Charles Garnier's plan was chosen from 171 designs entered in the competition of 1861. Construction ran from 1861 to 1875, and the Palais Garnier opened on January 5, 1875. Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Prefect of the Seine, supported the project. Its Napoleon III style is highly eclectic, blending Baroque and Renaissance elements.
The white marble Grand Staircase, with its red and green marble balustrade, splits into two flights that lead to the Grand Foyer. The horseshoe-shaped auditorium seats 1,979, and Marc Chagall's ceiling was installed in 1964, with a seven-ton bronze and crystal chandelier at its center. The facade uses seventeen kinds of material, with gilded sculptures and statues of Greek deities.
The stage, said to be the largest in Europe, can hold 450 artists. A legend of a lake beneath the building inspired Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera. Visitors can take unaccompanied tours.
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