Its winter, cycling in France is a few months away, so why not talk about famous entertainment and the City of Light? Magali from our office spent part of her holidays visiting these sites where send a lot of travelers during their visits to Paris, and her slightly edited report follows
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Moulin Rouge:I didn’t have time to see the show, but was able to meet with one of their representatives to explain how the show works, how our clients are seated…
The room can welcome 850 customers. For the dinner show, they will take a
maximum of 600 dinner-show reservations, and leave 250 places for show only at 9pm. They then have another show at 11:30pm, which is nice if you want a chance to seat closer to the stage. Indeed, customers don’t have a say in where they seat! The Moulin Rouge prepares it’s seating plan each day following different factors such as groups, when the client booked (the earlier you book, the better seating you get!!!)... Of course, since dinner is before the show, you get better seating if you booked a dinner-show. However, the room is in the shape of an amphitheatre, so no matter where you seat, you’ll see the stage quite nicely.
Another plus of going for the dinner-show is that during dinner, the front of the stage slides under the main stage, which leaves room for a dance floor if people want to dance in between courses! According to our representative, every kind of music is played in order to accommodate people from different nationalities.
Then, I got to visit backstage, which was great! Behind the scene, decors were being retouched, costumes were being checked and dancers were arriving for rehearsal! The halls and changing spaces are really small, it’s amazing that so many people can fit in there and rush to change. There are about 60 dancers total (about 40 women and 20 men) but only 2/3 are on stage during a show, and they always try to find at least 2 people of about the same size because costumes are custom made to fit 1 person, so if this person is sick, they need someone to replace them. The rep showed me the costume used for the finale: big pink feathers and silver arches (some with lights!) and big boots. Everything is made out of real feathers… and 1 one of those costumes costs about 15 000 Euros! Ouch! Apparently, whenever they change the revue, it costs about 6 million Euros, which is why they only do that every 8-9 years.
We then came back through the stage, so I got to stand ON the stage of the Moulin Rouge… which is honestly a sentence I never thought I would say! It was pretty nice to see the whole room from there. Since I was on the stage, that got me to thinking on how dancers are chosen (no, I’m not thinking of changing careers!!). Well, the Moulin Rouge is not as “strict” as other cabarets in Paris! Contrary to some places where you need to have a certain number of centimeters between your crotch and navel, the Moulin Rouge just wants its dancers to be “nice” to look at! And, again, contrary to other places where dancers are weighed daily, the Moulin Rouge only does is once a week or so (preferably not Christmas week!).
I was then on my way out, and the rep showed me the store where clients who saw the show can buy souvenirs such as ashtrays, key chains, jewelry, posters etc.. However, people who have not seen the show can go to a newly opened Moulin Rouge store right by the cabaret at 11 Rue Lepic!
Paradis Latin: 
I was really excited to see that show! Since it’s in a good location, I took the metro to get there, which was quite easy since the Paradis Latin is less than 5 minutes walking distance from a metro stop. Upon arrival, I gave my name to the Maitre D’ who then asked one of the waiters to show me where I would be seating. The Paradis Latin can welcome 790 customers. Each person had a printed menu (the one the client chose upon booking) and the waiter waits for you to choose. I thought everyone would get their food at the same time, but they actually bring it as clients arrive! So someone can be eating their first course while someone else can be having dessert! I think it’s better to arrive early, that way you can see what you’re eating (lights are off once the show starts) and you can talk with people around you a little! I actually was seating across the table from an American woman and next to a group of Italians… so it was quite international!
Dinner was fine: 2 courses + dessert. American clients may be surprised to see the quantities served! But it’s enough at the end of the meal, and your dinner includes a bottle of wine for 2 + ½ bottle Champagne per person! If you don’t drink Champagne, they can replace it with orange juice.
I didn’t see the people coming for the show only come in the theatre, so that was not a disturbance at all to any customer already in! People coming for the show only go to the mezzanine. When the show started, they turned off the lights, and the announcer started his presentation, first in French, then in English. The show is fine for both French and English-speaking clients, however, the announcer does make a few jokes in French, which are not translated into English. This did not seem to bother the people not understanding French. During the show, a photographer takes pictures of everyone, either by group or individual. She then comes back later to show you the picture and see if you want to purchase it (10 Euros per picture) as a souvenir!
There seem to be a great camaraderie between everyone on the staff! The waiters were really nice, and were also part of the show at different points, which made the whole show feel more like a reunion between friends rather than a formal outing, and yet still very professional. The costumes and settings vary a lot from one act to the next, and the show is supposed to be a timeline of love in Paris, starting in the early 1900, going all the way to 2089! There is also an amazing trapeze act, and another act located in Egypt, which I still don’t get with the setting of the rest of the show.
The show finished at 11pm, and because of the cabaret’s good location, I had no trouble taking the metro back to my hotel at that time of night. This was really a unique experience and I’m glad I had the opportunity to go there.
Personal comparison:
I can’t really compare both shows since I only saw one, but I think the Moulin Rouge might still be better for first timers who want to see a Cabaret show. The Paradis Latin is great for people who are looking for something more “French” or understand French. However, when I asked the American girl seating across the table from me what she thought, she said she loved it! So maybe I came with a critical mind to compare the 2 rather than just enjoy the show.
The location is way better for the Paradis Latin! Even the staff at the Moulin Rouge admitted that the area is not the best at night, but they said that taxis know when the show ends, so it’s usually not a problem to find one. The Moulin Rouge has all of their dancers brought back by taxi to their houses, even if they live right down the street!
The Paradis Latin is less expensive too, and still a great value, so that’s a plus for someone who wants dinner and show! I guess it all depends on what each person is looking for..
The Seattle Times reported that tour companies are adding surcharges to the cost of their European offers. Well, not us!
