Le Tango, the legendary LGBT hotspot that has the Marais dancing

The Tango is one of the mythical spots of Parisian LGBTQIA+ nightlife. Situated on Rue au Maire, in the 3rd arrondissement, this Marais dance venue has for decades blended musette, disco, variety music and queer culture, with a history marked by popular balls, a closure linked to the health crisis, and a reopening that everyone has been eagerly waiting for.

It must be said that the Tango has never been just another club. Behind its understated Marais façade, the venue preserves memories of a popular Paris, long before becoming one of the capital’s most renowned LGBTQIA+ landmarks. The place boasts a bal-musette history dating back to the late 19th century, a time when people already came here to dance, to meet, and to forget the outside world a little.

In the 1980s, the venue shifts gears. The Tango opens up to salsa, Caribbean and African music, drawing a mixed, night-owl and hip crowd. Then, from the late 1990s, the club stakes its claim as La Boîte à Frissons, a gay and lesbian dancing spot with a playful vibe, where you can glide from a waltz to Dalida, from a Madison to a disco hit.

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Its recent story nearly came to a standstill as well. Closed in 2020, weakened by the health crisis and the sale of the building, Le Tango was ultimately saved after the purchase of the building by the City of Paris and a relaunch funded by a cooperative kitty. Its reopening on March 10, 2023, was felt by regulars as the return of a piece of Parisian nightlife!

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