Opéra Bastille

“Book the early seating (6:30pm) for evening performances and request a table on the ground floor for faster service before curtain.”

“Non-performance day visits allow access to the grand staircase, the foyer, and the auditorium — worth the entry fee purely for orientation. The backstage tour is available on selected dates. Stage door is on the Rue Scribe side.”

“Same-day standing room (places debout) from €5-15 sold 30 minutes before curtain at the side entrance on the Rue de Lyon side. Last-minute tickets released 15 days before performance online, often at significant reductions. The sight lines from the rear of the orchestra are excellent despite the scale.”

“Rush seats and last-minute discounts available for students and young artists. The post-show discussion program (rencontres avec l'équipe) offers direct access to directors and sociétaires. Guest artist residencies within the company are occasionally available to international performers — understand the institutional hierarchy before approaching.”

“The terrace between the Chaillot wings offers the single most spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Come at dusk before a show. The Trocadéro Métro station (Line 6 and 9) drops you at the door.”

“The Place du Châtelet location makes this the most centrally accessible major venue in Paris — equidistant from the Left Bank and Right Bank, a short walk from the Marais and the Île de la Cité. The box office is on the Châtelet square.”

“The best seats acoustically are in the middle orchestra (parquet) and the first balcony. The stage is wide but not deep — orchestral concerts fill the space beautifully. The Avenue Montaigne entrance is formal; the stage door and production entrance are on the side street.”

“The Cité de la Musique-Philharmonie complex includes a museum of musical instruments (Musée de la Musique) and the smaller Salle des concerts (250 seats). The CNSMDP (Conservatoire National Supérieur) is adjacent — student concerts are often free or €5. The 19th arrondissement location requires Métro Line 5 to Porte de Pantin.”

“The Place de l'Odéon itself — the semicircular square in front of the peristyle — is one of the finest theatrical forecourts in Europe. The 6th-arrondissement location puts you within walking distance of the Café de Flore (10 min), Shakespeare and Company (15 min), and the Seine bouquinistes.”

“Visit on a non-performance weekday morning when the tourist volume is lower. The grand staircase — onyx, marble, double-branching, designed to display the audience as much as the architecture — is the most theatrically conceived interior in Paris. Afternoon light through the foyer windows is extraordinary.”

“Avoid the Place du Tertre between 10 AM and 4 PM — it is tourist-saturated. Come at 7 AM or after dark. The side streets — Rue Caulaincourt, Rue Lepic, the Passage des Abbesses — are the authentic Montmartre. The view from the Sacré-Cœur steps at dusk is worth any inconvenience.”

“The official map at the entrance is essential — Père Lachaise is 110 acres and genuinely labyrinthine. The app-based tour is better than the paper map. Go on a Tuesday or Thursday morning to avoid weekend crowds. The Jewish section (Section 87) and the Wall of the Communards (Section 76) are historically important beyond the famous graves.”

“Walk the Boulevard Saint-Germain from the Odéon east toward the Seine at the hour when Parisians take their evening stroll. The neighborhood still functions as a literary and theatrical community — the publishers' offices on the Rue de l'Université, the cinema clubs, the independent bookshops on the Rue de Buci.”

“Take Bus 112 from the Château de Vincennes Métro station (Line 1). The company serves meals before performances — arriving early for the shared meal is part of the experience. Mnouchkine often works visibly in the space before performances. The backstage life of the company is not hidden.”

“The show runs twice nightly. The 9 PM show with dinner is the tourist experience; the 11 PM show without dinner is where the professional audience sits. The casting director for the Féerie takes applications on the website — this is steady, well-paying work for dancers with strong technique and cabaret sensibility.”

“Arrive when it opens (10 AM) or in the final hour before closing (10 PM). The upstairs reading room and the tumbleweeds beds among the shelves are visible. The anglophone performing arts community in Paris — directors, playwrights, actors working in French and English — uses this as an informal common room.”