Paris Opera Garnier

We went a few years ago and enjoyed the informative audioguide tour. Our daughter, a huge Phantom of the Opera fan, especially loved it! There is a small museum store with some lovely things.

Google “Opera Garnier Tours” for all info, including times to visit.

Yes, the building is beautiful inside. Also not very crowded compared to other attractions and so large you will often find yourself alone or with only a couple of other tourists in one of the grand rooms down one of the halls. With the exception of the main staircase which is always filled with people and very impressive.

I believe sometimes the main balcony area is open for viewing the main stage and other times it is not.
I was there in beginning of July and it was open '; my sister went only a week or so later and it was not.
The summer the performance season is over so a good time to visit.

It was a highlight for my young daughter, as she loves the movie Leap (believe same movie is called Ballerina outside of the US). Anyway much of that movie takes place in the Opera Garnier.

I've visited the building three times, twice alone and once with friends from the U.S., but have never taken a tour. I'm not sure what the benefit of taking a tour of that building would be.

It's definitely worth a visit. I'm just doubtful that a tour would be worth the trouble.

Full disclosure: I know nothing about, nor am I interested in, The Phantom of the Opera. The building by itself is impressive. Nothing else is needed.

As for places to eat in the area, it's situated within a commercial district and (to paraphrase Mark Twain), one could hardly swing a cat without hitting a restaurant patron. There is no lack of places to have a meal in the area.

I've done the English speaking tour. Enjoyed it. We were able to sit in the seats down below while the tour guide provided us with information. Stage hands were prepping the stage for a performance. I enjoyed the library, original works as well as the models used to create the sets for certain operas.

Almost did a viewing of Opera Garnier but a sign outside the ticket booth announced that the lighting in the main hall was not operating that day -- and seeing the Chagall ceilings was a main reason to be there. Maybe next time. But the free view from the nearby Galleries Lafayette rooftop is great.

I just took a tour in August with a tour guide. So beautiful and interesting! They also have a "scavenger hunt" type tour right now that many people are doing...people running all over the place looking for clues. It was a little chaotic but we had headsets and could hear our guide with no problem. The running-around-scavenger-hunt-people aren't allowed to go into the main theater though so there are quiet parts of the tour.
For food you can go right across the street to the Galleries Lafayette Food Halls...the street level floor has quite a few options for whatever you might want to eat. If you have time go upstairs to the wine section...they have many rare and very expensive bottles for sale - so much fun if you're into that sort of thing!
If you go to the west side of the Garnier there is an attached cafe that is quite good as well.

The tour was amazing in regrds to the architecture, stunning beauty etc. but also in regards to the culture and political changes at the time. Fascinating to hear how Garnier himself wasn’t invited to the opening so bought tickets for himself and his wife then, during intermission the crowd saw him and applauded. Also, cheap (very) tickets are sometimes availabke for current shows if you go directly to the ticket booth while there. I recall obtaining good seats for a matinee ballet for €15.

Also , when on the Riviera , try to visit The Opera de Monte Carlo , one of Charles Garnier' s other fine works .

Well worth going . We also Were able to see an opera there the one night , even if you do not understand French there was a English subtitles on a digital panel over the stage . Had a great time

Went in August. We went on an English speaking tour. At the time there was one at 11am and another in the afternoon. It was €15, but worth it to us. The guides get you into a lower part of the Opera house seating and explained quite a lot. We went at a time the scavenger hunt was going, which added more people to some parts of the building. The artwork is amazing in the ceiling and a lobby area.

There is a lot of higher end shopping in that area, including a well know store that has a great cafe. I can’t recall the name, but it was fun to go there for a bit for the A/C while my daughter looked around. There is a Apple store right across from the Opera, which came in handy for me who lost my headphone adaptor thing when I was opening up my headphone case at another guided audio tour.

Cafe de la Paix just across the street is an elegant and historic place for a drink or a meal. It’s a bit expensive but the food is good.

We took a live English-language tour several years ago, in April I think. It was a pretty big tour group but otherwise not many visitors in the building. I don't remember that it was possible to go in at all without a tour, and I don't remember any audioguide availability, so apparently things have changed. Besides going through the lobby, staircase, and other rooms, we sat in the theater while the guide explained. That wouldn't have been possible if they were rehearsing or prepping something.

This is a great "second visit" Paris sight. Or sooner if you're really into opera, Phantom etc. (I'm not).