A night in the iconic Parisian cabaret of Lido on the Champs Elysees is like entering another era. However, the question you might ask yourself over the course of the night is which one. This show is exceptionally dazzling and often resembles an overly glorified drag show. But if you have deep pockets and a sense of humor, you are sure to enjoy this mix of French cancan, circus, magic, and cabaret. It’s an updated cabaret and arguably more elegant than the more famous Moulin Rouge, but don’t worry, you’ll still get a lot of extravagance for your money.
Lido Cabaret’s location and contact information
Lido is located in the west of Paris, on the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysées, in the 8th district of the city.
Address: 116 Bis Avenue des Champs Élysées
Metro: George V (Line 1) or RER A, Charles de Gaulle-Etoile
Telephone: Call +33 (0) 1 40 76 56 10 for reservations (required)
Open: every day from 9 am to 2 am. Dinner is served daily from 7 p.m. Champagne Magazine from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. On certain days, guests can also enjoy a lunch magazine (1:00 or 3:00 p.m.) or a Champagne magazine at 3pm. Call or visit the official website for more information.
Reservations: Dinner and show at the Lido (Book directly through TripAdvisor)
The Lido gift shop is open every day from 7:00 pm to 2:00 am.
Prices:
For current prices, visit the website.
Show review: welcome
After passing through the main Lido entrance, a smiling, tuxedo-clad staff member will greet you immediately and take you to your seat. The preferred seats are at the front at long tables. Plush booths are further back from the stage, but still offer a great view. Also, you are less likely to have to stretch your neck to the side during the show, as is unfortunately the case at long tables.
Dinner at Lido.
If you arrive for dinner, you can enjoy the six-piece jazz band and singer, who will accompany you during your meal with hits by Nina Simone and other classical artists. You can choose from several food options at different prices, with most offering an appetizer, main course, dessert, a half bottle of champagne or wine and coffee. Or, you can opt for the dessert or champagne option while enjoying the show. The food and desserts are very good, and the service is excellent and very attentive.
Let the show begin!
And then the show begins. The Lido cabaret is full of pomp and circumstance, and it starts off with a bang. A feathered egg hangs from the rafters before plunging onto the stage to reveal our singing host, draped in white feathered angel wings. He will continue to make appearances throughout the night, each time with varying degrees of showiness, but always delivering a rather impressive singing voice (live).
A series of rainbow-colored feathered dancers appear on stage, for the first of many outrageous, brilliant, and generally exaggerated performances. The dancers twirl, twirl, and kick, sometimes topless or exposing their derrieres, but not necessarily. While the lead dancer offers some pretty impressive talents and charisma, it’s not enough to make up for the fact that most of the other dancers here are basic at best, stiff and awkward at worst. Still, with 23 different sets and 600 costumes, it’s hard to focus on some lackluster shimmies and kicks.
The show continues, as dancers take on an incongruous mix of themes, spanning widely across different eras: Marilyn Monroe, Cats, Chicago, the runway, the 1920s, and the classic French cancan. Culturally sensitive types may find the “Legendary India” number not only thematically confusing but also slightly offensive, as it combines Indian, Thai and Arabic music and costumes without discrimination. A very realistic elephant even seems to end the Bollywood-esque number.
From here, Lido mixes various non-dance performances into the show: an energetic Diablo performer, an acrobat, a magician, and an ice skater (who manages, albeit precariously, to remain within the small plaza in which he is given to skate). At one point, a royal horse runs off with a red-capped monsieur riding on it. The moving center stage also allows a real fountain to rise ceremoniously off the floor, making you constantly wonder what Lido is going to think next.
Closing time… and the bottom line
As the end of the show nears, you’ve probably seen enough glitter, leather, fur, mesh, leopard print, and feathers to last into the next century. If Lido is anything, it is cheerful and its goal is to entertain you at all costs. For this reason, no amount of glitter, color, or extravagance is spared. Lido doesn’t take himself too seriously and neither should you. If you’re going to splurge a night here, leave your pretensions at the door and just enjoy.
