The moment you pass under the red windmill blades of the Moulin Rouge, everything must sparkle. The gold and crimson room sparkles; the waiters sparkle amid the frescoes inspired by the Belle Époque circus. The stage too sparkles, in a firework display of feathers and sequins from the Féerie Revue show. And, of course, the spectators' glittering champagne glasses. Champagne is inseparable from Paris's most famous cabaret. With nearly 250,000 bottles sold every year, the institution, located at Place Blanche in the 18th arrondissement, claims to be the private establishment that consumes the most bubbly in the world.
Quite simply, half a bottle of champagne is included in the admission, whether you opt for the dinner show (from €245 to €455) at 9 pm, or the show-only package (from €155 to €265) during the first show or the second, at 11 pm. Customers are free to replace champagne with other wines or non-alcoholic drinks, but 80% of the cabaret's guests don't stray from the festive bubbles. The mood is set as much by the paintings by Henri Mahé (1907-1975), as the champagne flutes and silver buckets complete with bottles ready to be popped, placed on the 250 tables arranged in a semicircle to accommodate 900 guests.
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