The twelve-column front
Topped by twelve statues of the muses and goddesses.
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebruiker:Chrisus — CC BY-SA 2.5 · FrDr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FrDr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FrDr — CC BY-SA 4.0
The finest building in Bordeaux and the one that most defines it. The **Grand Théâtre** is a front of twelve giant Corinthian columns topped by twelve statues of the muses and Olympian goddesses, designed by the architect **Victor Louis** and opened in 1780 at the height of the city's wealth from wine and the port. It is among the most important surviving eighteenth-century theatres in Europe, a building much studied and much copied. Its best-known interior feature is the great stone **ceremonial staircase** rising beneath a dome — Garnier is said to have drawn on it for the Paris Opera's staircase a century later. The auditorium itself is circular in blue and gold with twelve columns and a painted ceiling. It is a **working** theatre, not a museum: the home of the Opéra National de Bordeaux and its ballet company, running a full season of opera, concerts and dance. It stands on the Place de la Comédie in the middle of the city at the head of Rue Sainte-Catherine, so you will pass it in Bordeaux whether or not you go in.
Topped by twelve statues of the muses and goddesses.
Stone stairs beneath a dome — said to have inspired the Paris Opera's.
Circular, with twelve columns and a painted ceiling.
Place de la Comédie, 33000 Bordeaux
Place de la Bourse & Water MirrorThe Place de la Bourse is Bordeaux's royal face: a half-circle of symmetrical ei4 minutes walk4.6
Fontaine des Trois GrâcesA marble fountain at the centre of the Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, the focal4 minutes walk4.7
Monument aux GirondinsAt the edge of the Place des Quinconces — among Europe's largest squares — rises4 minutes walk4.5
National Customs MuseumA small, unexpected museum at the grandest address in Bordeaux: inside the **Pla4 minutes walk4.5
Miroir d'eau (Water Mirror)The most famous image to come out of Bordeaux, and in reality just a **slab of g5 minutes walk4.6Two ways and no others. A **guided tour** booked through the Bordeaux tourist office takes you to the ceremonial staircase, the auditorium and the salons, and is the practical choice for a daytime visit — but places are limited and tours are sometimes cancelled for rehearsals, so book early. Or a **performance ticket** in the opera, ballet or concert season, which is by far the better experience: you see the building used for what it was built for. Upper seats are relatively cheap and the whole hall is visible from them.
The façade alone is worth stopping for — it is free and you will pass it anyway — but **the interior is another thing entirely**. The real architectural value is in the ceremonial staircase and the blue-and-gold auditorium, which are what made the building a reference studied and copied across Europe. If you have one evening in Bordeaux and like music, a performance ticket is the best use of time here. If time is short, standing on the Place de la Comédie at night with the front lit does the job.