How to Get to the Moulin Rouge

If you are already thinking about buying tickets for the Moulin Rouge with dinner and transportation, you probably want to have some information to plan your experience. The most famous cabaret in Paris is located on the Boulevard de Clichy in the north of the city, just south of the hill of Montmartre neighborhood and in the eponymous district. It is not a centrally located tourist attraction, but it is very well connected and easy to reach. By metro, by bus, on foot... there are many ways to visit it and, below, I tell you which are the best.

In the vast majority of cases, the metro is the fastest way to move around Paris and in the case in question is no exception. Right next to the Moulin Rouge is the Blanche metro station on line 2.

Getting off at this stop we find our destination just outside the metro station on the left hand side. Another option is to take the line 13 that leaves us in Clichy square, also very close to the Moulin Rouge 5 minutes walk.

How to get to the Moulin Rouge using the Paris subway

Using the Paris metro is the most common way to get to the Moulin Rouge from anywhere in the city. There are two ways to get a ticket for public transportation. One is by purchasing a regular ticket and the other is by getting a weekly pass. The single ticket in Paris is known as Ticket t+ and is valid for all public transport for 90 minutes. It costs 1.90 euros or 14.90 if you buy a pack of 10 tickets.

The weekly pass, or Passe Navigo as it is called in Paris, is the best option for stays of a week or more in the French capital. It works by zones: from 1 to 5, from the most central to the outskirts. The ones we are interested in to get to the Moulin Rouge are zones 1-3 and the voucher that allows us to move around this area costs between 19.80 and 22.00 euros depending on the one we choose.

This pass can also be used to take the Montmartre funicular. The Paris metro runs from 5:30 in the morning until 1:00. On Fridays and Saturdays they extend the closing time until 2:00.

Information of interest

• Price: 1.90 single ticket. 14.90 pack of 10 tickets.
• Duration of the journey: Depends on the starting point. From Plaza de la Concordia it takes 17 minutes.
• Timetable: From 5:30 am to 1:00 am.
• Recommended if: You are looking for the fastest transport.

The bus is not the fastest transportation but it is a comfortable and recommended option if you are one of those who like to enjoy the city looking out the window. The Moulin Rouge is also well connected by bus. Lines 30, 54, 68 and 80 stop nearby. My recommendation is to use the 30 and 54, as the stop is next to the Blanche metro station and a few meters from our destination.

And if what you value most is to arrive touring some of the most important monuments, you can always take the Paris tourist bus. In Paris the "official" ones are known as Open Tour bus and there are several lines for different routes. In this case, the red line stops at the Moulin Rouge and costs around 30 euros per day.

Price and information

Tickets and fares are exactly the same as for the metro and all public transport: the basic ticket, Ticket t+ (1.90 euros), or the Passe Navigo, valid for a week (around 20 euros depending on the area). Tickets can be purchased at metro stations or at kiosks throughout the city and also on the bus itself, for a surcharge of 20 cents.

Buses operate from Monday to Saturday from 07:00 to 20:30 hours, and some main lines until 00:30. There are also night buses that can be identified by an N and run from 00:30 to 07:00.

Information of interest

• Price: 1.90 single ticket. 14,90 pack of 10 tickets.
• Travel time: Depends on the starting point. From downtown about half an hour depending on traffic.
• Timetable: Monday to Saturday from 07:00 to 20:30. Nocturnal from 00:30 to 07:00.
• Recommended if: You are looking for a fast transport and with which you can enjoy the tour.

I'm not discovering anything new if I tell you that Paris is a tremendously beautiful and grateful city to walk around it. If you are staying in the city center you can always consider walking to the Moulin Rouge. To give you an idea of the distance you have to walk, I leave you the time it takes from some of the tourist spots in the city.

• If you visit the Louvre museum and then go to the Moulin Rouge: It is about 2 and a half kilometers and takes about 36 minutes.
• If you visit the Eiffel Tower and then head to the Moulin Rouge: Almost 5 kilometers and 1 hour walk.
• From the Arc de Triomphe to the Moulin Rouge: It takes about 45 minutes to walk the 3.3 kilometers that separate them.
• If you visit Notre Dame and then head to the Moulin Rouge: It takes less than an hour for a few minutes and 4.2 kilometers.
• If you visit the Paris Opera and then head to the Moulin Rouge: It's less than two kilometers that you can walk in just over 20 minutes.

Information of interest

• Price: Free.
• Travel time: Depends on the starting point.
• Schedule: The one you set for yourself.
• Recommended if: You want to enjoy the streets of Paris.

There is nothing more comfortable than being picked up wherever you want and taken to the door of the Moulin Rouge. For this there are cabs. It is not the fastest transport in the dense Parisian traffic, nor the cheapest, but you do save waiting and transfers in addition to gaining in comfort.

In Paris there are more than 20,000 cabs available 24 hours a day. It is somewhat difficult to distinguish them as they are normal cars whose only distinguishing feature is a small luminous sign on the roof. When you get into one, make sure that it has a taximeter and a license number. If not, it is better to get out and look for another one that does meet these requirements.

Prices and information

There is a single telephone number to request cab service: 01 45 30 30 30. As for prices, the minimum service has a cost of 7.10 euros and the flag down is around 2.60 euros.

The final price depends on the time and distance, which is usually quite a lot due to traffic and the dimensions of Paris, and supplements, which vary depending on the hours and days you take it. Between 10:00 and 17:00 are somewhat cheaper than after that time. On Sundays, holidays and night schedules have more supplements.

Information of interest

• Price: From 7,10€.
• Duration of the journey: It depends on the starting point. From Plaza de la Concordia it takes 15 minutes, depending on traffic.
• Schedule: 24 hours a day.
• Recommended if: You are looking for total availability and comfort.

If you are a regular user of services like Uber, in Paris you can also take advantage of them. The big advantage is that you can hire it from the app and, unlike cabs, you will already know the route and the price you are going to pay for it. If you know how it works and you have the app on your cell phone, it is certainly one of the most comfortable ways to get around Paris.

Useful information

• Price: Depending on the route.
• Duration of the trip: It depends on the starting point. From Plaza de la Concordia it takes 15 minutes, depending on traffic.
• Schedule: 24 hours a day.
• Recommended if: You are already a user and you are looking for total availability and comfort.

It is not usual, but you can travel to Paris in your own car or rent one upon arrival. Although it gives you more freedom of movement, the traffic and streets of Paris are not very car friendly.

To get to the Moulin Rouge you will need to enter this address into your GPS: 90 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France. When you arrive you can forget about parking in a public place, it is almost mission impossible. You will most likely have to leave it in a parking lot. The closest one is Clichy Montmartre, about 300 meters from the Moulin Rouge.

Useful information

• Travel time: It depends on the starting point. From the center it takes about 15 minutes, but it always depends on the traffic.
• Timetable: whatever you put yourself.
• Recommended if: You want total independence and don't mind paying extra for parking.

The RER, or regional trains, serve to get from places near Paris but also as a complement to the metro as they run through the city center. Its main advantage is that they allow us to reach for example the Moulin Rouge from points outside the city such as Disney, Versailles or airports.

If you travel by train, the most efficient way to get to the Moulin Rouge is to go to the train station of St. Lazarus. Luckily it is very close to the destination. It takes only 15 minutes walking northbound and from the same station you can take the metro, a bus or call a cab. The fare depends on the point from which you arrive, but in these trains are also worth the Ticket t + and Passe Navigo.

Information of interest

• Travel time: Depends on the point of departure. From the station to the Moulin Rouge is a 15 minute walk.
• Timetable: Depending on the train.
• Recommended if: You are coming from out of town from points like Disney or Versailles.