Place de l'Opéra

The Place de l'Opéra serves as a deliberate urban stage designed to frame the Palais Garnier. When Baron Haussmann redesigned this district in the nineteenth century, he cleared away a maze of cramped, medieval streets to create a wide, open intersection. This layout forces every viewer to confront the opulent facade of the opera house from a distance, ensuring its gilded sculptures and Corinthian columns command the attention of everyone arriving from the surrounding boulevards.