Palais Garnier

Île-de-France · France · Theatre

Beneath the opera's gilded salons lie the lake and the legend of the Phantom — box 5 still bears his name.

The Palais Garnier, Paris's sumptuous opera house of 1875, is the birthplace of the Phantom of the Opera legend. Beneath the building lies a real water reservoir — "the lake" — and the house's misfortunes, such as the chandelier counterweight that fell in 1896 and killed a spectator, fed a tale of a disfigured spirit in the cellars. Gaston Leroux built his 1910 novel on these stories, insisting the phantom had truly existed; box number 5, the phantom's box, is still marked with his name. The opera house can be visited daily — the lake remains off limits.

FAQ

Where is Palais Garnier located?

Palais Garnier is in Île-de-France, France.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Peter Rivera / CC BY 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons