Paris Phantom of the Opera Audio Walking Tour
From Leroux's newspaper boulevard past two lost opera houses to the Palais Garnier, its water tank, the emperor's unfinished wing and the chandelier.
3 km walk43 min walking7 stopsFrom Le Matin, Boulevard Poissonnière to Place de l'Opéra19 min of storiesEnglish
$14.99
- 7 stops and 19 minutes of stories, told as you reach each place
- The intro and stop 1 are free in the app: try before you buy
- Download before you go; the audio plays without signal (the street map needs a connection)
- Walking with friends? Pick 1 to 10 seats; everyone hears each stop on their own phone, at the same moment
Hear stop 1
30 seconds of the real narration
30 seconds of the real narration
Plays in the free Walk With Me app on iPhone and Android.
Where the story happens
Each stop, the moment of the story it belongs to, and what is there today.
| Stop | In the story | Today |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Le Matin, Boulevard Poissonnière | No scene happens here: this is Leroux's own story, the reporter turned novelist. | A busy stretch of the Grands Boulevards, once the heart of the press district. |
| 2. Square Louvois | No scene: the Opera's earlier home, pulled down after the Duke of Berry's murder in 1820. | Square Louvois and Visconti's fountain of 1844. |
| 3. Salle Le Peletier (site) | No scene, but its fires, bombs and skeleton legend shaped the novel's world. | Rue Le Peletier, with nothing left of the theater. |
| 4. Behind the Opéra, Boulevard Haussmann | Christine and Raoul's secret talk on the roof; far below, the ghost's lake. | The stage house, above a water tank about ten meters below the stage. |
| 5. Emperor's Pavilion, Rue Scribe | Erik's gates on the Rue Scribe side, and Raoul searching the street for a way down. | The unfinished pavilion, now the national library's Opéra library-museum. |
| 6. Grand Hôtel corner | The retired manager Debienne's address, where the Box Five tickets are sent. | The Grand Hôtel, now an InterContinental, and the Café de la Paix. |
| 7. Place de l'Opéra | The chandelier crashes into the stalls, and Box Five belongs to the ghost. | Visits inside are ticketed; a plaque names the Phantom's box, under Chagall's ceiling. |
About this tour
On foot, the Phantom's story stops being a legend and becomes a map. In under an hour you pass a murder site, a bomb site, a burned theatre, a swamp turned reservoir and an emperor's door that never opened for him, all within a few streets. If you'd like company afterwards, open the Walk With Me live map to find other people out walking the city.
The route
3 km in walking order from Le Matin, Boulevard Poissonnière to Place de l'Opéra. Stop 1 is free in the app.
- 1Le Matin, Boulevard PoissonnièreA stretch of the Grands Boulevards where Le Matin had its offices, and how a star reporter came to write a ghost story.Free in the app
- 2Square LouvoisA leafy square with a four-river fountain opposite the old national library, where an opera house stood until a murder at its door.
- 3Salle Le Peletier (site)An ordinary street with no plaque where the Opera stood for half a century, and the bombs, flames and legends that fed the novel.
- 4Behind the Opéra, Boulevard HaussmannThe vast stage house at the back of the Palais Garnier, the swampy ground under it, and a secret talk on the roof.
- 5Emperor's Pavilion, Rue ScribeThe curving carriage ramp built for an emperor who never used it, Leroux's gates to the lake, and records sealed in the cellars.
- 6Grand Hôtel cornerThe Grand Hôtel corner by the Café de la Paix, both older than the opera house, and the address Leroux gave a retired manager.
- 7Place de l'OpéraThe Palais Garnier's facade at last, a real accident inside in 1896, and the box Leroux's ghost claimed as his own.
The story in order
- 13 February 1820Square Louvois
The Duke of Berry is stabbed at the Opera's door; the theater is pulled down after his death. - 14 January 1858Salle Le Peletier (site)
Orsini's bombs strike the crowd as the emperor arrives; by the Opéra's account, he decided on a new opera house the next day. - 30 May 1861Behind the Opéra, Boulevard Haussmann
Charles Garnier, thirty-five and unknown, is declared the winner from 171 anonymous designs. - 5 January 1875Place de l'Opéra
The Palais Garnier opens, with the emperor's entrance still unfinished. - 20 May 1896Place de l'Opéra
During a performance, a counterweight of the great chandelier breaks loose, crashes through the ceiling of the upper boxes and kills a concierge. - 24 December 1907Emperor's Pavilion, Rue Scribe
Twenty-four gramophone records are sealed in urns in the Opéra's cellars, to be opened a century later. - 22 September 1909Le Matin, Boulevard Poissonnière
Le Gaulois announces Leroux's new serial; the first installment runs the next day.
Questions
How long does it really take?
43 min of walking plus 19 minutes of stories, so plan for about 1 h 02 with stops.
Can I see Box Five and the chandelier?
Only on a ticketed visit inside the Palais Garnier, which is not part of this walk. Times and prices change, so check before you go.
Is there really a lake under the opera house?
There is a water tank about ten meters below the stage, built to keep the foundations watertight and stable, and Paris fire brigade divers train in it. The Opéra itself says it looks nothing like a lake.
Before you go
- The walking alone takes about forty-five minutes.
- With the stories, allow an hour and a half, more if you go inside the opera house at the end.
- The route is flat, on city pavements, but it crosses some of the busiest boulevards in Paris, so take the crossings slowly.
- Start near Grands Boulevards metro station, lines 8 and 9; you finish at Opéra station, lines 3, 7 and 8.
- There is little shade on the boulevards, so carry water on a hot day.
Cheaper in a bundle
Masks, Codes & BarricadesThree Paris stories of masks, codes and barricades, walked where they happened, from the Opéra and the Louvre to the Marais, the Seine and the Latin Quarter.
Da Vinci Code3.9 km
Les Misérables5.4 km
Phantom of the Opera3 km
$27.99$48.97Save 43%