Bal Mabille

It was later opened to the public, and in 1844 his sons decided to refurbish it as a sort of enchanted garden, with sand paths, lawns, trees and shrubs, galleries and a grotto.

Charles Monselet described it as "gilded from top to bottom: trees, benches, vases, flowers ... nature glistening in gold, silver and precious stones".

[12] In Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wood Nymph: A Tale of the 1867 Paris Exposition," the main character is amazed by the "Mabile" garden and joins the wild dancing.

[13] In Act I of Puccini’s famous opera La Bohème, set in Paris during the 1840s, the character Marcello tells his landlord, Benoît, that he’s seen him at the “Mabil” engaged in a “sin of love.” Mark Twain describes a brief visit in his book The Innocents Abroad.

252 Rue M. le Prince, published in1895 but set ten years earlier, the narrator tells a friend "Here is a chance for you to do the honors of your city in a manner which is faultless.