Paris - Opera House Opéra National de Paris

The Paris Opera House (officially the Académie Nationale de Musique et de Danse) was intended to establish a "Napoleon III style". The result was a sumptuous neo-Baroque building, grander and more elaborately decorated than any contemporary building of the kind in Europe. The winner of the architectural competition for the design of the Opera House was a previously unknown architect, Charles Garnier (1825-98), and the Opera was built to his design between 1862 and 1875. It was then the largest opera house in the world, covering an area of 11,000sq.m/13,000sq.yd, but had seating only for 2,200 people.

Must-see attractions nearby:

The facade is divided horizontally into three. The ground floor has seven round-headed arches, which are flanked by eight allegorical figures: (from left) Poetry (by Jouffroy), Music (Guillaume), Idyll (Aizelin), Recitation (Chapu), Song (Dubois), Drama (Fabuière), Dance (a masterpiece by Carpeaux; original in Musée d'Orsay) and Lyric Drama (Perraud). Above the four central figures are medallions with the heads of Cimarosa, Haydn, Pergolesi and Bach.

Address: Opéra National de Paris, Place de l'Opéra
8 rue Scribe, F-75009 Paris, France

Hours:

10am-5pm

Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), May Day / Labor Day (May 1)

Tips: Opera and museum twinned ticket are higher. Group visit book one month in advance. Documentation in foreign languages available. Guided tour book two month in advance.

Guides: Guided tour included with admission.

Facilities: Gift shop

Transit: Metro: Opera; RER: Auber; Buses: 20, 21, 22, 27, 29, 42, 52, 53, 66, 68, 81, 95.