While larger opera houses have since been built, the Royal Opera House at the Palace of Versailles remains one of the most visually impressive. Today, the space hosts a full calendar of concerts, operas, ballets, and recitals. Visitors hoping to see the Opera House without attending a performance can do so as part of a guided VIP tour of the palace grounds, which includes access to otherwise off-limits areas like the Royal Chapel and Royal Quarters.
The Royal Opera is inside the Palace of Versailles outside of Paris. The nearest train station to the palace entrance is Versailles Château Rive Gauche.
The best time to visit the Royal Opera is during a live performance, which are scheduled several times throughout the month. Check the calendar at the Chateau Versailles website before your visit to see what’s on.
Upon completion of the Royal Opera, the king entrusted his First Theatre Technician, Blaise-Henri Arnoult, to make sure the space could be used as a theater, ballroom, and feasting hall. Arnoult designed a complex system of movable floors that would allow the hall to be transformed in two days, depending on the need.
