Ballet/Opera in Paris

Get an account with Paris Opera which runs both the Garnier, where ballet is performed, and the Bastille Opera where most operas are performed. We go to a lot of operas at the Bastille (3 this fall in our month there) and love it, but I suspect what you want to experience is the Garnier opera house and that is a good venue for ballet. Look at the schedule and see what is scheduled for your time in Paris. Book as soon as the tickets are available. The web site indicates when that is. It is months before your trip. You have to have an account to buy tickets; the tickets go on sale first thing in the morning in Paris which is the middle of the night in the US. If it is popular the less expensive tickets will be gone quickly; stay in the on line queue and be ready to pounce when your turn comes up.

We like to dress up a little for the opera; my husband wears a black blazer that he travels with and I wear some sort of dressy top that I throw on over my basic black slacks and top. Dressy casual is fine.

I have been to operas and ballets in Paris but they have all been during fall trips. You can find ballet and opera events in May at https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-24-25/ballet/play#agenda.

We took our daughter for her high school graduation present, as well. What a great gift.
Most folks will say as long as you're in a lower number arrondissement, you'll be fine, but each area has its own personality so you'll need to read up and decide what appeals to you. We've enjoyed St. Germain, but our next trip we will be in Marais. You can search for apartments and hotel recommendations using the search function on this site. There have been a lot of threads lately. If you're on a computer, at the top is a grey search bar. Enter your search terms then filter by "travel forum" and either "1 year or newer" or "2 years or newer." That'll get you more recent information and many opinions on the "best" place to stay.

Here is one recent thread: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/question-about-arrondissements

https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-24-25/ballet/the-sleeping-beauty

This is my humble suggestion.

Unfortunately no performances of Sleeping Beauty in the month of May.

Sylvia, by Leo Delibes, is scheduled for many dates in May. Tickets go on sale Nov 19.

My sister and I attended the ballet this past Sunday at the Opera Garnier. We bought the tickets the day they were released and they sold out the same day. There was a lineup on Sunday with folks hoping to buy tickets from cancellations; there may have been 75-100 waiting. It was quite wonderful to see a ballet in that building. So some attendees were dressed up but many wore casual clothes as we did.

We've attended at both Garnier and the Opera Bastille. It's very important to understand that events sell out regularly in Europe. You have to be ready to buy a non-refundable ticket and, maybe, get coverage through your travel insurance. With internet sales, this is not that hard to do anymore. You don't make clear if you might want to see a "tourist event", which is not the same thing as the Paris Opera Ballet, for example.

Since many (non-performance) tours of the Palais Garnier don't go backstage, going to a performance can eliminate the need to book a tour.

Paris, like many cities, has noted the housing market harm of AirBnB, and has very harsh rules. You need to make sure that your apartment is compliant, so it doesn't disappear at the last minute, or after having paid for it. As a native of Manhattan, I completely agree.

I had the option for a small fee to buy cancellation insurance for the tickets via the official Opera Garnier website. I am assuming that that is how same day tickets become available.

Thank you all for your responses. A quick follow up. While we are in Paris there is a ballet being performed at the Palais Granier called Sylvia, which dates back to the 1800s, and I plan to book it for my granddaughter. Have any of you seen that ballet, or booked anything in this theater? I've attended opera and Broadway plays in various theaters and know how to find good seats in them. I've never attended a ballet and wanted to ask if you choose seats the same way for other performances. The tickets for Sylvia go on sale on November 19 and recommendations are to purchase quickly before they sell out. The per seat prices run from €200 to €15 for the cheap seats with a limited view of the stage. Thank you.

Jim

Sylvia is a classic ballet, when I saw it at Paris it was an older production and ran at the Bastille. The new Legris production must have been tailored to fit the smaller Garnier. The garnier is the theater where this very ballet was premiered, in 1870 something. You'll enjoy the music. No idea what the current staging looks like though.

Personally I would avoid a side box) seat unless it's one of the lower, front row seats, otherwise you will have a hindered view. I would buy something in the Loges for a good value and sight lines. Category 3 or 4 seem like very reasonable values. I would expect to pay 75-100 euro a pop at the very least.

regarding attire: You will find that Europeans dress up a bit more for the opera or ballet than americans. My advice is to bring a pair of dark slacks and maybe a lightweight, un-rumpled looking sweater. This is always my go-to attire for symphony or opera, as it's comfortable and can be done in a refined way. Dark shoes (occasionally you see americans stick out like a sore thumb because they think boat shoes or suede loafers are dressy... they are not) Good luck!

Take a look at https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/useful-information/seating-plans-and-prices/season-24-25/palais-garnier for ticket prices and seating. The most expensive tickets will be 160€. Where are you getting 200€ for the prices? If you are very tall (I'm 6' and my husband is 6' 4"), please note that legroom is not the best in the most expensive seats and affirmatively painful in the cheap seats -- like leave at intermission painful. Now if you happen to need legroom and go to the Opera Bastille where the seats are more comfortable but still not great, try to get a seat in Orchestra, Row 15 -- it is a row that is extra wide so you have lots legroom.

We have seen one ballet at the Garnier and had seats in the center of the main floor near the front. for ballet you really want a good sightline. This was great.

And your granddaughter will be in awe of the grandeur of the setting at the Garnier. It will be a special night to remember.

I agree with Kim -- we much prefer the Bastille house which is a wonderful technical house and I think also quite beautiful BUT the Garnier is a sight to behold and an American child will have seen nothing like it. An evening performance there will be something she will never forget. It does have terrible sight lines, so be sure to check the view before you buy the tickets. The sightline is shown when the seats come up for purchase and if you don't like them you can select other seats.

I saw an opera from a front row seat in a box kind of in the corner, but not on the side. I enjoyed the seat as I didn't have to think one minute about a head in front of me obscuring my view. Plus, you can really see the whole Opera house. Get there as early as you can while the lights are up so that you can get some pictures. I wore nice black jeans, leather boots, and a dressy top with a necklace earring set bought in Paris on an earlier visit. I did not feel out of place. Some, esp. girls your granddaughter's age, did the full ballgown and had fun getting photos made out around the staircases.

Another thing I did at the Palais Garnier was to pre-order a glass of champagne and macarons for the intermission. They were set up at a certain bar with my name and I didn't have to wait in line. Very festive.