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Paris
History |
Paris Restaurants, Cafés and Nightlife (Part 1 of 2)Nightlife in Paris is as varied as you want it to be. Many tourists like to start out with the traditional and go on to sample the more eclectic choices.The Folies BergèreThe Folies Bergère on rue Saulnier is the most famous of Paris' many music halls, having enjoyed a heyday that lasted from the 1870s into the 1920s. Its lavish musical numbers featured either very richly costumed performers, or, quite often, female performers wearing nothing at all.Always a venue for the new and unusual, Paris was taken by storm in 1926 by the African-American chanteuse Josephine Baker who performed a suggestive dance, while dressed in a skirt made entirely of bananas. Such performances inspired the creation of the American Zigfield Follies. While the entertainment has been toned down just a bit, the Folies Bergère is still a must-see, even for its architecture. Le Moulin Rouge Another nightclub that draws a good many visitors for its rich history of French Music Hall performances is Le Moulin Rouge.
Located in Pigalle (pronounced: "pee-gahl"), this club is perfectly at home in the semi-slum, demimonde ambiance, considering the content of the shows that were held there (and which are still featured), as part of titillating French nightlife. Home of the French Can-Can dance (which is still performed), the club derives its name (literally: "the red windmill") from its architecture. The original building, which was replaced in 1906, once backed onto the beautiful Jardin de Paris. Outside its door was a monstrous stucco elephant, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889. While ladies took a genteel stroll to admire the jewels of horticulture, their spouses could climb a spiral staircase inside the elephant's leg, to a private room where the gems they admired were in the navel of a bellydancer. For more modern entertainment... [Continued]
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For Beginners Copyright © 2004 M. Feenstra, Den Haag. All rights reserved. | ||||||||