# Palais Garnier, Paris > The Palais Garnier, or Opéra Garnier, is the most famous theatre in Paris, on Place de l'Opéra, built in 1861–1875 to Charles Garnier's design for Emperor Napoleon III. Inside are a white marble grand staircase, the gilded Grand Foyer and a 1,979-seat auditorium with a crystal chandelier and a ceiling by Marc Chagall. Today it mainly stages ballet. By day you can tour the building with a visit ticket, and in the evening come for a performance. It is the setting of The Phantom of the Opera. Web page: https://yesgo.io/france/paris/opera-garnier - City: [Paris](https://yesgo.io/france/paris), France - YesGo score: 54/100 (Yes, go) - Time on site: 1 h 15 min - Entry: Visit ticket for the building - Opening hours: Building tours by day, performances at night - With kids: Fine with kids - Day entry: Visit ticket for the building - Performances: Ballet and opera, tickets separate - Visiting hours: Daily by day, except special events - Duration: ≈ 1–1.5 hours - Seats: 1,979 - Location: Place de l'Opéra, metro Opéra - Coordinates: 48.87194, 2.33167 - Facts checked: 12.11.2026 ## Key facts - **1875** — the theatre opened (source: English Wikipedia) - **1,979** — seats in the auditorium (source: English Wikipedia) - **7 t** — weight of the crystal chandelier (source: English Wikipedia) - **1964** — Marc Chagall's ceiling (source: English Wikipedia) ## About the Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier is an opera house on Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement. It was built in **1861–1875** for the Paris Opera on the orders of Emperor **Napoleon III**. The design was chosen in a competition of about 170 entries, won by a little-known 35-year-old architect, **Charles Garnier**. The theatre soon took his name, in tribute to its extraordinary opulence. Until 1989 it was the main stage of the Paris Opera and Ballet. When the new Opéra Bastille opened, opera productions moved there and the Garnier became above all the home of **ballet**. A French historic monument since 1923, it has been called probably the most famous opera house in the world. ## What to see inside - **The Grand Staircase** — white marble with red and green balustrades. - **The Grand Foyer** — a gilded hall 54 metres long. - **The Mosaic Foyer** — a glittering vault of mythological scenes. - **The auditorium** — red velvet, gilding and the chandelier. - **Chagall's ceiling** — scenes from operas by 14 composers. - **The Library-Museum** — costumes, sketches and set models. ## The Grand Staircase and foyers The heart of the theatre is the **Grand Staircase** of white marble with a balustrade of red and green marble. It divides into two flights up to the Grand Foyer, lined by bronze female figures holding lamps. Garnier conceived it as a stage where audiences showed themselves off during intervals, and on opening night he stepped onto its landing to receive the applause himself. The **Grand Foyer**, 18 metres high and 54 metres long, was designed as a drawing room for Paris society. Its walls glitter with gilding, mirrors and Paul Baudry's paintings on the history of music, and its windows open onto a loggia above the square. Before it lies the **Mosaic Foyer**, the first vault in France decorated with ornamental mosaic, with couples from Greek myth on a golden ground. > **Getting inside** By day the building is open to visitors with a separate ticket, no performance needed, on your own or with a guided tour. Buy ahead on the Paris Opera's official website. The auditorium is sometimes closed for rehearsals, so you may only see it from a box or not at all, which is normal. To see a ballet, buy performance tickets, released several months ahead. ## The auditorium, chandelier and Chagall The horseshoe-shaped Italian-style auditorium seats **1,979**. It is dressed in red velvet and gold, and the safety curtain is painted to look like heavy drapery with tassels. The stage is among the largest in Europe, holding up to 450 performers. Above hangs a bronze and crystal chandelier weighing about **seven tonnes**, made to Garnier's design. Around it, in **1964**, a new ceiling by **Marc Chagall** was installed, with vivid scenes from operas by Mozart, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Verdi and others. The original painting survives underneath. ## The façade and Place de l'Opéra The façade faces Place de l'Opéra and closes the view along Avenue de l'Opéra from the Louvre. Fourteen painters and mosaicists and seventy-three sculptors worked on it. Gilded statues of Harmony and Poetry crown the top, bronze busts of composers such as Rossini, Beethoven and Mozart stand between the columns, and four sculpture groups below include Carpeaux's famous The Dance. Garnier told the Empress he was building in the 'Napoleon III style', a blend of Baroque, Palladian classicism and Renaissance over a hidden iron frame. No surface was left undecorated: seventeen kinds of marble and stone, porphyry and gilded bronze were used. ## The Phantom of the Opera Much of the Garnier's worldwide fame comes from **Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera** (1910), set in this theatre, and from its films and the 1986 musical. The novel's hero lives in the building's depths beside an underground lake. There really is a water tank under the stage, built by the engineers when they hit groundwater during construction. It also served as a water reserve in case of fire. Visitors can't go down there, but guides love telling the Phantom's legends and pointing out spots linked to the novel. ## How to get there 1. Metro lines 3, 7 and 8 to **Opéra**, exiting right by the theatre. 2. RER A to **Auber**, a 3-minute walk. 3. From the Louvre, a 15-minute walk up Avenue de l'Opéra. 4. The visitor entrance is on the side of the building; follow the signs. ## Tips for your visit A self-guided visit takes about an hour; an audio guide or tour helps you know where to look and shares the theatre's stories. Come at opening time or after lunch, as groups fill midday. Photos without flash are allowed. Next door, the **Galeries Lafayette** department store has a free rooftop terrace with views of the Opéra's dome and the Eiffel Tower. The [Louvre](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/louvre) and the Tuileries are about 15 minutes' walk away. To see the hall full of people and music, book an evening ballet: at the interval you can stroll the foyers and staircase just as Garnier intended. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Buy a visit or performance ticket - [ ] Check whether the auditorium is open that day - [ ] Climb the Grand Staircase - [ ] See Chagall's ceiling - [ ] Step onto the loggia above the square ## Places in Paris: compare and choose Places in Paris rated by YesGo. - [The Louvre](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/louvre) — YesGo score 62/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h 30 min · Timed ticket, online - [Hôtel de Ville](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/hotel-de-ville) — YesGo score 56/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Square free, halls by tour - [Palais Garnier](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/opera-garnier) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 15 min · Visit ticket for the building - [Palais-Royal](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/palais-royal) — YesGo score 53/100 (Yes, go) · 40 min · Garden and courtyard free - [Palace of Versailles](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/versailles) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 6 h · Timed ticket, online - [Château de Vincennes](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/chateau-de-vincennes) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 45 min · Ticket for the keep and chapel - [Palace of Fontainebleau](https://yesgo.io/france/paris/fontainebleau) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Palace ticket, gardens free ## Don't mix it up The Palais Garnier is the historic theatre on Place de l'Opéra; the Opéra Bastille is the modern 1989 building on Place de la Bastille where operas are staged. ## Tips - Book ahead. - The hall may be closed. - Mornings are quieter. - Ballet at night. ## Questions ### Can I visit the Palais Garnier without a show? Yes, by day it opens to visitors with a separate ticket. ### How long does a visit take? About an hour on your own, a little longer with a tour. ### What is staged at the Palais Garnier? Mostly ballet; operas are more often at the Opéra Bastille. ### Where is Chagall's ceiling? On the auditorium ceiling, around the chandelier. ### How do I get to the Palais Garnier? By metro to Opéra station. ## How we checked Facts from English Wikipedia. Prices and visiting hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Palais Garnier - Paris Opera official website, operadeparis.fr --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.