The 40th European Heritage Days with Parisi Tour!
On September 16th and 17th, 2023, Parisi Tour will participate for the first time in this grand cultural celebration.
The theme of the 40th edition being "Living Heritage," we have chosen to highlight the heritage of the night and the Montmartre festivities. Let's go! We are embarking on the trail of the "Cabarets that made the legend of Montmartre."
A brief history of Heritage Days
A brief history of Heritage Days
Forty years ago, the Ministry of Culture created an event called "Open Days at Historic Monuments". The aim was to promote heritage to the general public by organising visits and events at historic monuments.
Today, led by the Council of Europe, the European Heritage Days are organized in around fifty countries. Tens of millions of Europeans take advantage of this event each year to visit sites and monuments that are exceptionally open for the occasion, such as the Elysée and Luxembourg Palaces, as well as certain areas of the Palais de la Cité and the Hôtel des Invalides.
To showcase this heritage, a wide range of events are organised: demonstrations of skills, guided tours, concerts, theatrical performances... and since 2023, Citroën 2 CV tours with Parisi Tour!
The whole Parisi Tour team is delighted to be taking part in this major popular event, for which we'll be offering more than 50 2CV tours (free of charge!) around the historic sites of the Montmartre nightlife!
Montmartre's nightlife: our "living heritage"!
According to the Ministry of Culture, "Living Heritage", Heritage" refers to the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills passed down from one generation to the next and constantly recreated, such as songs, dances, rituals, festivals, etc. ".
We take you on a journey to discover the nightlife and festivities of Montmartre, and the entertainment venues that have made it such a legend. The legend of a Parisian village fantasised about by the whole world: Montmartre!
The story begins in the mid-19th century when public lighting transformed Parisian nights. It was now possible to move around once night fell without risking one's life in dark streets. In just 15 years, nearly 150 cabarets, venues for nighttime revelry, opened their doors in Paris, primarily on the Grands Boulevards and in Montmartre.
Newly integrated into Paris in 1860, becoming the 18. Montmartre quickly became the embodiment of the spirit of freedom, festivity, fun and insolence that were the hallmarks of cabarets. From the maquis to the boulevards of the hilltop, numerous entertainment venues were born, offering a new kind of show: the Chat Noir, the Lapin Agile, the Moulin de la Galette, the Moulin Rouge, the Nouvelle Eve...
Although there had previously been a number of entertainment and dance venues, such as the Elysée Montmartre, the Boule Noire and the Reine Blanche, they were particularly poorly attended and Parisians stayed away. In 1981, the opening of Le Chat Noir by Rodolphe Salis profoundly transformed the image of the district. This atypical little cabaret, surrounded by balls with a bad reputation, quickly became a huge success. Bourgeois, workers and artists all rubbed shoulders. Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Verlaine, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Éric Sati and Claude Debussy were all regulars. Aristide Bruand, standing on his stool, would be seen recounting the stories of the neighbourhood, taunting the bourgeoisie. Le Chat Noir became a benchmark for the avant-garde, and Montmartre with it.
Other cabarets, taking advantage of the success of Le Chat Noir, were created Heaven, Hell, the Cabaret of Nothingness, the Taverne des truands, the Taverne du bagne (all now defunct). The race for originality is on! There was no place for banality in Montmartre, which became a sort of gigantic amusement park. Huge crowds flocked there at night, from cabaret to cabaret.
While many cabarets have since closed their doors, the spirit of insolence and freedom endures. On September 16th and 17th, we will tell you the story of these legendary places, their creation, their legend, the stars who frequented them, and their evolution to this day. We will also discuss the history of some surprising places that have since disappeared.
To find out more about the 2023 European Heritage Days and the full programme : https://journeesdupatrimoine.culture.gouv.fr//
How to participate in the European Heritage Days with Parisi Tour? (FULL!)
Come and discover - aboard a Citroën 2 CV, a fantastic time-traveling car - the history and secrets of the entertainment venues that made Montmartre famous!
Hours: Saturday, September 16th from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM and Sunday, September 17th from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Tour duration: approximately 35 minutes
Maximum of 3 people per vehicle
Free with reservation. (SOLD OUT)
Meeting Point Rue du Chevalier de la Barre (behind the Sacré Coeur Basilica)
English 
French