Grand Opera Houses
Gilded halls built for grand performance. 18 places, mapped and ready to build a trip around.
Plan a trip on Trailwind →Sydney Opera House
AustraliaBestVariesClimate46–79°FCurrencyAUDLanguageEnglishAirportSYDThe sail-roofed icon on Sydney Harbour, a global stage.
La Scala
ItalyBestVariesClimate32–86°FCurrencyEURLanguageItalianLa Scala is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as il Nuovo Regio Ducale Teatro alla Scala. The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
Palais Garnier
FranceBestVariesClimate36–77°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchThe Palais Garnier, also known as Opéra Garnier, is a historic 1,979-seat opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. Initially referred to as le nouvel Opéra de Paris, it soon became known as the Palais Garnier, "in acknowledgment of its extraordinary opulence" and the architect Charles Garnier's plans and designs, which are representative of the Napoleon III style.
Royal Opera House
United KingdomBestJunClimate36–73°FCurrencyGBPLanguageEnglishThe Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, which are known collectively as the Royal Ballet and Opera.
Vienna State Opera house
AustriaBestVariesClimate30–82°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house and opera company located in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, and designs by Josef Hlávka. The opera house was inaugurated as the "Vienna Court Opera" in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Mariinsky Theatre
RussiaEst. 1860BestMay–JunClimate19–73°FCurrencyRUBLanguageRussianThe Mariinsky Theatre is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra.
Auditorio de Tenerife
SpainBestAug–MayClimate59–81°FCurrencyEURLanguageSpanishThe Auditorio de Tenerife "Adán Martín" is an auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, it is located on the Avenue of the Constitution in the Canarian capital, and next to the Atlantic Ocean in the southern part of Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Construction began in 1997 and was completed in 2003. The auditorium was inaugurated on 26 September of that year in the presence of Felipe, Prince of Asturias, and was later visited by former U.S.
Teatro La Fenice
ItalyBestVariesClimate34–84°FCurrencyEURLanguageItalianTeatro La Fenice is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice became the site of many famous operatic premieres at which several works by the four major bel canto era composers, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, were performed.
Teatro di San Carlo
ItalyEst. 1737BestJun–AugClimate43–88°FCurrencyEURLanguageItalianThe Real Teatro di San Carlo, as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent to the Piazza del Plebiscito. It is the oldest continuously active venue for opera in the world, having opened in 1737, decades before either Milan's La Scala or Venice's La Fenice.
Oslo Opera House
NorwayBestMay–JunClimate23–70°FCurrencyNOKLanguageNorwegianThe Oslo Opera House is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera house in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is operated by Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property, the government agency which manages property for the Norwegian government. The structure contains 1,100 rooms in a total area of 49,000 m2 (530,000 sq ft).
Verona Arena
ItalyBestVariesClimate32–88°FCurrencyEURLanguageItalianThe Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre located in the historic center of Verona, Italy. It is among the best-preserved ancient amphitheatres to have survived into the modern era. This remarkable state of preservation is largely due to systematic restoration efforts that began in the 16th century.
Hungarian State Opera House
HungaryBestMar–OctClimate30–84°FCurrencyHUFLanguageHungarianThe Hungarian State Opera House is a historic opera house located in central Budapest, on Andrássy avenue. Originally known as the Hungarian Royal Opera House, it was designed by Miklós Ybl, a major figure of 19th-century Hungarian architecture. Construction began in 1875, funded by the city of Budapest and by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary, and the new house opened to the public on the 27 September 1884.
Semperoper
GermanyBestJun–SepClimate32–77°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanThe Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden. It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Theaterplatz near the Elbe River in the historic centre of Dresden, Germany.
Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater
AzerbaijanBestApr–OctClimate37–90°FThe Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is an opera house in Baku, Azerbaijan. Formerly known as the Mailov Theatre, was designed in 1911 by Armenian architect Nikolai Bayev at the request of the Armenian magnate Daniel Mailov, one of the Mailov brothers.
Berlin State Opera
GermanyBestVariesClimate32–77°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanThe Staatsoper Unter den Linden, also known as the Berlin State Opera, is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. Initially called the Königliche Oper or Berlin Hofoper, the opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from 1741 to 1743 according to plans by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in the Palladian style.
Colón Theater
ArgentinaBestVariesClimate45–84°FCurrencyARSLanguageSpanishThe Teatro Colón is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leading international opera and orchestra directors, the Teatro Colón has the room with the best acoustics for opera and the second best for concerts in the world.
National Centre for the Performing Arts
People's Republic of ChinaBestVariesClimate19–91°FChina, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's second-most populous country after India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, across an area of 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), making it the third-largest country by area. It is divided into 33 province-level divisions, including two special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital, while Shanghai is the most populous city by urban area.
Margravial Opera House
GermanyBestJun–SepClimate30–75°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanThe Margravial Opera House is a Baroque opera house in the town of Bayreuth, Germany. Built between 1745 and 1750, it is one of Europe's few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored. On 30 June 2012, the opera house was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its exceptional Baroque architecture.