la Tournee des Grands Ducs
la Tournee des Grands Ducs was an intriguing term for a nocturnal tour of the Montmartre night-spots in Paris, which came about in the late 19th century due to the antics of the Russian nobility. Thereafter, in the Jazz Age of the 1920s, it simply became a term to describe an evening outing exploring the night-spots of Paris and ‘painting the town red.’
The Café de Paris in Paris was in its day, during the Jazz Age, world famous. It was undoubtedly the most salubrious, the most expensive and the most admired restaurant in Paris. A landmark for the gourmets and fashionables not just of Paris, but worldwide, it became part of a mini-gastronomic empire of four exclusive venues.
Romano’s was a famous Parisian Restaurant in the Hotel de la Grand Bretagne that flourished in the Jazz Age of the 1920s.
The White Lyres
One of the first Jazz Bands to organize in Paris after the armistice following the end of World War 1 was the White Lyres. The two founding members were the Americans Bill Henley and Kelvin Keech and other members fluctuated throughout its existence. The band performed in London, Paris, the south of France, Turkey, Egypt and the rest of Europe but by 1925 it had dissipated, with both Bill Henley and Kel Keech fronting their own bands and going their separate ways.
Larue Restaurant, Paris
One of the most fashionable restaurants in Paris during the Jazz Age was Larue, which was renowned for its excellent cuisine that had a Russian twist.
The Acacias night-club was a hall at the rear of the Hotel Acacias sited at 47 Rue des Acacias near the Bois de Bologne with a garden utilized for the summer. It was one of the many night-resorts in Paris in the Jazz Age that became a favoured rendezvous of high society throughout the 1920s. The roster of performers who appeared at Les Acacias was astonishing, providing a veritable Who’s Who of glittering international stars of stage and cabaret.
At once the most exclusive, chicest and smallest nightclub in Paris in the Jazz Age of the 1920s was Le Grand Ecart at 7 Rue Fromentin (just off the Boulevard Clichy and not far from Place Blanche and the Moulin Rouge) and created by Louis Moyses, creator of the other legendary venue Boeuf sur le Toit.
The Chateau de Madrid was regarded as perhaps the best and finest restaurant and summer resort of Paris in the Jazz Age. A favourite rendezvous of Americans in Paris and Parisian society, it’s allure was because you could dine and dance outdoors under the trees in the cool night air at the height of the Paris social season.
