Right in the heart of Haussmann's reconstruction project, Palais Garnier was built on the orders of Napoleon III & completed in 1875. We stepped in & were overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all.. besides marble pillars & bronze statues, opulence attacked your senses eveywhere you turned.
The Grand Staircase which is made entirely of differently-colored marble... one could easily imagine society ladies brushing past each other in a bygone era.
And the most gilded room of all - the Grand Foyer. The foyers were created for the audience to stroll around during performance intervals.. It's amazing the kind of extravagance Napoleon allowed during his reign.
We were very lucky to visit the Palais Garnier on a winter afternoon when it was practically deserted... we had the whole place to ourselves!
The auditorium itself was a spectacle... there were gasps of delight when people entered... i think no photo could ever do it justice.
But what really bowled me over was the beautiful ceiling. It was unmistakably Marc chagall but i didnt expect him to be associated with something so lavish. I later found out he painted scenes from 14 great operas for this ceiling. Beautiful isnt it?
My favorite room... the Salon du Glacier. The different tapestries on the wall depict the serving of different drinks like tea, champagne, etc - I guess this is where guests could talk & have a drink before the show.
Could not resist doing a little twirl around this room... I probably would never see it so empty again.
My mum bought this for me... a pencil case in the form of a ballet shoe!
The Palais Garnier is definitely a beautiful place to while away the afternoon if you're ever in Paris xx
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