Here (smaller) carriages could stop directly in front of the door to drop off their passengers neatly in front of the door without having to come into contact with the ordinary mob. On the right you see the entrance for the elite who liked to watch the opera of Paris. The right side, the Pavillion des Abonnés: An impressive library that you can also visit when you book a tour at the Opera Garnier.

On this spot you can now find the Bibliothèque-Musée de l’Opéra de Paris. This special access was never finished, however, because the French empire fell apart before the Palais Garnier was completed. The fearful Napoleon III (a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was indeed entitled to be afraid: there had been an attack on his life at another opera house) had a private entrance where he (together with his carriage!) could be brought into the opera house directly. The left side, the Pavillon de l’Empereur:ĭon’t stay in front of the beautiful facede for too long, because there is much more to see! On the left side of the Palais de Garnier you can see the Pavillon de L’empereur. Just as you’ll see many more Greek gods on the rest of the building. At the very top, on the dome, you see the Greek god Apollo.

One floor below you can see dozens of statues of big names in the opera world, including Rossini, Beethoven, Mozart and Halévy. Two golden statues stand to the left and to the right and represent (left) harmony and (right) poetry. The imposing façade of the Palais Garnier immediately steals all of your attention.

So you can count on a lot to see! I like to sum up the most beautiful places and also show a few photos of them: The outside The Opèra Garnier is one of the largest opera houses in the world and I think it’s also the most beautiful opera house in Paris. Everything you see here seems to be elevated to art! A virtual tour of the Opera Garnier This building style is also called Beaux-arts architecture. The interior (and exterior) looks a bit like a mix of all sorts of busy building styles with a lot of frills and decorations. Once you set foot in this beautiful building, you’ll immediately notice that everything is richly decorated. Just like everywhere else in Paris, you have to first walk through the security check.

Paris opera house visiting hours