Is it safe to take you're girlfriend to the Moulin Rouge?

Question

I've read some reports on the net that the area is really unsafe & there are loads of people trying to fleece you out of money.

Would it be safe to go to the 11pm show?

Answer 1

The area is safe in the sense that there is little violent crime although it is known for clip joints,  s*x shops and hookers.

However, the  credulous tourists who are about to be fleeced by paying ridiculously expensive prices to go to the Las Vega style show at the Moulin Rouge may be thought of as vicitms of fraud.

Your girlfriend will have to ask herself why you chose to take her someplace where the principle attraction is ogling other women's bare b*****s.

There are many places in Paris to spend a more authentic evening (unless you regard being played for a sucker by the  as an authentic Paris experience) and certainly entertainment with more class and sophistication is available.

Go look at the Moulin Rouge during the day. The exterior does have historical value. But the show inside is not the one that Toulouse Lautrec sketched or that is shown in movies.

If you'd like a night suitable for people of sophistication and taste then consider Bel Canto ( http://www.lebelcanto.com/Paris.php ) where the staff are all Opera singers and you'll be entertained with beautiful music.

Or go to the Club Lionel Hampton in the hotel Meridien Etoile. ( http://starwood.webcanada.com/restaurant... ) and listen to some fabulous jazz in a very sleek and stylish setting.

Answer 2

The area of Paris where the Moulin Rouge is located is called Montmartre and I promise you it is the safest place on Earth.  I have just got back from a four day debauch in Pigalle - it's the red-light district of Paris.

I think the Moulin Rouge has two shows  a night, one at 9pm and the next at 11pm.

Restautrants in the Pigalle area are open until about 1am every night of the week including Sundays -and you can always get a drink any time in Paris anyway.

Moulin Rouge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoVeAGaO2...

One thing you very quickly discover about the people of Montmartre is that they are laid back they have an open mind attitude to anything.

After all, the Moulan Rouge was the home of such great stars as Mistingett and Maurice Chevalier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T36GfpGKW...

Maurice Chevalier - Thank Heaven.. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyBffCiGr...

There is no one ever to beat this - Piaf - looking old and half dead - but as ever, Paris in her heart and the voice of an angel....

This may very well be the last time Piaf as filmed singing.  Sorry to say that the stupid camera person thinks the pianist is more important.  Piaf was still a great star when I was young.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRuLFR91...

. . . .as Maurice Chevalier sang. . . ."I'm glad I'm not young any more. . . ."

Have a great time in Montmartre - the Moulin Rouge and around Pigalle.

The temperature recorded at Notre Dame on 24th June 2008 was 36C - that's about 99f - 100f - enjoy. . . .Paris sizzles.

Answer 3

People who have gone told me the place looks a little creepy and it was during the daytime. When I went to Paris, I was  told by every Travel expert not to go to Moulin Rouge, its not exactly the safiest area.

Also, its not the most romantic place to take your girlfriend. As women, I don't find watching topless women put on a show, romantic.

Why don't yo take her on a Seine Cruise dinner, now that she will love you for.

Answer 4

It is perfectly safe to take your girlfriend there for the show--even at 11 PM.  I took my wife there for dinner and show last May and it was on the night of our 30th Anniversary and we had a great time.  Yes it is expensive, the food is not great, but its OK.  And if it is a tourist trap, so be it.....we loved every minute of it and the show was fantastic.  Talented people and great costumes, very colorful and entertaining.  Don't listen to the c**p you hear.  Go and have a great time.  Paris has a lot to offer and Moulin Rouge is one of the tourist attractions you want to go see, so do it.  Then you can give your opinions of it after you've been there, like us.

But don't worry about your safety.  We took a cab and it dropped us off at the door and we stood in line with all the other toursits waiting to go in.  When we left, we hailed another cab and went directly to our hotel.  You don't have to walk around Pigall if you don't want to and subject yourself to the panhandlers and creeps that may be looking for you.  Just avoid this stuff and be as careful as you would be anywhere else.  Its not a big deal unless you go looking for trouble.

Answer 5

The Moulin Rouge is a Mecca for tourists to Paris, it IS in the red light district of Paris, at the foot of Montmatre. As a woman, I still love this area of Paris the most. Yes, it can be seedy, but the history of the area makes up for it ten fold. I choose to stay in this area when we visit Paris, it is so vibrant. Montmartre is so quaint, and full of history, artists and take a look around the cemetary too! If you stay at Hotel Fromentain they give you a booklet with a walk around the area. Check out there website for deals, www.hotelroyalfromentin.com if they have rooms at reasonable rates, grab them!!!Visit the Museum of Romantic Life. Watch the film Amelie then find the cafe and the grocers shop, the Canal St Martin.

If you go by Eurostar, have your final / first meal in Paris in the Hotel Gard du Nord resturant, not cheap, but very good.

You did say you were going for a month!!!???

Go to Moulin Rouge, but take time to visit Sacre Couer and Rue Lepic. Take her to Galleries Lafayette or Primtemps, Les Grands Magasins. She will love you for it. You can go to the top floors of both these stores and get the most amazing views of Paris for free.

Come out of the Mulin Rouge, then go next door to La Loco, and stay until dawn.  Enjoy!!