Which one of us has not been left awestruck as we crossed the threshold of the Grand Foyer of Palais Garnier for the first time?

Vendôme Circle founder Douglas Arthur Pierce takes us on a visual tour of one of his favourite buildings in Paris. All photos shot by him on film.

As we peer into the Grand Foyer, the scene seems almost unreal: the muted colours of the draping and the dramatic framing of Félix-Joseph Barrias’s painting of ‘La musique amoureuse.’

Barrias created a whole series that depict different aspects of music and which appear in the room at the western end of the Grand Foyer—‘La musique champêtre’ and ‘La musique dramatique’ complete the series. Above, our eye is invited to contemplate ‘The Glorification of Harmony.’

As we stroll down the length of this room inspired by the Château de Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors, we can easily be overwhelmed by the explosion of colour and form all around us.

As we look closer we begin to pick out some of the remarkable details such as the series of medallions (seen above) that depict music from different nations.

On the eastern side of the Grand Foyer—facing Barrias’s ‘La musique dramatique’—Apollo appears surrounded by the Muses in Jules-Elie Delaunay’s ‘Apollo Receiving the Lyre.’

Vendôme Circle offers private tours of Palais Garnier as a part of its Bespoke Experiences. Contact us at enquiries@vendomecircle.com to get started planning your very own Vendôme Circle Bespoke Experience.