Vist to Palais Garnier

My most favorite excursion put on by our study abroad program was the visit to Palais Garnier, also known as l'Opera Garnier. This is the famed opera house where the novel The Phantom of the Opera was inspired, and yes, of course, we say the humongous chandelier on the ceiling! Our entire Northwestern program visited and we were given a tour of the opera house. I was lucky to be in the group with a really great tour guide that made the already wonderful trip even better!



The Opera house from the outside


The architect, Baron Haussmann


inside entrance










Inside the audience room..

The door to an expensive box seat!


Other box seats around the opera house


ground floor seats


drawn curtain of the Opera


the Queen's box


the King's (aka Napoleon III's) box




The original ceiling painting in the opera


the new ceiling painting


depiction of the Opera house in the ceiling painting


Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet


Mozart's Magic Flute



The Grand Foyer.. looks very similar to the Hall of Mirrors!