📍 Moulin Rouge (Paris)
The Disneyland of showgirls in the city of love.
The Sexy Directory is written and curated by me, Head Mistress Arielle Zadok. I’m an intimacy coordinator and sexologist who wants to make sex, love and intimacy a lot less daunting and a lot more fun. If you’d like to read a more in depth review, you’ll find that after the photo gallery.
We’re coming up on spring time here in the northern hemisphere and you know what that means?
Paris is about to be bumpin’.
Now sadly I’ve yet to see Europe in the spring, but luckily for me, the Moulin Rouge is indoors and on a chilly night in November, that’s exactly where I found myself.
What’s the vibe?
Upscale dinner theater, not so much sexy as it is a good excuse to get dressed up. It’s a little bit like if Disneyland had topless showgirls. A lot of communal tables and even with single tables, they’re very close together. It’s a showroom floor for sure.
What’s the crowd like?
Mostly couples, but there were groups of adults of all ages. A large 60+ crowd. I went solo and was paired with another solo female traveler. We shared a table with a couple celebrating their anniversary with their 16 year old daughter and 11 year old son. So that should give you context for the level of eroticism here, which, I would say, was a 2 out of 100, and only because the performers were topless.
Accessibility?
The Moulin Rouge offers accessibility support for those in wheelchairs, though they recommend emailing reservation@moulinrouge.fr before your visit. They also offer hearing aides for those with impaired hearing. You can lean more on their FAQ page here: https://www.moulinrouge.fr/en/faq-en/
What’s the price point?
$ $ $ $ Prices start at around $134 USD and increase from there depending on show date, show time, whether you’re adding on the champagne and / or adding on dinner.
Where can I find it?
Moulin Rouge | 82, Boulevard de Clichy 75018 Paris – Montmartre
Phone: +33153098282 | Email: information@moulinrouge.fr
Website: https://www.moulinrouge.fr/en/homepage/
What’s parking like?
It’s Paris, babe. You’re not driving. But public transit is fantastic and taxis are available.
Anything else I need to know?
As you can imagine, they do have a dress code. While a tie and jacket are not mandatory, it’s a no-go when it comes to flip flops, jeans, short, tennis shoes and anything else that wouldn’t fit in the category of “elegant”. And yes, they do have a coat check. It’s Paris, they’re classy.
When I learned the in-person portion of my intimacy coordinator certification would be in Spain, I immediately knew I would go to Paris. When I knew I was going to Paris, I was obviously going to check out the Moulin Rouge.
I am a pole dancer after all.
I booked my November trip somewhere in the summer, which gave me plenty of time to plan, but I also knew these tickets sell out months in advance so I couldn’t do my normal “go with the flow” approach to travel. I had to actually plan this, and I planned it for my first night in Paris.
What I didn’t plan for was losing one of my airpods in London a week earlier so the first thing I did when I got to Paris was hit up the Apple store. Lucky for me, the Apple store was only a few blocks from the Arc de triomphe, which happened to be on my list thanks to someone over on reddit mentioning I should go to the top at sunset. Which is exactly what time it was when I left the Apple store.
I have to say this recommendation was spot on. Seeing the sun go down and the lights come on in Paris from the top of the arc was très magnifique.
But then… the real magic happened, THE EIFFEL TOWER STARTED TO SPARKLE!
Did ya’ll know it does that? Because I did not. I wasn’t planning to go to the Eiffel tower that night, it was getting late and I needed to get to the Moulin Rouge, but it was so close and I only had a few days in Paris so I figured, fuck it. I have time.
AND THEN I GOT ON THE WRONG DAMN BUS.
Okay, fine. Pivot. I’m a NYer, it wouldn’t be the first time I hopped on public transit only to learn I’m heading in the wrong direction.
It’s worth noting here that the sparkles only go off for 5 minutes at the top of every hour, so not only was I trying to beat the clock for my reservation, knowing I still had to go home and change, but I was racing to catch the sparkles.
So finally, I get off (the right) bus and had about 5 minutes before the sparkles would shine. Since the Moulin Rouge is rather expensive and I decided to go to Crazy Horse at the end of my trip which was equally as expensive, I opted to go to both shows without dinner. Homegirl had to eat.
I did the most quintessential thing I could do. I grabbed a crépe, ate it piping hot in under 3 minutes, walked over to the bridge the internet told me it was the best spot for photos, found my little spot among couples and dudes selling tiny Eiffel towers made in China, got my photos and got the fck out of there.
I got to my AirBnB, ran up 3 flights of spiral stairs so old they sank in the middle of each step, changed as quickly as I could, ran back down the stairs and caught the train that took me a few stops down to the world famous Moulin Rouge when I finally arrived, sweating and slightly out of breath.
The Moulin Rouge is a world renowned Parisian cabaret that opened its doors in 1889 and still operates today, running two shows a night (9pm and 11pm) and a dinner service at 7pm. Though you may know it from the 2001 feature film starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor with the iconic song Lady Marmalade that brought together Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, Mya and P!nk.
Some of you may not have even known it was a real place before now (no judgement).
I got there just in the nick of time. I was one of the last people to filter into the room about 10 minutes before curtain. I checked in with the front desk, checked my coat, and walked through the black velvety doors with a rhinestone greeting that read “Bal Du Moulin Rouge”.
I walked in to find a large theatre with pink and white striped fabric hanging on the ceiling giving the room and elegant circus vibe. The room was filled with people, most of whom had been eating and drinking for the last 2 hours, and a band singing funky hits, which you wouldn’t expect in a venue like that, but funk & soul are the great unifiers, so everyone was having a good time.
I was seated on the ground floor, about 10 feet from the stage, which was arguably too close, but as a performer, I don’t mind being up close and personal from time to time. I was seated with a couple who were celebrating their 20th anniversary with their two kids, one a 16 year old girl, and the other an 11 year old boy. Neither of them seemed too phased by the amount of bare breasts presented on stage, and no one seemed phased that an 11 year old was in the room. It’s what told me that this was not a “sexy” show per se, and indeed it wasn’t.
I was paired with another woman on a solo trip which worked out great for us. She was from Mexico and we connected over our love for solo travel and our preference to be single rather than date anyone who wasn’t a good match. There were some language barriers, but overall we made great dates for each other… so much so that we kept chatting while the room cleared out and servers kept coming over and pouring us leftover champagne.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
As for the show itself, it was a spectacle for sure. It was glitzy, it was glamorous, it had high kicks, and rhinestones and feathers, oh my! But the showgirls, although incredible, weren’t necessarily my favorite part of the show. The circus acts however, absolutely were.
Two that stood out to me were a couple on roller skates spinning faster than I’d ever seen anyone do before doing some truly wild shit, and two men doing a contortion / strength / balancing act. It’s honestly been so long that I can’t remember the specifics anymore, but my mind was absolutely blown. And not just because I drank a bottle of champagne. The performances truly were spectacular.
So much so, that I barely noticed that anyone was topless. Other than the fact that I actually think it took away from the look of the costumes. I have no problem with nudity, I’m an intimacy coordinator and work at sex parties for fucks sake, but for most of the costumes, it just looked like a gorgeous costume was broken up by googley eyes, and it seemed… kind of silly.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you’re going to Paris and you’re into spectacular performances that happen to have topless women, then of course you have to go to the Moulin Rouge. It’s an iconic show with a ton of history and some of the acts truly were outstanding. Just don’t go there thinking it’s going to be sexy or erotic - it’s not. But it’s a great show, and a great time that I would definitely do again with a date.
That’s it for the world famous Moulin Rouge!
Au revoir ma chérie,
xx
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