Paris Opera House Facts and Figures
Every number here comes from the Opéra national de Paris or from the published architectural record, and where two sources give different figures both are printed with an explanation rather than one being picked. Paris Opera House guided tours cover the building all of this describes.
The building, by the numbers
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| Footprint | 12,000 square metres |
| Length | 154.9 metres |
| Width at the galleries | 70.2 metres |
| Width at the pavilions | 101.2 metres |
| Height to the top of the flytower | 56 metres |
| Height to the top of the facade | 32 metres |
| Height of the Grand Staircase well | 30 metres |
| Grand Foyer, length | 54 metres |
| Grand Foyer, width | 13 metres |
| Grand Foyer, height | 18 metres |
| Depth of the water tank below ground | 10.13 metres |
| Construction cost | just over 35 million gold francs |
| Visitors a year | 480,000 |
| Listed as a monument historique | 16 October 1923 |
The auditorium, and the two capacity figures
Two numbers circulate for the same room and they are both right. The Opera publishes a capacity of 2,101, which is what the auditorium holds. The published seat count is 1,979, which is what is bolted to the floor. Every source picks one and is half correct; the difference is boxes and standing.
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| Capacity, the Opera's own figure | 2,101 |
| Seats | 1,979 |
| Shape | Italian horseshoe |
| Chandelier | seven tonnes of bronze and crystal |
| Chandelier cost, 1875 | 30,000 gold francs |
| Counterweight fell | 20 May 1896 |
| Ceiling | Marc Chagall, 1964, over the original |
| Composers on the Chagall ceiling | Fourteen |
| Performers the stage can take | 450 |
The dates
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| Assassination attempt outside the old opera house | 14 January 1858 |
| Competition announced | 1860 |
| Entries submitted | 171 |
| Charles Garnier's age when he won | 35 |
| Competition decided | 30 May 1861 |
| Works begin | 1862 |
| Time spent pumping groundwater | Five months |
| Works interrupted by | the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 |
| Old opera house destroyed by fire | 1873 |
| Inaugurated | 5 January 1875 |
| Time from competition to opening | fifteen years |
| Opéra Bastille opened | 13 July 1989 |
The company
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| Founded by letters patent | 28 June 1669 |
| Original name | Académie royale de Musique |
| Ballet school created | 1713 |
| Dancers in the company | 154 |
| Rank of the ballet company by age | The oldest in Europe |
| Houses in use | Two |
| Opéra Bastille seats | 2,745 |
| Opéra Bastille architect | Carlos Ott |
What a visit costs and covers
| Figure | |
|---|---|
| Adult admission, outside the EEA | €25 |
| Adult admission, France and the EEA | €15 |
| Under 13 | Free |
| Disabled visitor and one companion | Free |
| Multimedia tablet | €8 on site, €7 booked ahead |
| Multimedia tablet, children's route | €6.50 |
| Named rooms on the ticket | Eight |
| Auditorium included | Not guaranteed |
| Length of the shortest guided departure | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Length of the longest | 2 hours |
Where these figures come from
The capacity, the Chagall date, the staircase height, the visitor figure, the cost, the 1923 listing, the founding dates and the ballet numbers are published by the Opéra national de Paris. The building dimensions, the chandelier weight and the 1896 accident come from the published architectural record. Admission prices were checked on 2026-09-03 and move. The history page puts the dates in order and the rooms page explains what each measurement is a measurement of.
See it rather than read about it
Six guided tours and the self-guided ticket, with what each fare covers and how long it actually spends inside.
Paris Opera House Tours sets them out side by side.