The Palais Garnier is a lavish 19th-century opera house in central Paris, France, designed by architect Charles Garnier and completed in 1875 as the flagship home of the Paris Opera. Its ornate Beaux-Arts facade, grand marble staircase, and gilded Grand Foyer made it one of the most celebrated theater buildings of its era, and it later inspired the setting for “The Phantom of the Opera.”
Inside, visitors can admire the horseshoe-shaped auditorium beneath Marc Chagall’s colorful 1964 ceiling mural, the opulent Grand Foyer modeled after the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and the Library-Museum of the Opera, which displays costumes, set models, and memorabilia from the venue’s history. Self-guided and 90-minute guided tours are both available, though access to the auditorium can be limited on days with rehearsals or performances.
The Palais Garnier is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM (extended to 6 PM in summer), with online booking required since tickets are not sold on site; box-office windows for other services are open from 11 AM to 4 PM daily. It sits a short walk from the Louvre and the Galeries Lafayette department store.
