L'Olympia

The Olympia carries a massive red sign with glowing letters perched above its marquee on the Boulevard des Capucines. Joseph Oller, the man who also co-founded the Moulin Rouge, opened this music hall in eighteen ninety-three. Before it became a temple of French music, the stage featured everything from trapeze artists to elephant acts. In the fifties, Bruno Coquatrix took over the venue, saving it from becoming a cinema and turning it into the premier stage for artists like Edith Piaf.