I don't know who told you that, but most places in Paris are rather tolerant and casual, with a few exceptions. I've never eaten at Jules Verne, as frankly it's not worth the cost and if they require a jacket, then forget it all together. There are dozens of great restaurants in the immediate area where a jacket is not required to experience great Parisian cuisine.

If you go, and they do require a jacket, they should be able to provide you with one.

Which Eiffel Tower restaurant and for which meal?

I have been to Michelin starred restaurants in France and I don't recall any of them, including Jules Verne, having mandatory dress code at the upper end. I usually see a mix of suit and tie, sport jacket and tie, sport jacket no tie, and shirt and sweater. I think it is more of what you feel comfortable when others around you are dressed up for meals at that price range. I suspect that there are (unwritten) dress code at the lower end -- shorts, t-shirts, training pants, etc.

If you have a difficult to fit body type, I would not count on a restaurant having a suitable jacket without looking even more awkward.

Unless you have sight set on Michelin starred restaurants, there are many wonderful restaurants in Paris you don't even have to think about bringing jackets.

You can always ask restaurants regarding dress codes. They might tell you what is not recommended.

The only places I have encountered mandatory dress code were in the U.S. and in B.C., Canada.

As far as the luggage weight is concerned, my husband always wears a black blazer with his jeans on the plane. He frequently wears it to dinner in the evening but rarely with a dress shirt and tie.

Restaurants with dress codes should make that known when you make your reservation

I have never met anyone in the last 30 years who has been to the Moulon Rouge to have enjoyed it. It is a sad tourist trap. I would skip it if I were you.

As far as dress standards in Paris, there are none.

Pippy

"As far as dress standards in Paris,there are none."

Be cautious about such broad brush statements. Paris as a world class city has some quite elegant places where jackets and even ties are de rigueur. Not been to the Jules Verne, but I'll bet if they let you in you might feel uncomfortable without a jacket. We dined at Tallivent in 2009. They definitively have a dress code and every male was in jacket and tie and the women were elegantly attired. This was also the case at Allard near the Palais Royal when we had lunch there on the same trip. And the place is just a slightly upscale bistro but it ts near the centers of power.

So it all depends on where you go and the feel of the place.

Agree Mounlin Rouge is a complete waste of time.

If youwant info on dress codes go to the web sites of hte specific restaurants. They will either list a specific dress code oro show photos of patrons dressed properly. I would never go to an upsacle restaurant with a man not wearing a jacket. Suit and tie are not necessary - jacket can be work with a shirt or a light turtlneck. Ladies dress should also be appropriate - as in sophisticated casual with real shoes. (Some people red that the French may wear jeans to dinner at nicer places - which is sometimes true - but they are expensive and beautifully tailored and worn with a similar shirt/sweter/jacket and real shoes - not droopy levis with a casual shirt and giant white clown sneakers.

There seems to be an inverse relationship between wanting to visit the expensive, cliché sites of Paris and not wanting to dress for the occasion.

I do agree there is no fashion code in Paris and that a jacket and tie are rarely a requirement, but why would one aim for the places where tourists typically dump a boatload of money on a mediocre experience and then balk at looking put-together for the occasion?

Fodor's Paris restaurant reviews frequently tells you the usual dress code for the place. It's a good thing to know especially if you go to a cliche place and wish to enjoy yourself.

Hey nic,

It is always useful to have a jacket, with a tie in the pocket, mainly because it is easier to take them off than to go find one.

At Jules Verne, I suggest a jacket.

You really want to go the MR, skip the overpriced dinner.

On the Seine cruise, a jacket will be useful for warmth.

Enjoy your visit.

PS,

You wear your jacket, with the tie in the pocket, onto and off the plane.

PS,

Whatever you wear, it must be black.

We were invited to join wonderful friends at both Moulin Rouge and Jules Verne this past month. We had never been to either and yes, I was fully aware that Moulin Rouge is labeled as a "tourist trap". Having said that we had a great time at both places, though Moulin Rouge has to be one of the strangest things I've ever seen. Our friends were thrilled to treat us to both "events" and that is what they were - a real event.

Regarding the dress codes - we were told nice casual for Moulin Rouge, no jacket & tie policy. My husband wore a sports coat, no tie. Other men were dressed in everything from suits to nice shirt, sweater, pants - no jacket. Jules Verne was different. Our party of 8 - 4 women in black cocktail dresses and even heels for some of us (I wore flat black sandals that I could wear the rest of the trip). Men all wore jacket & tie or suit. We did see one family who entered after we did with young children in tow. They did not all have jackets on and I'm not 100% sure they were seated for dinner. My understanding is that jacket and tie were required. Even without the requirement, my husband said he would have felt out of place without nice clothes. It is definitely a "dress up" place.

We enjoyed both places, would consider doing Jules Verne again for the set dinner with wine tasting that we had and I'm glad I did Moulin Rouge once!

As a Parisian, I will not criticize people who want to go to the Moulin Rouge, the Lido or the Crazy Horse. These or similar establishments have existed for more than 100 years. I didn't read anything from anybody who loved "Midnight in Paris" hating the French "tourist trap" entertainment that Owen Wilson found so appealing in olden times. People sit around, drink, and have a good time watching cheesy acts. There is nothing to be ashamed of for liking it. Are the rest of you all at the opera or at a philosophical conference while these other people are daring to have fun?

"Are the rest of you all at the opera or at a philosophical conference while these other people are daring to have fun?"

Are those activities mutually exclusive?

Our dress code is smart casual, however we do not oblige our guest to wear a tie or a jacket. Sportswear (such as t-shirts, shorts, trainers etc...) are not accepted.

The above statement is straight from the restaurant website! Crisis averted (this was very easy to find, BTW).

Nikki, not at all, but most of the disparaging comments seem to come from people who think that places like the Moulin Rouge are so lame that getting soused on wine at the local café is a superior activity. It is not necessarily true.

Actually, I'd like to go to Moulin Rouge just to see what it is like. Why not, it's just a show, I go to lots of lousy movies that are a lot worse. The only issue is that it is expensive, or I would. I've read from people who enjoyed it -- I remember someone saying the costumes were really beautiful and they do a good show. I'd rather go there than rue Cler or up in the Eiffel Tower, to be honest. I'm always interested in music and costume, I actually studied costume design in college and had this dream of creating costumes for theater. Anyway, I'd like to see if it is really terrible or not. Couldn't be worse than lots of stuff I've been dragged to by friends or relatives in Las Vegas or on cruise ships.

IN any case, the issue is that Moulin Rouge does have a dress code because they are actually trying to make it a nice experience. So they don't want it to be just a bunch of slobby tourists dressed in cargo shorts and Tshirts and white sneakers. Why is that so terrible. They want the men to wear jackets. So I don't know why a sport coat can't do double duty as a jacket you might wear anywhere in the evening when it gets cooler. I don't think you have to wear Armani or anything super dressy, just look as if you gave an effort.

Will you get kicked out if you don't? Well, there are some restaurants where you will, actually, or they will make you wear a jacket they keep standing by as they want to maintain a certain ambience. I don't think Moulin Rouge would be in that camp, but I am guessing. I imagine they've seen it all and are just trying to make an effort to make it a nice occasion even though many tourists will probably resist it.

The difference between a bad movie and a night wasted at the Moulin rouge - is that the movie costs $14 and is a night you might be watching TV instead. The Moulin rouge costs a fortune (esp if you order the awful dinner) and is a night in Paris which you could spend doing a doen other better things.

Christina - my husband, who is not at all the "theatre person" that I am - actually commented on the costumes at Moulin Rouge and how spectacular they were. And no, he wasn't referring to the LACK of costumes that allowed the many naked breasts to be seen. The final number with huge pink feathered outfits that lit up like a Christmas tree was outrageous - so over the top that we did find ourselves "oohing and ahhing"! But the best acts were the ones in between the topless dancers - the ventriloquist that used audience members as his "dummies" was very funny. Again - it was all quite an event.

I'd never knock a place that I have not actually experienced.
There have been many negative posts on places that I enjoyed.
They say or heard there was poor service where mine were wonderful

The Moulin Rouge does not cost "a fortune". And I've seen lots of lousy theater or ballet or opera that cost that much, if you want a direct comparison. This is a special event for entertainment when you are traveling. Lots of folks on here spend huge amounts of money on vacation just for a dinner which is immediately gone as soon as you eat it. There have been posts by people spending 150 euro on a Vespa tour on here. FOdors is full of folks laying out 300 euro or more a night for some apt rental. Personally, I'd rather spend the money at the Moulin Rouge than going to some expensive restaurant for a single meal. It costs about 90 euro if you don't eat the dinner (the Moulin Rouge), 102 euro with drinks. That is not a fortune by the standards of what a lot of people on Fodors are spending on travel from the posts I read on here.

>Be cautious about such broad brush statements. Paris as a world class city has some quite elegant places where jackets and even ties are de rigueur<

Well, DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Yea, I would never have known that Paris was a world-class city considering my grandparents kept an apartment on the Avenue Kleber for over 30 years. Or that one of my closest friends works at French Vogue and lives in Neuilly.


Most people who would dine at Taillevent (hey, and guess what? I have dined there) know how to dress. They wouldn't come to a travel forum and ask complete strangers how to dress, would they? Didn't mommy teach them how to dress?

I guess I am just being naive when I expect adults to know how to dress themselves.

I live in a different world than where you come from.

Pippy, formerly know as Thin

Sadly there are a lot of tourists - not referring to anyone specific here - who have no proble traveling all over the world and going into all sorts of restauarants and arts venues dressed as if they had just been cleaning out the garage.

Never mind those men that think having to wear long pants and shoes (versus cut-off jeans and dirty sneakers) - never mind a jacket - is some form of torture.

And it's not just europe. A couple of years ago I encountered a family - parents and 2 tween/teen kids coming out of Grand Central Station. They were totally lost - going to see a B'way show and shomehow got to the east side rather than the west. And it had started to rain - for which they were not prepaed. Apparently they had found someplace selling large black trash bags and they were each wearing one - over their heads - with faces and arms sticking out - and not long enough to cover their shorts or hide their flip flops - and filthy feet and legs. They asked me for directions to the theater. I suggested they go back to their hotel and change into clean, dry clothes and get umbrellas (after pointing out they were on the wrong side of town and needed to catch the shuttle to W 42nd). They said the the subway was too confusing and set out to walk - in heavy rain - from 42nd and Lex to 48th and past B'way. And presumably attend the theater in their trash bags and sopping wet clothes/filthy feet/legs.

LOL!!!!! That is just so funny!

I will never forget the cold, wet April day when I was going to lunch with co-workers. We were walking near Rittenhouse Sq. in Philadelphia, clutching our coats because there was a terrible icy wind blowing, when we encountered a family of four from South Carolina.

I was wearing a long cashmere coat and these fools were wearing shorts, flip-flops, and t-shirts. One of the teen boys had on a tank top!!!!! WTF!!!

The father (mother, father, two teen sons) asked us where the Liberty Bell was.

We told them that they were many, many blocks from the Liberty Bell and then I hailed a cab and told the driver to take the family to the Liberty Bell.

They didn't want to get in because they thought taxis in Philly were too pricey!!!!!! They wanted to walk!!

I told them that they would incur a huge medical bill if they wound up in hospital with pneumonia.

One of my co-workers outright asked them, "Aren't you freezing?" They said "yes," but this is how they dress in South Carolina, so this is how they dress everywhere they go.

Fools.

Pippy aka Thin

Those are very funny stories nytraveler and Pippy!!!

Just goes to show you can't fix stupid.

Wow, nytraveler...hilarious! I am from Atlanta and yes it is hot here but I know not to wear shorts and flip flops on a cold rainy day! Who are these people? Does no one check the weather at their destination? (And I wouldn't wear flip flops out and about anyway...great around the house or beach but not my show choice otherwise).

Moulin Rouge is fun, I have been twice and really enjoyed it. I wouldn't go again though, but do go. I think it's nice people take the time to dress up a little, especially dinners, shows, even just to meet a friend for a drink and shop.

Being a tourist doesn't mean being sloven, just casual stuff but a little elegant. You will be refused at the Jules Verne wearing jeans a big white sneakers or shorts! I have seen people turned away.

I remember having to put away my sons' summer clothes when the weather got cold in order to avoid the inevitable argument when they tried to wear them in the winter. At least they had the excuse of youth and this was in California. You can't force people to have common sense.