A Moulin Rouge tour is not a tour of the building. As far as I can find, the venue opens for its evening performances only, so the tours that carry its name either walk you around the outside in Montmartre or put you on a coach and deliver you to the show. I compared the two guided Moulin Rouge tours on GetYourGuide, at $127 and $189, and I explain below what the show packages without a guide add. If you only want a seat at the revue, my guide to Moulin Rouge tickets compares all ten options.
The Moulin Rouge was built in 1889, the year of the Universal Exposition, and Wikipedia describes it as the birthplace of the modern can-can (Wikipedia). The official site says the Féerie revue runs in the evening, and the schedule I could confirm is revue-only shows at 9 pm and 11 pm, with doors 1 hour 15 minutes before, per the official FAQ. So a Moulin Rouge tour in daylight cannot take you inside.
That leaves a clear split. The walk is a daytime tour about Montmartre with the windmill as its starting point. The evening tour is transport plus a show, with the show as its centre. The packages in the section after those two are show tickets with extras, not tours, and I treat them as the third choice.
Montmartre Moulin Rouge Walking Tour
The LivTours walk costs $127, lasts 2 hours and is offered in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish and Russian. You meet in front of Blanche metro station, at the Moulin Rouge newspaper kiosk, 59 Boulevard de Clichy. The guide opens with the history of the Moulin Rouge and its regulars when it opened in 1889, then climbs through the village streets of Montmartre. The route lists the historic vineyard, the former homes of Van Gogh, Renoir and Picasso, the Au Lapin Agile cabaret where Edith Piaf performed, the Café des Deux Moulins, a fresh French bread tasting and Sacré-Cœur from the outside. Entry to the Sacré-Cœur basilica is not included, and my page on Sacré-Cœur tickets covers that.
It has a rating of 5.0 from 3 reviews, so I cannot rank it on feedback. The only review text praises the guide for clear explanations. Free cancellation is allowed up to 24 hours before. I would choose this Moulin Rouge tour if your evening is already taken by dinner or another show, and you want the story of the neighbourhood by day.
LivTours - We craft tours, you live them
Montmartre Tour with Moulin Rouge and Sacré-Cœur
★5.0 (3 reviews)
2 hours
Free cancellation
My pick: The daytime option: a 2-hour Montmartre walk from the Moulin Rouge windmill, $127, seven languages, only 3 reviews so far.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
✓ Moulin Rouge windmill
✓ Guided walk through Montmartre
✓ Former homes of Van Gogh, Renoir, and Picasso
✓ Au Lapin Agile
✓ Cafe des Deux Moulins
✓ Fresh French bread tasting
Not included / not suitable
✕ Entrance to Sacré-Cœur Basilica
Meeting point: In front of Blanche Metro Station Moulin Rouge newspaper kiosk 59 Bd de Clichy, 75009 Paris, France
Extime Travel runs the Moulin Rouge tour that most people mean when they combine sightseeing and the show. It costs $189, takes about 4 hours and runs in 13 languages, from English, French and Spanish to Korean, Hindi and Arabic. The meeting point is Place de Sydney in Paris 15th, near the Eiffel Tower. You board an air-conditioned coach with commentary through an audio app, driving past the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and the Louvre, then go to the Moulin Rouge for the Féerie revue with a glass of champagne. After the show the coach returns you to one of five central areas of Paris. A Seine cruise and the city tour are options, and dinner, earphone sets and hotel pickup are not included.
The rating is 4.0 from 1,647 reviews, lower than the plain show ticket. The complaints are practical: one reviewer found the bus tour fun but chaotic, because it did not follow the route the audio guide was set up for, and another asked for a refund after roads closed and the meeting point could not be reached. The praise is for the guide, who in several reviews got the group into the show smoothly. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours ahead, which the plain show tickets in my set do not offer. I explain the show times and the night itself on my Moulin Rouge opening hours guide.
Night tour
Extime Travel
Evening Sightseeing Tour and Moulin Rouge Show
★4.0 (1,647 reviews)
4 hours
Free cancellation
My pick: Night coach tour plus the revue and champagne: $189, about 4 hours, 4.0 from 1,647 reviews, free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
✓ Féerie Revue at Moulin Rouge cabaret entrance ticket
✓ Champagne
✓ Return transportation to five areas of Paris' city center after the Moulin Rouge show
✓ Transportation by air-conditioned bus
✓ Commented city tour (if option selected)
✓ Commented Seine cruise (if option selected)
Not included / not suitable
✕ Dinner
✕ Earphone sets
✕ Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting point: Place de Sydney, 75015 Paris – Meet our Extime Travel ambassador
In case of problem, contact us on:
1/ WhatsApp +33 6 14 96 42 81
2/ Phone +33 1 44 55 60 00 Place de Sydney, 75015 Paris, France
Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
“Was that most beautiful experience in Paris the guide a very good man and respectful gentleman who waited for all of us with responsibility and care. Amazing guy. Thank you very much for that wonderful night.” – GetYourGuide review
“Our guide was so knowledgeable and friendly!! He knew everyone at the Moulin Rouge, we went right to the front of the line, perfect and smooth! This experience was amazing! 1000% recommend!”
— GetYourGuide reviewer
Moulin Rouge Show Packages With Transport or a Cruise
Several other listings are sold with a host or transport, and I would not call them a tour of the Moulin Rouge, because the show is the point. Extime Travel also sells the revue with a Seine cruise at $290, with a half-bottle or glass of champagne and a multilingual hostess. The show with champagne and drop-off at $206 includes a ticket to the revue, half a bottle of champagne and a drop-off at Opéra, Arc de Triomphe, Montparnasse, Eiffel Tower or Bastille areas. The dinner show with transport costs $440, and the Eiffel Tower, dinner cruise and show package costs $410. Prices are from the listings and I did not check them against the official site, which does not publish a price on the pages I read.
If you want a host but not a coach tour, the cheaper Moulin Rouge show with drop-off at $206 is the one I would look at first. For the others, see the full comparison on my page of tickets for the Moulin Rouge.
What Reviewers Say About a Moulin Rouge Tour
Reviewers of the evening Moulin Rouge tour split their praise: the guide, the show and the night sightseeing get credit, and the organisation before the show does not. One said the Moulin Rouge was great but the organisation before the show was not. The pattern tells me that the transport adds convenience at a price in predictability. The walking tour has too few reviews to show a pattern at all.
Guided Moulin Rouge Tour or Ticket Only?
A plain champagne ticket costs $134, the night tour $189, so the guide, coach and ride back cost about $55 more. That is the cheapest way I found to add sightseeing to the show, and the extra is worth it only if you would otherwise spend the evening finding your own way across Paris. If you live nearby or want to dine first, take the plain ticket.
The Montmartre walk is a different product altogether, as it does not include the show, so compare it with a free walk around Pigalle rather than with a ticket. The walk does buy the story of the 1889 cabaret and of the artists nearby, which a ticket does not give.
How I’d Choose a Moulin Rouge Tour
See the neighbourhood by day: the LivTours walk at $127, accepting that it has 3 reviews.
Sightseeing and the show in one evening: the Extime Travel night tour at $189.
Only the show: skip every Moulin Rouge tour, and read the Moulin Rouge history to know what you are watching.
A host and a ride back, no coach tour: the $206 drop-off package.
Before you go, my Moulin Rouge map shows the entrance, the nearest metro station and what is around the windmill. When you are ready to pick, the full list of Moulin Rouge tickets is the place to go, and the home page lists the other Paris attractions I compare.
Frequently asked questions
Can you tour the inside of the Moulin Rouge?+
Not by day, as far as I could find. The official site presents the Moulin Rouge as a venue that opens for its evening performances, Google Maps lists no daytime hours, and none of the listings I compared sells a backstage or daytime visit. To see the inside you buy the show, and a Moulin Rouge tour either walks you around the outside or adds sightseeing before the revue.
What does a Moulin Rouge tour include?+
There are two kinds. The Montmartre walk at $127 starts in front of the windmill and covers the Au Lapin Agile cabaret, the former homes of Van Gogh, Renoir and Picasso and Sacré-Cœur from outside. The $189 evening tour is a coach sightseeing trip that ends with the 11 pm Féerie revue and a glass of champagne.
How long is a Moulin Rouge tour?+
The Montmartre walk takes about 2 hours. The evening sightseeing tour with the show takes about 4 hours according to the listing. It starts near the Eiffel Tower, and the official second revue begins late, so allow for a return to central Paris around 1 am.
Does the Montmartre walking tour include the show?+
No. The $127 LivTours walk shows you the exterior of the Moulin Rouge and the neighbourhood around it, and it does not include a seat at the revue. If you want both, book a show ticket separately or choose the evening coach tour at $189 that includes it.
Is the night tour with the show worth it?+
I think so if you want a Paris night drive and the show in one booking. It costs $189 against $134 for the plain champagne ticket, so the extra $55 buys the coach, the commentary and the ride back. Its rating of 4.0 from 1,647 reviews is lower than the plain ticket at 4.7.
