Paradis Latin, a cabaret in the Latin Quarter since 1803

The Paradis Latin, a cabaret in the Latin Quarter, goes back to 1803, the year the Théâtre Latin opened, built by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, on rue des Fossés-Saint-Victor, on the ruins of the college founded in 1302 by Cardinal Lemoine.

Around 1830 its tavern, known as the Abreuvoir littéraire, welcomed Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Honoré Daumier and Prosper Mérimée; Balzac set a scene of Lost Illusions there. Burned in 1870, the theatre lay in ruins for seventeen years. A company of Gustave Eiffel’s rebuilt it, and the Paradis Latin opened on 20 January 1889, with Yvette Guilbert on the bill.

The great hall closed in 1894 and became the workshop of the glassmaker Charles-Louis Leune, who protected the dome under a false ceiling. In 1973 the developer Jean Kriegel rediscovered it and reopened the cabaret from Eiffel’s plans: the revue Paris Paradis was a triumph in 1977. Walter Butler has owned it since 2018.

In the 5th arrondissement, beneath the dome inscribed with the words Opérette, Ballet, Pantomime and Excentricités, it serves dinner and presents L’Oiseau Paradis, Kamel Ouali’s revue, as well as a show for families.