For more than a century, glamorous showgirls wearing elaborate costumes have been high-kicking across the stage of the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Now, for the first time, you can book a night there and get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to pull off a show through Airbnb - all for just a dollar a night.
Interior designers revamped a secret room inside the building’s namesake windmill that was not previously open to the public - thus creating a unique opportunity to sleep inside this famous Parisian landmark. Inside, guests will find late 19th-century-inspired decor and furnishings meant to transport them back in time to the Belle Époque, the “Beautiful Age,” when the arts flourished in France between roughly 1870 and the beginning of the First World War in 1914.
As Sara Lieberman writes for Conde Nast Traveler, the room is “absolutely out-of-this-world dreamy.” She slept in the four-poster bed surrounded by antique furnishings, wrought-iron bird cages, drapey pastel fabrics and other “romantic fairytale” decor.
Travellers who book the boudoir can imagine life as a cabaret performer while exploring an en suite dressing area brimming with vintage costumes, love letters and perfumes. They can also enjoy drinks on a private rooftop terrace outfitted with period-appropriate garden furniture.
And that's not all. Guests also get a private backstage tour of the venue, a meet-and-greet with lead dancer Claudine Van Den Bergh (who also doubles as the Airbnb host) and an opportunity to take photos on stage with the cast. Tickets to the cabaret show Féerie are also included, along with a three-course dinner created by resident chef Arnaud Demerville and a classic Parisian breakfast.
Travellers can book this experience for just €1 ($1) a night.
If all this sounds too good to be true, here’s the catch: The offering is only available for three individual one-night stays (for up to two guests) this summer on June 13, 20 and 27. Booking opens May 17.
(Another catch is that guests have to walk down the stairs to the club next door to use the bathroom.)
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