The Opera Garnier was the 'piece de resistance' of Napoleon III and Baron Haussman. Its opulence, inside and out, its mixture of architectural styles, its red and gold decor some may think a little flamboyant, but for all that, it is magnificent. It was once the world's largest theater and is famed for its 6-ton chandelier and Chagall painted ceiling depicting Parisian scenes and images from opera. Backstage is the Foyer de la Danse so often painted by Degas and beneath the cellars there lies an artificial lake, providing water for the city's fire brigade, that was the fictional grotto of Lerous' Phantom of the Opera. The Opera Garnier mainly stages ballets now days, operas which have moved to the Opera Bastille.

The Grand Boulevards
The Grand Boulevards were built in 1705 where the the old walls around Paris were demolished and by about 1750 the Boulevard (the original name) had became fashionable where the nobility and rich built their homes and Parisians would sit and watch the horse carriages and riders pass by. The east end, the Boulevard du Temple, became a center of theatres and dance halls, circuses, waxworks, puppets, dancers, acrobats, mechanical figures, cafes, restaurants, booths and barrows. This lasted for about 100 years.

Passages
There are some pretty covered passages off the Grand Boulevards, as Passage Jouffroy and Passage Verdeau (book and print dealers).

Musee de la Parfumerie Fragonard
The history of perfume from the Egyptians to the nineteenth century through bottles, pots-pourris, incense burners, paintings, test tubes... Presentation of plant and animal raw materials used in making fragrances, extraction techniques, the history of bottling.

Musee Grevin
Wax museum (approximately 500 characters) scenes from French history and the present day.

Bibliotheque de l' Opera National de Paris Garnier
Installed in the Palais Garnier, the musee de l'Opera promotes the heritage of three centuries of existence of this temple of dance thanks to paintings, drawings of scenery and costumes, scale models.

The Boulevard des Italiens became very fashionable in the middle of the 19th century. It was lined with cafes and restaurants which the 'beau monde' frequented, #22 Cafe Tortoni, #20 Maison Doree, the meeting place for fashionable Paris, No. 16 Cafe Riche. The boulevard got its name from the Opera-Comique, which was commonly called 'the Italiens'. Cafe de la Paix is the quintessential 19th century cafe and was designed by the same architect, Garnier, as the Opera. It was a frequent haunt of Oscar Wilde. Nearby in Rue Scribe, where the Hotel Scribe now stands, used to be the exclusive Jockey Club and it was here the Lumiere brothers held the world's first public cinema screening in 1895. L'Olympia Music Hall, in bd. Des Capucines was where Edith Piaf achieved fame, and it is still an important venue for pop stars.