travelerjohn33

Hello, I am hoping to get tickets to either a ballet or opera at the Palais Garnier for myself and my wife as an anniversary surprise for this winter while we are in Paris. However I am not sure how to book tickets from the website or how to figure out the seating. There is only a very limited seat map that I can locate on the website. Am I missing something? Is it better to book online or are there advatages to phone or in-person booking?

Also, I have never attended an opera or other type of performance at the Opera Garnier or anywhere outside the States so any tips on what we should pack to wear and any other tips on fitting in would be great! Thanks!

FabulousFrance

My experience was for a ballet in December.
I booked on line and believe I had to register first in order to do so.
Although my tickets were not the cheapest tickets they ended up being towards the top of the theater with very uncomfortable seats and not a good view of the Chagall ceiling.
As for dress, we wore our Sunday best, but just as in going to the theater in the US there were varying degrees of dress, from casual jeans to very nice. I don't remember seeing anyone in formal wear.

Nikki

I have not found a good seating chart for the Garnier opera house. Many years ago I remember being able to pick out a particular seat and seeing its location on a chart but I have not been able to do that recently. There is a feature that shows you the view from the section but not the seat itself, if I recall correctly. As mentioned above, you need to register on the website in order to purchase tickets there.

I have sat up in the top balcony and would not recommend it unless price is your primary consideration. Seats were uncomfortable, more like perches. And some of the seats in the boxes on the sides have limited views, especiallyh if you are in the second row (although these boxes do have cool separate entrances).

People are generally dressed nicely, but there are certainly some in casual clothes. I would dress as I would dress for a similar occasion at home.

Judy

I use this http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/pratiq...x_et_plans.php when trying to choose seats.

Christina

There is no way to pick or see an exact seat at the Garnier, they only have the general section seating chart. I don't know why, it is so common in the US to see notated seating charts on websites. So you just have to hope for the best if you want tickets in advance. I thought the website had an English section, it is pretty clear how to book.

There is an advantage to booking in advance in that they do sell out quite a bit. So if you waited until you got there, there could be no seats left to the performance you want. YOu can see an exact seating chart at the box office, however, as I have bought tickets there.

I have also booked by phone, they will have an English speaker available, I'm sure. I can't recall why I did that, it was several years ago. If you can't have a visual seating chart, I don't know that booking by phone will be much of an improvement for you. The only purpose to it that I can see is if you wanted to know exact seats available. If they give you seat numbers, you likely won't know where they are, the numbering is a bit unusual in that theatre, as I recall.

Wear the same thing you'd wear to go to such a performance at home, it's no different.

dlejhunt

Was just there. I would say the typical type of dress that I saw translates to American business casual. I wore a knit summer dress and white linen jacket and felt perfectly dressed. I saw men in suits and men in polos and jeans; most women were in skirts or dresses. If you are going in winter you could wear jacket and your wife could wear dressier pants and you'd feel fine.

Enjoy. It is truly a treat to sit in that theatre and watch a performance. Get some champagne at the intermission and your day will be perfect. We sat in the balcon section on the main floor and loved our seats: the orchestra, balcon, or lodges de face have the best view. Some of the seats in the upper balconies and the sides of the main floor have an obstructed view, so be careful.

jt865504

Your wife is going to love ballet or opera tickets as a gift, it is truly a beautiful place to see a performance.

So here is an article that provides step by step advice on how to book the tickets online (I would advise to just do it online once booking opens) and it also provides more detailed seating charts to the Paris Opera Garnier and advice on choosing seats. Its the most comprehensive article I've seen on booking and seating.

http://independenttravelcats.com/201...e-paris-opera/


Also there is a second article that should answer your questions about what to expect and what to wear at the Palais Garnier with photos.

http://independenttravelcats.com/201...opera-garnier/

kerouac

Operas are no longer performed at the Palais Garnier, just dance programs. If you want to see an opera, the Opéra Bastille is the place now.

travelerjohn33

Wow thank you all for such great advice and feedback about tickets and what to wear at Palais Garnier.

jt865504 - Those articles were amazing in helping to demystify the booking process and gave me a much better idea of the seating. Those seating charts are tiny but fantastic!

kerouac - I am a bit confused about the opera thing. Are you sure there are no operas at the Garnier, as the articles posted above note that the writer was just at an opera at Garnier and there are a few operas listed on the 2013-2014 schedule....are they going to stop performing them at Garnier next year? I think my wife would prefer an opera to a ballet but good to know if that will no longer be an option.

Nikki

While the ballet does appear at the Palais Garnier, there are still some operas performed there. I believe they tend to be smaller scale than the ones at Bastille. The schedule for the 2013-14 season does indeed show several operas at the Garnier.

billandcindy

As to what to wear, I agree with the advice above to wear what you would wear to an opera at home. I did that last year in May. And even though -- having worn a suit and tie -- I was apparently overdressed, I would have felt a little uncomfortable dressing down. But don't bring tuxs, for sure.

jt865504

Glad the articles were helpful.

Yes, the Palais Garnier does host operas, although these days most performances are ballets, concerts, and recitals. While Bastille does host the majority of the operas, Garnier still hosts several each year. There was a time several years ago when they planned to move all operas to Bastille and have all ballets at Garnier, but a lot of people complained. From what I've heard they are unlikely to try to go back to that model any time soon. Having perhaps the most famous opera house in the world not host operas is too appalling to many people

travelerjohn33

Thanks for the clarification about the operas. Glad to hear they still have operas at the Garnier.

Thanks again everyone for all your help!

kerouac

I stand corrected. However, it should be mentioned that the principal reason that they did not want to continue performing operas at the Palais Garnier is because the acoustics are not very good in most seating areas.

Naturally, sometimes just the place is more important than the quality of the music. (And that's how it is for me in any case, because I don't have a musical ear, but I do have some musician friends who absolutely refuse to go to an event in certain places.)

Nikki

Kerouac, I would love to hear which halls your musician friends eschew (as well as the ones they like).