View down Avenue de l’Opera towards the LouvreĢ. But thanks to Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon was ousted and sent into exile until his death in 1873, two years before the completion of the Palais Garnier in 1875. Even the Avenue de l’Opera was designed as a straight line from the Louvre where Napoleon lived to the theatre, knocking down everything in between to make way for the new road.

Such features included a separate entrance and special box for the emperor. The opera house was built for Napoleon III but he never actually attended.įollowing an assassination attempt at the Salle Le Peletier in 1858, Napoleon’s security and comfort were a priority when conceiving the new Palais Garnier.

Rather than divulging all of the Palais Garnier’s secrets, here are 5 of my favorite facts about its fascinating history.ġ. While a visit will give you a small glimpse inside this world, I learned that there’s a certain richness that only a guided tour can provide – including access to the nearly 2,000-seat auditorium that’s draped in red (because it was believed women looked more beautiful on red) and gilded in gold (naturally), set under a glittering chandelier and Chagall’s (controversial) painted ceiling. Men and women, young and old alike had a role to play as actors of the public space, and the Palais Garnier was designed as such. This was very much intentional as the opera was the place to see and be seen (and I’m not talking about the actual show). While its scrumptious exterior is enough to make anyone passing by stop in their tracks, its interior rivals even that of Versailles.

Named after its architect Charles Garnier, Paris’ jewel box of an opera house sits proudly atop Avenue de l’Opera in the 9 th arrondissement, anchoring the bustling boulevard like a temple to the arts. Considering the average lifespan of a theatre in the 19 th century was 13 years because of the likelihood of a fire, it’s amazing that the Palais Garnier is still standing 150 years later.

Paris opera ballet building