Lido Cabaret

The Lido

The Paris audio-guided tour presents you with the Lido, a mythical hall of the Champs-Élysées, long a temple of dinner-shows and feathered revues, which has opened a new page of its history.

From the Bluebell girls to the Lido 2.0

The adventure begins in 1928 with the Plage de Paris, an elegant swimming pool inspired by the Lido of Venice, a place of entertainment of the Belle Époque. In 1933, the brothers Joseph and Louis Clérico, of Italian origin, transform the establishment into a show hall and invent the concept of the dinner-show, which immediately becomes a hit. In 1948, the Bluebell girls, slender dancers founded by Margaret Kelly, join the Lido and shape the image of the Parisian revue, on heels, feathers and sequins. The hall moves to its current location, where it can accommodate some one thousand one hundred and fifty people, and sees international stars pass through, such as Édith Piaf, Joséphine Baker, Dalida or Elton John. Bought by the Accor group, the Lido today reinvents itself as a hall devoted to musicals.

What there is to see

On the avenue, the façade of the Lido evokes a century of shows and Parisian nights, from feathered revues to today's musicals. A high place of entertainment on a par with the Moulin Rouge, it helped to forge the festive image of Paris throughout the world. It is an essential stage for lovers of the history of the great cabarets.

Practical information

The Lido is on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Its façade can be contemplated freely from the avenue; access to the hall depends on the programming of the shows, to be consulted on site.

When did the Lido open?

The cabaret as we know it was born in the 1930s-1940s; the place has its origin in 1928 in the Plage de Paris, a Belle Époque swimming pool later transformed into a show hall.

Who were the Bluebell girls?

A troupe of slender dancers founded by Margaret Kelly, which joined the Lido in 1948 and shaped the image of the Parisian revue.