tekwriter

I really wanted to take my mother to the ballet (La Dame aux Camelias) during one of the three nights in July we're in Paris, but there are no more seats to be had on the official (operadeparis.fr) website. Are there any other sources to investigate? Any chance we could find last minute tickets upon arrival? Merci!

kerouac

Last minute tickets are always available. They will be released about 20 minutes before the performance.

Underhill

Have you asked your hotel's concierge for help? They often have sources for tickets.

Ronda

kerouac, have you purchased these last minute tickets before? When did you have to get in line?

kerouac

You have to get on the waiting list at least an hour early. Not everybody gets a ticket, of course.

tekwriter

Hi kerouac - can you elaborate on how to get on the waiting list, exactly where to do this and what the procedure is? I'm willing to make the effort, but I just want to make sure I don't stand at the wrong place and miss my chance!

kerouac

At any theatre in France that is sold out, you go to the "contrôle" (there is always a sign indicating it -- often it is a podium right in the middle of the entrance) -- that's where they keep all the unpaid reserved tickets not yet collected and the list of invitations, and it is also where they make the waiting list (in some cases you can phone to get on the waiting list, but normally you have to be there in person). When "closing time" arrives, they see how many tickets they have left and call names on the waiting list -- then you go to the box office to pay and you get your ticket. Some of the strictest places (and the Opera is probably one of them) will even release tickets that were already paid for and not collected -- but only if there is no pause in the spectacle where breathless late arrivals could be seated.

111op

Try calling the box office directly. I've experiences in which the web shows no availability but when you call you can still get tickets. (This is not just unique to Opera Garnier.)

I think there are also last-minute side-box tickets. When I went a few years ago, I think it was 7 euros. However I'm not sure what the rule is. I remember being confused about it. A friend in Paris got me the tickets. You can only get these the day of the performance.

Christina

I would also go to the box office in advance and just ask them if they have any tickets. I think sometimes the website says they don't, but they have some for sale on-site. I don't know why, but I had that happen at the Opera Bastille and got a ticket with no problem (not the cheapest, either).

I thought at the Opera Garnier, they only sell last minute tickets to people with special conditions and social service cards (eg, unemployed) or those less than age 28, not just anyone.

kerouac

The last minute tickets for students and unemployed at the Opéra Garnier are the same as at the Comédie Française -- something like 40 seats on the upper balcony with no visibility.

Of course on a slow night (ha ha), they would sell better seats to this segment of the public.

111op

Yes, I remember that bit about the website, but I also remember calling them and being told something else.

I'm not sure my 7 euro side box seat counted officially as a "last-minute ticket," however. Maybe it doesn't. But I'm pretty sure my friend bought it the same day within a few hours of the performance.

My experience, as I said, is that calling will usually yield something. In my experience, the hardest tickets to find seem to be for the Vienna Staatsoper. (Even Vienna Philharmonic standing room tickets can be reserved ahead of time.)

Ronda

Someone else mentioned the following site on another thread:

http://www.francebillet.com/

Their calendar shows seats for July performances but 92 euros in Orchestra.