Is it possible to view the interior of the Opera house without paying to see a show? The only tickets I could find for my visit are E130. If I take the guided tour will I be able to see the interior? I am particularly wanting to see the Chagall ceiling.
Thank you!!

Unless things have changed , the guide takes you all over the Opera House, including the backstage area, the wonderful staircase and ceilings..it is so wonderful, sigh~

Ooo that sounds cool. I just saw their website allows you to take a virtual tour. It looks lovely and If I understood correct w/ my horrid grasp of French, there are tours in English. yeah!
Thanks Scarlett!

Welcome

You can also, I believe, just buy a tour ticket and walk around on your own.

That's correct...you can take a self guided tour. However, the guided tour is extremely worthwhile if one can fit it in. The auditorium is off limits during rehearsals.

How do I know if rehersals are taking place on a given day? I think the tours in English happen at 12:30 and I know a ballet is being staged while I'm there. Maybe it's over before I leave and I'd be best off touring after it's run...?

Check early in your visit for scheduled English tours. We visited the Opera Garnier on our next to last day in Paris and there were no tours on the remaining two days. We spent about 2 hours wandering through the opera house and it was amazingly fascinating. With luck the theatre will not be in use and you can see it and the wonderful Chagall ceiling. Also, on the lower level are costumes, jewelry and props - quite stunning.

Thank you, I will be there for two weeks so I will see if I can book a tour in advance when I arrive.

One of my favorite self-guided sites in France! Be sure to see more than the theater itself. Walk around and see the whole thing...it's splendid.

My French ex-wife insists that there's a "lake" in the opera's souterrains - basements - is this true? I believe it may really be a sewer pool?

I did read that somewhere...maybe a guide book or here. I've done so much research it all starts to blur. I'm not sure if they let people into the basement, someone here would know.

You can see the interior without a guided tour if you want. It certainly is one of the most beautiful interiors in Paris. even if you can't get into the auditorium because of a rehersal you can peek thru the windows and sometimes even hear a bit of the music!

I found the photos of performances and stars very interesting.

If you are taking pictures inside I hope you have a really good camera..the day we were there it was sparsely lighted with beautiful candelabra and the pictures were not clear but they were rather mystic!

I got a documentary from the library once, a black & white film, about 'Subterranean Paris' or something like that.
The lake under the Opera Garnier is used for underwater training by whatever the 'emergency/rescue' team is called. The lake was discovered during construction of the building.

The film also covered the sewers, and the off-limits tunnels that are frequented by unauthorized 'spelunkers'...
http://www.theglimpse.com/newsite/vi...?articleid=379