The Palais Garnier is an iconic example of Baroque architecture in the heart of the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. This 1,979-seat opera house boasts other features of grandeur, to boot.

Facts

• Entrance Fee - €14 per person, self-guided tour

• Website - operadeparis.fr/en

• Photo Rules – Photos are allowed but as far as I know, tripods are not. I got around this by using a Platypod to keep my camera steady.

Photo Location

This photo is taken from the viewing balcony on the right of the auditorium. There is access via the main atrium and staircase, opposite the Grand Foyer, on the first floor.

Map

Outline

This building was erected for the Paris Opera after instruction from Emperor Napeleon III, between 1861 and 1875. The internal and external architecture is amazing, and the theatre is very elegantly and ornately decorated with deep red and gold featuring prominently.

Detail

Access to the theatre, once you’re inside the Palais Garnier itself, is straight-forward. If the timing is too close to a show there may be some difficulty, but this would likely impact access to the entire building rather than the theatre itself.

What To Bring

This location indicates that a tripod shouldn’t be used, but aside from that there’s not really a requirement of what to bring.

Gear

I shot this image with my Nikon Z 6, using a Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, mounted on a Platypod Ultra with a 3 Legged Thing Airhed ballhead.

Settings

This is a 20 second exposure at an aperture of f/22 and ISO 100.

The information in this post is geared around how I got the featured shot, and as such the information may or may not be true to other seasons.