Opera Garnier

The opera is very popular in Paris and the tickets available for the general public are sold within minutes online once they go on sale. You might show up and hope for a no show/cancellation but that's about your only chance unless you fork over E195. The opera and ballet are the toughest tickets in Paris.

In any event , go see the Palais Garnier . The building is one of the most stunning architectural ( and engineering ) creations one could ever see . Don't give short shrift to the exterior , take your time , and the interior is truly stunning . Seeing the interior is a self guided tour , again , go at a leisurely pace . This is one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts design in Europe with a magnificent seven ton chandelier in the center of the auditorium , surrounded by 1964 paintings by Marc Chagall . The architect , Charles Garnier , also designed the Monte Carlo Casino and Opera House . Lastly , as a substitute for a performance , there is a fine rendition of Tchaikovsky's " The Sleeping Beauty " available on DVD performed by The Paris Opera Ballet with choreography by Rudolf Nureyev . It's a real eyeful ( and earful ) !! One final thought ; If you visit The Musee D'Orsay , there is a wonderful cutaway model of the theatre showing all its complex inner workings and a large plan model of the surrounding area . Enter the front of the museum and walk straight back to the rear , you can't miss it .

When I want opera tickets I get up in the middle of the night and am poised on the computer the minute sales open and even then if anything goes awry and I have to get back in line, the good moderately priced seats are gone. The very cheap seats are not sold on line; you have to be in line in Paris when they go on sale.

Opera Bastille, where most of the operas are now performed, sometimes operates backstage tours. The massive and brutal exterior architecture speaks for itself and the auditorium is blandly modern, however good the sight-lines. But the huge backstage, far larger than the auditorium, is a massive engine for producing theatrical magic. There are multiple rolling stages and elevators, workshops and all the accommodations to make this enterprise an ornament of national pride. Unfortunately it is hard to find out when tours run, and whether there will be an English guide. Even for non-French-speakers, the spectacle behind the spectacle is fascinating enough to entertain gearheads with no musical curiosity. Here is what the opera site says: http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/l-opera-de-paris/l-opera-bastille/comment-visiter