The Palais Garnier or the Opera Garnier is a 1,979 seat opera house in the 9th arrondissement. It was built during the period 1861 to 1875, on the request of Emperor Napoleon III.
The Palais Garnier has been called "probably the most famous opera house in the world" and like the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre, it has become a symbol of Paris. This in part is associated with its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, and its adaptations in films and in the popular musical.
Its fame also relates to its undoubted opulence and extravagance, with some describing it as an architectural "masterpiece". The style of the opera house has borrowed from many historical sources, including elements from the Baroque, the classicism of Palladio, and Renaissance architecture.