Palais Garnier

Napoleon III commissioned a new Paris opera house after an assassination attempt at the previous venue exposed serious security failings, and held an open architectural competition in 1860 that the young, then-unknown Charles Garnier won against 170 other entrants. Construction ran from 1861 to 1875, delayed by the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, and the result — a deliberately maximalist mix of Baroque, Renaissance and classical influences later dubbed 'Napoleon III style' or simply Beaux-Arts — became the model for opera houses built around the world for the following half-century.

The building's Grand Staircase and Grand Foyer, dripping with gold leaf, marble and chandeliers, were designed as much for the audience to see and be seen as for the performances themselves — Garnier reportedly said the building's purpose was as much social theatre as musical theatre. The auditorium's original painted ceiling was covered in 1964 by a new one commissioned from Marc Chagall, whose colourful, dreamlike scenes referencing composers and operas sit in deliberate, striking contrast with the auditorium's red-and-gold Belle Époque decor beneath it.