The Opera Garnier was built for Napoleon III and finished in 1875. It is beautiful and opulent and once upon a time it was where the fabulously wealthy and famous came to see and be seen, especially in this marble lobby.
The actual auditorium seats about 2000 people.
A ballerina rehearsing for an upcoming show.
A view of the 8 ton chandelier
This inspired the "Phantom of the Opera".
We toured around this giant building and were wowed by it. This particular hallway was modeled after the "hall of mirrors" at Versailles.
The facade of the Opera Garnier.
We made it to the Louvre to take a quick tour.
La Pyramide Inversee (The Inverted Pyramid) is a skylight in the shopping mall and is a smaller version of the Louvre Pyramid.
We got an audio guide and were off to start our tour in the lower level. It contains more than 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art.
It has many objects from Egypt.
Greek and Roman pieces
and so many sculptures.
The Rebellious Slave
The Dying Slave
Michelangelo-Slaves (1513-1515)
Psyche and Cupid
The crowds are ridiculous.
We pushed our way through hundreds of people to see The Mona Lisa.
La Grande Odalisque (1819)
The Coronation of Napoleon (1806-1807)
Delacroix- "Liberty Leading the People" 1830
The Louvre is tricky...you think you know where you are going and then end up in a completely different hall and can barely find the exit. It is overwhelming and gigantic and so many works of amazing art that you can barely appreciate it all. Miles and miles of it.
Palais Royal courtyards
2 comments:
I am enjoying your posts of the trip so much! We are contemplating our first trip to Europe with the kids next summer (Paris specifically) so I may have to pick your brain for details in the coming months :) Hope you guys are well.
Jessica
Jessica,
thanks! This is the 3rd time to Paris for the kids and we have learned a lot. You are welcome to any advice I have. It is so much fun and the French are great when traveling with kids.
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