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Mº Opera . Set back from the boulevard des Capucines is the dazzling Opera de Paris - now commonly referred to as the Palais Garnier to distinguish it from the new opera house at the Bastille. It crowns the avenue de l'Opera, which was deliberately kept free of trees in order to allow uninterrupted views of the building. Its imposing facade bristles with columns and sculptures, including a copy of Carpeaux's sculpture The Dance , on the right-hand side. The Opera's architect, Charles Garnier, pulled out all the stops to provide a building splendid enough for the tastes of aristocratic Second-Empire opera-goers: you can just imagine the carriages drawing up outside and the women in their crinolines sweeping up the spectacularly embellished main staircase.
The original of Carpeaux's The Dance is kept in the Musee d'Orsay.
By day, you can visit the sumptous gilded interior (daily 10am-5pm; ?4.57), including the auditorium, as long as there are no rehearsals; your best chance of seeing the auditorium is between 1 and 2pm. The ceiling, depicting opera and ballet scenes, is the work of Chagall . The entry ticket includes a visit to the Bibliotheque-Musee de l'Opera , containing model sets, dreadful nineteenth-century paintings, and rather better temporary exhibitions on operatic themes. The classic horror movie The Phantom of the Opera was set, though never filmed, here; a real underground stream lends credence to the tale.
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