity). Child tickets can be purchased on the Moulin Rouge website for €60.
- Ticket prices vary based on the day of the week and start at €115. The 9 p.m. show is more expensive than the 11 p.m. show. The cheapest days of the week tend to be Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Shows fill up fast so make sure to grab your tickets well in advance! If you want every choice available, book at least a month in advance.
What to Expect Day Of
My friend and I arrived at the Moulin Rouge at 10:30pm. The tickets were curtesy of a Get Your Guide sponsorship, so I wanted to dedicate enough time to getting the photos and videos I needed. We took most of our photos at the little platform in the middle of the street kitty-corner to the Moulin Rouge. It’s a great spot to capture the iconic red windmill that gives the place its name.
We headed into the venue at 10:45pm. After an usher scanned our tickets we joined a long, wrapping line of people in a room covered in red velvet where security checked our bags. The line was a standstill for a while. I remember, I was in heels, but it started moving in earnest right at 11pm. After the initial waiting room, there was another in which a woman was selling programs for 10 euros each, wearing a pencil skirt and horned rim glasses.
Once we were at the front of the line we were taken to our seats by an usher and brought the champagne that came with our tickets. We did not have assigned seats, so if you are a large group I would recommend getting there earlier than we did to ensure you can all sit together.
The room in which the show takes place is enormous and is decked out in red velvet carpeting. The room is filled with four person tables, adorned with red lamps, and glittering red curtains hide the stage from view. Even the bathroom is red.
It is very important to remember that while you are allowed to photograph inside the venue before the show, photography and videography during the show are strictly prohibited. This is to protect the dancers and the art.
The show is structured into four dance routines and three intermediary acts, which I loved sometimes even more than the main dance.
The first act is an homage to the Moulin Rouge itself and is set in front of the large windmill. The second is set on a pirate ship in Indonesia, and this act was the most over-the-top. It’s full of snake charming and headdresses and dancers flying in from the ceiling for dramatic solos. Honestly, if another show less famous or established than the Moulin Rouge tried to perform this act with the same mostly caucasian cast, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were skewered for being both tacky and offensive.
The third act was perhaps my favorite. It felt like the dancers relaxed a bit into the absurdity and hilarity of their costumes. The final act is the can-can, and dancers rush around the stage clad in the french tri-color yelling and causing chaos.
There is one more extended sequence after the can-can as the finale!
As you make your way out of the venue you will find a row of taxis and Ubers lined up to take you home. I recommend walking a block or two away from the show to snag lower prices.
My final impressions
It's actually not that sexual
Do the dancers go topless almost immediately? Yes. Does the choreography ensure you know just how thin their thongs are? Of course. Do the dancers kick their legs so far above their heads you have to crane your neck? Oui, oui.
And yet, I wouldn’t call the show sexual. Maybe France’s blaisé approach to nudity is wearing off on me.
The show was sexy to be sure. The dancers and costumes were beautiful and graceful, but it wasn’t the magic mike kind of sexual that makes you cringe if you’re watching it with your mom.
In fact, I would feel comfortable attending the show with my mom. While I didn’t see any young children at the show, I saw couples, families with teenagers, groups of 20-somethings, and even a few backpackers.
I think the historic fame and world-renown the show holds helps tamper any of the awkwardness someone might feel with the nudity. There is an understanding that the show is bigger than itself, and you are along for the ride.
Barbie always has a great day
The Féerie show at the Moulin Rouge reminded me of the Barbie movie, or more specifically a line from the movie. “Barbie has a great day everyday, but Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him.”
The show starts with dancers clad in bedazzled silver costumes which are shed almost as quickly as they appeared. If I had to guess, the women outnumbered the men 3:1 on the stage, and outshone them by about the same in coordination, rythm, and stage prescence. Perhaps that is the nature of the dance world.
Even throughout the show, the men were there to make the women shine. During a circus number, the men were dressed in oversized clown outfits with bald wigs and red noses while the women wore poka-dotted lingerie and top hats.
What can we say, it’s a women’s world.
Conclusion
A show at the Moulin Rouge is loud, colorful, exciting, dramatic, funny, and shocking. It’s a show but its also a microcosm of the spirit of Paris. It is rooted in the past and yet it pushes boundaries. It is both elegant and risqué. It is joyful and unapologetic.
Whether it be the nudity, the underwater acrobatics, the aerial stunts, or the enthusiastic screaming, you didn’t have to strain to get the joke or to enjoy the performance. Some might call that tacky or obvious, but I found it refreshing. There was no pretense that the audience should do anything but enjoy the performance.
It it touristy? Certainly. I would still argue it is worth it. Where else are you going to experience such “joi de vivre,” flowing champagne, brazen choreography, and such a commitment to being as unsubtle as possible?
Other Paris activities
Crazy Horse Cabaret Show
“Let yourself be seduced by the subtle light effects of a show that’s bewitched audiences since 1951. Discover the glamor and impertinence that are the very DNA of Crazy Horse Paris in the immersive format of “Totally Crazy.””
Check tickets here.
Half-Day Trip to Giverny
“Explore Monet’s Giverny estate on a half-day trip from Paris. Learn more about French art and history, admire the gardens, visit Giverny Village, and delve into the world of Impressionist art.”
Check tickets here.
“Meet some of the most passionate food artisans in Montmartre and indulge in fresh cheeses, charcuterie, wine, pastries, and chocolate paired with wine on this guided food tour in Paris.”
Check tickets here.
