Paris magic!

Although magic of one type or another has been practised throughout the ages, the theatrical magic show as we know it today was not conceived until 1845, when the now legendary watchmaker-turned-illusionist from Blois, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, appeared on stage at his own theatre in the centre of … you’ve guessed it … Paris.

Until then, magic had been performed in marketplaces or at fairs, by men in wizard’s robes who were more concerned with showing off their power than with entertaining the audience. It had also been regarded with some suspicion by the authorities for its association with witchcraft.

Robert-Houdin changed all this by making it clear that his feats of conjuring were “deceptions” and not demonstrations of supernatural ability, by performing in evening dress and by connecting with his audience.

In this way, he transformed magic from a side-show attraction into an elegant form of entertainment for the upper classes. People dressed up in their finery and poured in to the soirées fantastiques at the Théâtre Robert-Houdin, almost as if going to a party (he performed at private parties as well).

Robert-Houdin created several of the phenomenal illusions you see in that lovely film The Illusionist. Apart from being a master entertainer, the “father of modern magic” is famous for having subdued potential unrest in Algeria in French colonial days. Brian Moore’s novel The Magician’s Wife is based on that story (though, I must say, it doesn’t show the ‘hero’ in the best light). Also, it was from him that Houdini took his name.

These days, the Paris magic scene looks rather different but is still thriving. Apparently, Paris has more magic shops than any other city in the world except Las Vegas, which shows how many magicians there are there. In terms of theatre, I can’t be specific because shows change all the time but it seems to me you’ve got a better chance of seeing some magic on stage on any given day/evening in Paris than anywhere else I can think of (except Las Vegas).

If you just turn up in Paris, you’ll get to see some magic somewhere. However, I strongly recommend that you make reservations in advance where possible and, where it’s not possible, at least e-mail the establishment in question in advance to find out what’s going to be happening while you’re in town.

On this page are suggestions for some magical experiences to be had in Paris. If you know of any I’ve missed, please contact me and I’ll add them.

Magic shops in Paris

If you are a magician, you’re bound to find some cool new tricks in Paris to add to your repertoire. And it’s always fun just to hang out in a magic shop for a while, I find.

If you’re not a magician, you may not find a magic shop very exciting but, if you’re interested to have a look, go in. You might be inspired to take up a new hobby or even – who knows? - to start a new career.

Now, I have to admit that I didn’t do enough research before our trip to Paris and we were aware only of the Magic Dream shop. Since coming home, I’ve discovered several other magic shops in Paris and I can only offer you links to their websites. I’m sorry about that and encourage you to get in touch if you know about these places.

Magic Dream
This is an excellent shop. In fact, Iain says it’s one of the very best magic shops he’s ever been into (and that’s saying a lot!). The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, yet magic is taken seriously. In Britain, magic shops often sell a lot of jokes and toys as well but Magic Dream sells only magic – tricks and illusions, books, DVDs, accessories.

The owners are Damien Vappereau (pictured, with Iain) and Jean-Marc Gaheri. Iain had met them a couple of times at various magicians’ conventions, which is how we knew about this shop.

We had a good look round and made a few purchases. I bought Printing, a fantastic trick by Dominique Duvivier (see below) that Josh Jay does wonderfully (see Two Days with Joshua Jay on We Love Magic). If you want to know more about this trick, have a look on the Card Magic page of We Love Magic.

The prices are good at Magic Dream and Damien will be happy to demonstrate anything you’re interested in. Jean-Marc doesn’t speak much English but Damien does. Our only criticism of this marvellous shop is that it doesn’t stock Iain’s DVDs – though this may change.

Damien and Jean-Marc are both well respected magicians themselves and have invented some great tricks that are sold all over the world. Damien demonstrated several effects for us, among them his own Russian Purses, which Iain would have bought if he hadn’t already got it at home.

We chatted to Damien for well over an hour and left feeling satisfied and uplifted. Magic Dream is highly recommended!

Address: 16 rue George Bernard Shaw 75015 Paris
Metro: Dupleix
Open: Monday to Friday 2pm-7pm
Saturday 11am-7pm

La Maison du Magicien
This looks to be a cool shop, run by two magicians called Lefty and José.

Click here to read an interview with Lefty (in French) on MagicZoom.

Address: 185 avenue du Maine 75014 Paris
Metro: Alésia
Open: Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm
Sunday 2pm-7pm

Mayette Magie Moderne
Actually, we knew about this shop too but we had limited time in Paris and decided to miss this one out because we were going to Le Double Fond (see below), which is owned and run by the same father-and-daughter team, Dominique and Alexandra Duvivier.

Address: 8 rue des Carmes 75005 Paris
Metro: Maubert Mutualité
Open: Tuesday to Saturday 2pm–7.30pm

Le Magasin de Magie

Address: 13 rue du Temple 75004 Paris
Metro: Hôtel de Ville
Open: Monday 2pm-6.30pm
Tuesday to Saturday 10am–6.30pm

My internet research suggests there’s a shop called Comme par Magie, run by Carlos Cardoso, at 115 rue du Cherche-Midi 75006 Paris. If you’ve got anything to add, please let us know.

There used to be a shop actually called Paris Magic but it no longer exists.

Table magic in Paris

Le Double Fond
This is the café-bar with a little theatre underneath that I have mentioned on several pages. In theory, they do magic table to table but, for some reason, nobody was doing this when we were there. We were very disappointed but cheered up completely when the show started (see below).

Alexis Gora
The magician with the green shoes is resident magical entertainer at a couple of café-restaurants in Paris:

He’s at the Café Lateral on Sunday lunchtimes (12.30-3.30pm) and Monday evenings (7.30-11pm).

And the Café Monceau on Saturday lunchtimes (noon-3pm) and Tuesday evenings (7.30-11pm).

Magic at various Frog Pubs
There’s a chain of supposedly English pubs in France, with several branches (if that’s the word) in Paris. According to their website, a magician called Gary performs close-up magic table to table one evening a week. Click on the link to find out more.

Magic shows in Paris

Le Double Fond
This cosy little café-bar that I keep talking about has a teeny theatre underneath, where Iain and I were lucky enough to experience the Close-up Monthly Show.

2008 is the 20th anniversary of Le Double Fond and, perhaps for this reason, the show schedule we’d seen on the website turned out not to be quite accurate (I do recommend you e-mail in advance, just to check). We asked about that evening’s show, expecting one or both of the Duviviers to be performing but were told it was an amateur event ce soir. We debated briefly, since the tickets were not cheap, and decided to go for it. Good decision!

Jean-Pierre Crispon, known as Le Nain (the dwarf) was the only professional in the show, performing for the house (he’s part of the regular team). He was excellent, as we expected – but so were the amateurs. There was a mentalist, a French cowboy, a mad scientist and a more normal magician, all performing somewhat eccentric but well executed and extremely entertaining magic.

I loved the fact that we were the only foreigners in the audience and my heart was warmed by the enthusiastic welcome we received from everybody. This show was a fantastic evening out and I imagine the professional events are at least as good.

As I say, e-mail before you leave home, to make sure there’s a show on when you’re planning to see one, but be sure to go to Le Double Fond. I don’t know if it would be overstating it to say that this place is the magical hub of Paris but it felt like that to me.

Address: 1, place du Marché St Catherine 75004 Paris
Metro: St-Paul
Open: see website

Magic boat cruise
A magician called Jan Madd puts on a show during a dinner-cruise along the Seine. Frustratingly, we didn’t find out about this until too late but it sounds great. Be aware that the starting point changes twice a year.

This experience has two websites and one shows you a video of what you can expect. Check out www.metamorphosis-spectacle.fr and metamorphosis-spectacle.com.

At any one time, there may well be some sort of magic show on at a theatre in Paris. When we were there, three theatres had a magic-related play or show running. A couple of weeks before you go, just ask nice Mr Google what’s on.

I suggest you also specifically look up what’s happening at Les Caves Saint Sabin – they seem to have quite a bit of magic.

Magic museum

The Musée de la Magie is worth a visit while you’re in the Marais area of town for Le Double Fond, other museums and general shopping and sightseeing. I have to say that Iain, particularly, found the magic museum disappointing but then he is a member of The Magic Circle and the museum at the Circle’s headquarters in London is pretty impressive. I quite enjoyed it, especially the show.

In this museum, you can see artefacts and equipment used for magical purposes over the years and a lot of optical illusions and special effects.

As part of your experience and included in the price of your ticket is a 20-minute live magic show, performed in French and English by Jérôme Cadéac. Our impression of him was that he’s a very competent magician but could have put more energy into planning a smooth progression of his act. The tricks were good but the running order didn’t build and the show seemed to stop rather suddenly and randomly. Perhaps we just caught him on a bad day.

In the same building, though separate from the magic museum, is a museum of automatons. We didn’t go in but it looks quite interesting – shades of Robert-Houdin (see above), who was a prolific and amazing maker of this kind of thing.

Address: 11 rue saint Paul 75004 Paris
Metro: St-Paul
Open: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 2pm-7pm

Magicians in Paris

Keep an eye out for these magicians. Every so often, they put on a magic show for the public somewhere in Paris.

Fred Ericksen

Patrick Bieques

Sébastien Mossière hasn’t got a website that I can find but he’s very active on the Paris magic scene. Again, ask Google.