Palais Garnier

Paris, France

The Palais Garnier is a opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. The architect was Charles Garnier (1825–1898). It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier. The theatre is also often referred to as the Opéra Garnier, and historically was known as the Opéra de Paris or simply the Opéra, as it was the primary home of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when the Opéra Bastille opened at the Place de la Bastille. The Paris Opera now mainly uses the Palais Garnier for ballet.

The Palais Garnier is one of the most famous opera houses in the worlkd. This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and, especially, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical.

The Palais Garnier also houses the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera Library-Museum). Although the Library-Museum is no longer managed by the Opera and is part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the museum is included in unaccompanied tours of the Palais Garnier.

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Address

Rue Scribe 8, Paris, France
See all sites in Paris

Details

Founded: 1861-1875
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in France

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Jarrod Dunlop (12 months ago)
What an incredible place. Words can't describe how beautiful this building is. Touring around doesn't take too long, and the map guide is concise to make the experience all the better. I hope that one day I can catch a show here. I'm blown away by the beauty of this place.
Manuel Niebhagen (17 months ago)
What a lovely place. One can feel the history and the high society spirit first hand. The hall and all corridors are beautifully decorated. Truly an experience. We went there for the concert midi. Great value for money. I can only recommend.
Noel Houghton (17 months ago)
This is a “should see”. Architecture is awesome. Great pics everywhere you look. Cool history behind the structure and architect. Audio guide is a nice help but not required. You can definitely see it all in less than 45 minutes so don’t hesitate to enter at the last moment.
Abigail Barhorst (18 months ago)
Definitely my favorite stop while visiting Paris. My daughter and I were visiting from NY and this was at the top of my 'must see' list. Aside from being absolutely breathtaking, it was our one stop that was thoroughly enjoyable and manageable. No long lines or shoulder to shoulder crowds (or tons of stairs...because I'm getting old), and we were able to take in everything in an afternoon...Though I still wish I could have just laid down on the floor and stared at the ceiling for a few more hours, because it was just so stunning, with so much detail you could never possibly absorb it all or capture it all in pictures.
Faith Eales (20 months ago)
A very beautiful building and well.worth a visit inside. Some of the paintings were amazing especially 2 rooms at the side one had lizards and the other had bats and they were so cool and unexpected. Very elegant place
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