Opera
Charles Garnier's grandiose Opera is the most extravagant creation of the Second Empire; an outpouring of opulence and meaningless allegory. It did not actually open until 1875; five years after the Empire's collapse. With its grand staircase; enormous golden foyer; vestibule; and five-tiered auditorium; the Opera was designed so that audience members could watch each other as much as the action onstage. The interior is adorned by Gobelin tapestries; gilded mosaics; a 1964 Chagall ceiling; and the six-ton chandelier that fell on the audience in 1896. Since 1989; when the new Opera de la Bastille was inaugurated; most operas have taken place there ; Garnier's hall is now used mainly for ballets and films on dance.

Must to sees
Musee des Arts Decoratifs : The Museum of Decorative Arts at 107 rue de Rivoli occupies the western tip of the Louvre. It displays a fine collection of furniture; ceramics; jewellery; glass and other objet d'art from the Middle Ages; the Renaissance; the Louis XIV and Louis XV periods; the 19th century and the Art Nouveau ann Art Deco periods.

Palais Royal : This complex; which briefly housed young Louis XIV in the 1640's; is across Place du Palais Royal from the north side of the Louvre. Construction was begun in the 17th century by Cardinal Richelieu; though most of the present neoclassical complex dates from the latter part of the 18th century. Today it houses a number of important government bodies; including the Conseil d'Etat (council of State); the Conseil Constitutionnel (counstitutional Council; which rules on the constitutionality of laws) and the Ministry of Culture.

Must to goes
Jardin des Tuileries : The formal Tuileries gardens; which begin just west of the Louvre; were laid out in their present form (more or less) in the mid 1600's by André Le Nô tre; who also did the gardens at Versailles. The Tuileries soon became the most fashionable spot in Paris for parading about in one's finery. On 10 august 1792; after Louis XVI and his family had fled from the Louvre via the Tuileries; enraged revolutionaries attacked the Swiss Guards (responsible for palace security) and butchered 600 of them in he gardens.

Place Vendôme : Eight-sided Plave Vendôme and the arcaded and colonnated buildings around it were built of hard limestone from 1687 to 1721. In March 1796; Napoleon married Josephine in the building at N°3. The ministry of Justice has been at N°11-13 since 1815. Today the buildings around the place house the hô tel Ritz and some of Paris's most fashionable and expensive jewellery shops; including Cartier. Rue de Castiglione; which goes south to Jardin des Tuileries; and Rue de la Paix; which leads north to Opera Garnier; are also lined with jewellery shops.

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