A thoroughly modern counterpart to the wedding-cake exuberance of Opera Garnier, this is one of Mitterand’s grands projets, inaugurated in 1989 on the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison. The high-tech architecture is more derided than loved, and the acoustics are famously tricky, but the Opera National de Paris productions are world-class, and star turns by top international artists are a given. Every one of the 2,273 seats in the main auditorium is meant to have an unimpeded view of the stage, and ticket prices can be anything from €5 (standing) to €175. The standing tickets go on sale daily, 90 minutes before the curtain rises. The programme includes Die Walkure, Billy Budd and The Cunning Little Vixen.