Just found out I will travelling alone to Amersterdam. Is it safe to walk alone at night on the main streets?

Any information about touring the Opera building(?) in Paris? Notes I have don't give specifics. Thanks.

There are two Opera houses in Paris - Bastille and Garnier (this one is undergoing renovations and is expected to reopen in June). Both have websites. There are at least two excellent travel boards on AOL where you may wish to inquire. Chances are someone who's recently returned can give you details on one or the other or both.

The Opera Garnier is open, it's just wearing pyjamas for the time being because it's being cleaned. There are tours everyday, just go in the entrance and the info is on the left-hand side of the hall. There are probably also tours of the Bastille Opera, but that is a very different building.

The Opera Garnier (Metro: Opera) has guided tours at 1:00 pm every day. tours in English are only offered during high season (May-August). It is definitely worth it because it gives you are looking at. You can pay a small admission fee and wander around yourself, but you won't get the history, nor have the artistic detail pointed out to you. Enjoy!

Thank you all, Kathy for asking the question that I've been wondering about, and Donna, Francesca and Nancy for the helpful responses. Donna, what do you mean when you say it's wearing pajamas--is it still worth touring (we'll be there in early May)? Donna, do you have the website address--I'm not on AOL, but will attempt to find it through the french tourist website. Again, thanks--I haven't been able to find the answer to this question in any guidebook I've consulted.

I believe Donna means that the outside of the building has a sort of slipcover over it while the exterior restoration goes on. <BR>It was that way last October; I'm sorry to hear that the cleaning isn't finished yet.

I forgot to tell you the website for the opera houses in Paris <BR> <BR>www.opera-de-paris.fr

Thanks for the laugh! Pyjamas is a *good* description - at least when they were renovating the Madeleine, as I remember, there was a painting of the building on the "pyjamas"!

After I posted my response, I went to the City of Paris website, www.paris-ile-de-france.com/eng and found my way to the Opera Garnier website. The first one,the address Elaine has supplied, is only in French. I found info in English on the Opera and the tours by going to the section labeled Heritage, museums & fine art, the opera (some info available at that point) and then The Opera Garnier. Thought I would pass this on for the benefit of others like me who are French-challenged.