From the place Vendôme the Rue de la Paix brings us to the Opéra Garnier. Its unique appearence is due to a mixture of materials (including stone, marble and bronze) and styles ranging from classical to baroque , with a multitude of columns, friezes and scluptures on the exterior, the typical exemple of Napoleon III’s style. The building began in 1862 and was achieved in 1870 but it finally opened in 1875 under the Third Republic ; Most operas are now performed in the new Opera Bastille, but the ballet remains here .

From 1881 down to the present day, several restoration and modernization programmes have made the theatre increasingly functional without lessening its appeal as a monument: technical progress and the evolution of sets under the influence of "verism". The next step was the building of a modern and popular opera house: Opera Bastille.


Adress
Opera Garnier : Place de l'Opera, Paris 9e
Opera Bastille : Place de la Bastille Paris 12e

How to get there
Opera Garnier : Metro line 3, 7 or 8 : Opera - RER A : Auber
Opera Bastille : Metro line 1, 5 or 8 : Bastille

Informations, hours, entrance fees & acces map.
http://www.opera-de-paris.fr/

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