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The Palais Garnier is the thirteenth theatre to house the Paris Opera since it was founded by Louis XIV in 1669. It was built on the orders of Napoleon III as part of the great Parisian reconstruction project carried out by Baron Haussmann. The project for an opera house was put out to competition and was won by Charles Garnier, an unknown 35-year-old architect. Building work, which lasted fifteen years, from 1860 to 1875, was interrupted by numerous incidents, including the 1870 war, the fall of the Empire and the Commune. The Palais Garnier was inaugurated on 15 January 1875.

In the year 2000 the main façade of the Opera was completely renovated, thus revealing its original rich colours and golden statue-work.

Garnier intended the Grand Foyer, restored in 2004, to resemble the gallery of a classical chateau. The mirrors and windows accentuate its vast dimensions. The magnificent ceiling painted by Paul Baudry portrays themes from the history of music. The lyre, the dominant decorative element, is to be found on capitals, heating grates and doorknobs alike. A copy of Charles Garnier’s bust by the sculptor Carpeaux stands in the centre of the foyer, near one of the windows that look down the avenue de l’Opéra towards the Louvre.

The Opera in 9 figures:

Surface area: 11,237 m2
Length: 173 m
Maximum width: 125 m
Height from the foundations to Apollo’s lyre: 73.6 m
Grand Staircase: 30 m high
Grand Foyer: 18 m high, 54 m long, 13 m wide
Auditorium: 20 m high, 32 m deep, 31 m wide (maximum)
Weight of the chandelier: 8 tonnes
Stage: 60 m high consisting of a 45 m flytower
and a 15 m under-stage area. 27 m deep and 48.5 m wide (proscenium width 16 m).