Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge, Paris
In May 2024, the Moulin Rouge’s iconic red windmill blades collapsed. They fell into the street at 6am and the venue was closed for several months. The blades have been replaced and the venue is operating again, but the incident was a reminder that the building on Boulevard de Clichy is a working entertainment venue in an old building rather than a museum piece. The show itself is called Feerie and has been running with variations since 1999. The can-can dancers, the sequins, the seven-metre python, the theatrical excess: all present.
Whether it is worth going depends almost entirely on whether you find the concept appealing before you arrive. If you are charmed by cabaret, Paris mythology, and high-budget spectacle, yes. If you are expecting contemporary or innovative theatre, skip it and use the money on a good Paris restaurant.
Booking and Pricing
Two performances each evening: 9pm and 11pm. The 9pm includes optional dinner; the 11pm is champagne only. Dinner packages start around EUR 230 per person. The show alone with champagne starts around EUR 117.
Book directly through the official Moulin Rouge website (moulinrouge.fr) rather than third-party aggregators, which add fees and occasionally cause seat-allocation issues. The best seats are in the floor sections near the stage; the raised sections at the back provide a fuller view of the large set pieces but lose the intimacy of the front sections.
The dinner is fine but not the reason to go. Hotel banquet level, not Parisian gastronomy. Most repeat visitors recommend skipping the dinner package, eating properly in Montmartre beforehand at a third of the cost, and arriving for the show.
Montmartre Before the Show
The Moulin Rouge sits at the base of the Butte Montmartre; arriving an hour early to walk the neighbourhood is the right use of time.
Sacre-Coeur Basilica is a 10-minute walk uphill. The views from the esplanade in front are among the best free panoramas in Paris. The funicular from the bottom of the hill saves the climb; the stairs are worth taking at least once.
Rue Lepic and the surrounding streets are where actual Montmartre residents live and shop. The weekend street market is good. The cafe made famous by the film Amelie (Cafe des 2 Moulins, Rue Lepic) still operates and knows exactly what it is.
The Montmartre vineyard, planted in 1933, produces a small harvest each October. The wine is reputedly unremarkable, but the vineyard’s existence in the middle of Paris is worth noting: a reminder that the area was genuinely rural until the late 19th century.
Eating Near the Moulin Rouge
The tourist restaurants immediately around the Sacre-Coeur square are expensive for what they are.
Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole is further from the tourist core and better value for traditional French bistro cooking.
La Mascotte on Rue des Abbesses is a neighbourhood brasserie with very good moules mariniere and a more honest price-to-quality ratio than the places directly on the tourist circuit.
For something quicker, the side streets between Abbesses and Pigalle have wine bars and cafes where the evening pre-show drink can cost a third of what it would on the main square.
Staying in Montmartre
Hotel Particulier Montmartre is the best hotel in the neighbourhood: a genuinely beautiful private mansion with a courtyard garden and individually designed rooms. It books far in advance.
Hotel des Arts on Rue Tholozé is a mid-range option with clean, comfortable rooms and a quieter location than the immediate Moulin Rouge street. Around EUR 120-180 per night.
The Metro stop for the Moulin Rouge is Blanche on Line 2; the venue is immediately visible from the exit. Pigalle is one stop away on Line 2 and also works if your hotel is closer to that end.