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1 • When the Moulin Rouge opened on October 6, 1889, it was the first Parisian establishment to be lit by electricity.
2 • The Moulin Rouge never closes.
There are two shows per night, 365 days a year. The Moulin Rouge has only closed once in its 129-year history to perform for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in London.
3 • The Moulin Rouge restaurant’s “brigade” is the biggest in France with 120 maître-d’s, headwaiters, and waiters.
4 • The first layout of the Moulin Rouge venue was truly extravagant.
There was a huge dance floor, mirrors everywhere, elegant galleries, and a garden decorated with a big elephant. Ladies could even take donkey rides around the garden!
5 • The Moulin Rouge stage has an aquarium in it that holds over 1,200 gallons of water.
6 • The posters hanging on the Moriss columns in the Moulin Rouge are the original posters of the artists who performed there.
It’s a part of the Belle Epoque décor, which was a part of the venue’s third configuration in 1951.
7 • The Moulin Rouge has 600,000 spectators per year.
Among them, 50% are French and 50% are international.
8 • It takes 450 employees working in Moulin Rouge day and night to make the magic of the cabaret happen. There’s always someone there.
9 • The 80 dancers (60 Doriss Girls and 20 Doriss Dancers) of the Moulin Rouge come from 14 different countries.
New Dancers train six days a week for four weeks to learn choreography and master the French cancan before their first performance on stage.
10 • One show has 1,000 costumes handmade with feathers, rhinestones, and sequins in shimmering colors.
Everything is handmade by famous Parisian workshops: Maison Février (feathers), Maison Clairvoy (shoes), Atelier Valentin (embroidery), and l’Atelier Couture and l’Atelier de Creation (costumes).
11 • Five shoemakers from Maison Clairvoy personalize and create 800 pairs of shoes made from lamb, goat, and calfskin leather for the show “Féerie.”
12 • One French Cancan costume is made of 218.7 yards of frills per underskirt and 35 yards of frills per pair of knickers.
It weighs 11 pounds and costs €5,000 (or approximately $5,890).
13 • The Moulin Rouge is the largest consumer of champagne in the world (excluding retail locations) with 240,000 bottles per year consumed.
14 • Last year, Moulin Rouge and its Chef David Le Quellec were the first cabaret to be featured in the famous Gault & Millau restaurant guide.
The guide, which has been recommending restaurants since 1972, listed the Moulin Rouge as one of the not-to-be-missed dining experiences in Paris.
Visit Le Moulin Rouge at 82 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris
Website here
Buy tickets here
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