About this place
The Opéra de Nice is the grand cultural heart of the old town, a richly decorated theatre on Rue Saint-François de Paule. A playhouse has occupied this spot since 1776, and the city raised a lavish Italian style opera house here in 1826. That building was destroyed in a devastating fire in 1881, after which the architect François Aune, said to have had the blessing of Charles Garnier of the Paris Opera, designed the elegant house that stands today. It reopened in 1885 with Verdi's Aida and still dazzles audiences with its horseshoe auditorium of red velvet and gold, four tiers of boxes, and a painted ceiling showing the Chariot of the Sun.
Key facts
- 1881 year — A gas leak sparked a deadly fire during a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor
- 1885 year — The rebuilt theatre reopened as the Théâtre Municipal with Verdi's Aida
- 1000 seats — The horseshoe auditorium holds around a thousand spectators across four tiers of boxes
📍 Rue Saint-François de Paule 4, 06300, Nice