Grand Opera Garnier, Paris, France

The Paris Opera Garnier, also known as Palais Garnier, is one of the most famous opera houses in the world. Performance tickets range from about €15 for restricted-view seats to well over €200, so many tourists choose a daytime visit of the building instead.

Tours and Tickets

Self-guided visits are possible daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (until 6:00 p.m. from mid-July to early September); last entry is one hour before closing. The building may close for rehearsals or daytime performances, so check the calendar and book online in advance. Tickets (2026) cost €25, or €15 for residents of the EU/EEA; children aged 12 and under enter free. Guided tours are also available at an extra cost.

The visit includes the grand foyer, the Grand Staircase, and, when no rehearsal is taking place, the main auditorium, where you can admire Marc Chagall’s ceiling painting and the 7-ton chandelier. Temporary exhibitions are also included in the ticket. A visit usually takes about an hour.

History and Architecture

The opera house was completed in 1875, designed by architect Charles Garnier in the neo-Baroque style. Since 1989, it has been officially called Palais Garnier, after the construction of a newer Paris Opera building.

The building is lavishly decorated both outside and inside. The auditorium seats about 2,000 spectators, and the huge stage can hold up to 450 performers. The interiors are richly decorated with marble, gold, velvet, sculptures, columns, friezes, and paintings. Highlights include:

• Grand foyer (54 meters long, 13 meters wide)
• Grand Staircase with its double flight of marble steps
• Marc Chagall ceiling painting (220 m², added in 1964)
• Massive chandelier (7–8 tons)

The opera also inspired Gaston Leroux’s novel “The Phantom of the Opera” (1910), later adapted into Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous musical. Beneath the building is a dungeon with a water basin, originally designed to manage groundwater; this area is not open to visitors.

A souvenir shop is located inside, and the nearby Café de la Paix features interiors designed by Charles Garnier himself.