Palais Garnier

This 19th-century architectural masterpiece was built by Charles Garnier at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. It stands on the Place de l'Opéra, a square in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The interior of the Paris Opera (Palais Garnier), also known as the Opéra Garnier, boasts stunning Beaux-Arts architecture, such as the 30-metre-high marble Grand Staircase. Its intricate interior inspired Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel *The Phantom of the Opera* (and, in turn, Andrew Lloyd Webber's hugely successful musical), which arguably makes it the most famous opera house in the world.