Picture of the Moulin Rouge front by night

Moulin Rouge Show Tickets

Moulin Rouge Paris

Adress : 82, Boulevard Clichy 75018 Paris, France - Telephone : +33 1 53 09 82 82
Our review : Definitely the best cabaret show in Paris - Book Moulin Rouge Tickets

History of the Moulin Rouge Cabaret

Carefree life, Flickleness and Joie de Vivre... Those are the three words that could best sum up this unique period in the History of France. It was a rest between two wars, a period of transition between two centuries, during which the social barriers collapsed, when the industrial revolution gave hope of a better life for all, in a rich cultural profusion and that promised much fun. The middle-class mixed with the riffraff, the popular culture was enchanced in a contented disorder full of joy and vitality. In that atmosphere, which favoured artistic creativity, literary circles appeared and disappeared according to people'meetings, while painters and drawers got especially inspired by this joyful ­ sometimes outrageous but full of fancy ­ atmosphere that broke completely with the rigid classicism of that period.

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Cabarets, such as Moulin Rouge in 1889

In the midst of this effervescence, the Butte-Montmartre figures as a place of symbolic meaning. In 1891, the Basilica Notre-Dame du Sacre-Coeur was inaugurated. It was hoped that, with the basilica on the hilltop, a little prestige would be brought back to the ill frequented hill. But against all expectations, the coexistence of this Holy place and its more nefarious slopes only gave more character to this Mecca of Parisian life. Eccentrics, artists and performers continued going to cabarets, music-halls and cafes in larger numbers, whereas middle-classes, aristocrats and socialites growing more and more attracted to night pleasures, began going there too. Café-concerts became the true symbol of this social and cultural melting-pot. Workers, artists, middle-classes and aristocrats gathered at the same table, in a joyful atmosphere of feast and frivolity. Among these cabarets, some have become famous : the Chat Noir with its rich settings created by Caran d'Ache, the Mirliton, the Folies-Bergeres, the Moulin Rouge... Here, the public came to listen to the anti-conformist songs of Aristide Bruand, the champion of eccentrics, prostitutes, unemployed, and of all those low life people that artists had long despised.

Toulouse Lautrec and the Moulin

Here again, painters found their inspiration, such as Toulouse-Lautrec, a regular customer in the quarter, who came to immortalise the strange colourful scenes that are midway between frenetic entertainment and the tragic life of the lower-classes, in famous paintings such as Le Chat Noir and La Goulue. on the 6th October, at the foot of Butte Montmartre, the atmosphere was pretty festive: a new music-hall was opening in the Jardin de Paris, the Moulin Rouge, ... The public came in mass to Place Blanche, to discover this extravagant place with its huge dance floor, mirrors everywhere, and galleries that were the last word in elegance, to mix with the riffraff and girls of easy virtue, in a garden decorated with a big elephant with rides on donkeys for the ladies'pleasure. There was such a wild atmosphere that the show was not only on the stage but all around : aristocrats and louts in caps had fun side by side, in an atmosphere of total euphoria. Untill the beginning of World War I, the Moulin Rouge has become a true temple dedicated to operetta. The Automotive fair (yes !) on the 7th December 1904, many people from upper-classes gathered, who sang, danced and regretted the end of a so delightful night. Whereas in 1907, the charming novice Mistinguett, makes her debuts on the stage of the Moulin Rouge in 'La Revue de la Femme'.

Moulin Rouge's revue popularity declined after Mistinguett's departure

After Mistinguett's departure, nothing would ever be the same in the world of music-hall...
The 7th Art - as French people call the cinema - overwhelmed the 'Great Revues' and the ballroom became an ultra modern night-club.. however, the Moulin Rouge still had some great moments : the acclaimed Cotton Club, which had had great success in New York, the nights with Ray Ventura and his Collegiens... some unforgettable moments before the dark years to come. 1939-1945 : Paris did not have much fun under the German's heel. The only ray of sunshine, a few days before the Liberation of Paris, was Edith Piaf, whose talent was becoming renowned, image who sang on the stage of the Moulin Rouge. In the first part of her show, a young man with a kind of "Cow Boy" was scheduled... Yves Montand. She later said about him : 'this guy who behaves as if he was in the plains of the Far West is nothing but a singer from Marseille... the height of vulgarity !.' He said in return that she was a merchant of depression. Exchange of kind words... but the Great Lady was not long to understand the potential of this lanky boy, who needed just a little help to change his appearance... Later on, he admitted then she had made him save time.

Cabaret show rebirth 

It was six years after World War II before the Moulin Rouge recovered its former magnificence. On the 22nd of June 1951, Georges France, alias Jo France, the founder of Balajo, bought the Bal du Moulin Rouge and set about renovating in order to allow the famous establishment to hold again the most wonderful nights in Paris, and regain its splendour of long-ago.

History - Pictures and Tickets for Moulin Rouge in Paris

Other tour including the Moulin Rouge : Illuminations + Moulin Rouge Show

Moulin Rouge official website

For more information about the famous cabaret please refer to the Paris Moulin Rouge official website : Moulin Rouge. Plan to stay close to the cabaret in Montmartre district please review our selection of recommended hotels : Book your stay in a Montmartre Hotel