Paris Opéra to Undergo Major Renovations

The Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille will each be closed for approximately two years

The principal performance space of the Opéra de Paris, the historic Palais Garnier, will close for at least two years to allow the organization to carry out urgent renovations on the building. The 150-year-old space, which is among the city's most prominent landmarks, will shut in mid-2027 for an estimated period of two years.

The company's newer space, the Opéra Bastille, will become the company's major venue during the renovations. This 1989 building is also in need of serious work and will close for its own two-year renovation in mid-2030 (once work has been completed on the Palais Garnier).

According to France's Le Monde, France's foremost state audit body, known as the Court of Accounts, estimated that the total cost of renovations on the two buildings would be approximately €200 million. The Court also described the two spaces as "aging," saying they had been the victims of "long-standing underfunding."

The company offers a wide range of programming that targets all age levels, and it welcomes 900,000 audience members to its performances each year.

Having one of its two performance spaces closed for a five-year period will require the company to move some of its offerings to other locations in Paris, as well as other parts of France.

Built between 1861 and 1875 for Emperor Napoleon III, the Palais Garnier was named for its architect, Charles Garnier — who also designed the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Named a monument historique of France in 1923, the house was also the setting for the novel (and musical adaptation) Phantom of the Opera.