How to get cheap tickets to the opera in Paris

Recently, I went to the Opera Garnier in Paris. Guess how much it cost me?

10 euros.

I've gone to the opera for cheap several times in Paris by queuing for last-minute tickets at the opera house. It's easy to do and easy on your wallet. Here's what you need to know:

Ask around. There isn't information posted online about last minute tickets. You just have to know. Show up at the opera house before a show, and ask around to make sure you get in the right line.

Go early.  Even if  the cheapest tickets don't go on sale until 45 minutes before curtain, that doesn't mean people aren't waiting in line two hours beforehand.

Wear flats.  Seating for the queuers is limited - you might be standing up the whole time.

Bring snacks if you get hungry while waiting in long lines.

Bring something to do while you wait.  A book you can read standing up, an audio device full of freshly downloaded podcasts, the toe socks you're knitting...

Bring cash and exact change. At the Opera Garnier, I noticed they took credit cards, but at the Opera Bastille, exact change in cash was required.

Be patient.
There are several options for last minute tickets with a range of prices, and it can be confusing to know which line to queue in.  At the Opera Bastille,  25 euros bought me a ticket in the fourth row, center, a seat the would normally cost well over 100 euros.

Golden opera ticket

Thisclose to the stage!

At the Opera Garnier, 10 euros bought me a seat wayyyy up high in the stalls, but the view was barely obstructed and the sound was still excellent.

The cheapest of the cheap                                                                                                                   

At the Opera Garnier, students and under twenty-sixers had access to six euro tickets. Rumor has it that at the Opera Bastille, there's an automatic machine that sells 5 euro tickets - you can buy up to two tickets per person, but they are limited and sell out like the Doughnut Vault (Chicago shout-out! Hey Chicagoans - is the Doughnut Vault still cool? Or is it all about Glazed and Infused now? I'm so out of the Loop! Haha - pun intended. I crack myself up.)

You may have to sneak past security to get people-free pictures of the Opera Garnier

Right, the opera. You should go! If you've never been, where better to go than in Paris? Just seeing the inside of the beautiful Opera Garnier and the Chagall ceiling is worth 10 euros. 

If you're tired of Handel's da capos, just look up at the ceiling. Voila! Art!

One last tip - you might want to Google the plot of the opera you're going to see, especially if you don't speak French. (Even if the opera is in your native language, you still might need the supertitles at times, and they are in French.) You can print out the wikipedia article and read it while you queue for your ticket. 

To find out what is showing when and where and for other details such as which operas are under four hours long and which feature eye-candy tenors, visit http://www.operadeparis.fr/