AROP — Dance Season Opening Gala 26/27
Opening of the dance season at the Palais Garnier: gala, cocktail and dinner among the star dancers of the Opéra. One of the most elegant events of the Paris autumn season.
Line-up : Star dancers of the Opéra national de Paris, AROP patrons
How to get in
AROP — Association pour le Rayonnement de l'Opéra national de Paris
Gala reserved for AROP members. Direct route: join AROP (several tiers) to access galas, cocktails and dinners at the Palais Garnier. Evening dress required.
The turnkey stay
On 10 October 2026, the Palais Garnier raises the curtain on the 26/27 dance season with the AROP gala: the Ballet's grand défilé brings together Étoiles, Premiers Danseurs, the corps de ballet and pupils of the École de Danse, ahead of a creation by Juliano Nuñes danced by Hugo Marchand and Germain Louvet. Long gowns and black tie will sweep up the grand marble staircase for the most sought-after evening of the Paris season opening. Our advice: sleep opposite the Opéra, dine in the institutions of the Gaillon quarter and prolong the evening's brilliance between secret backstage areas and a swimming pool on the place Vendôme.
Where to stay
- InterContinental Paris Le Grand — The definitive address for this gala: the grand hotel of 1862 stands directly opposite the Palais Garnier, on the place de l'Opéra — you reach the forecourt in evening dress, without a car. Café de la Paix with interiors listed as a historic monument, the 800 m² La Verrière winter garden and suites overlooking the Opéra.
- Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme — A palace hotel at 5, rue de la Paix, a few minutes' walk from the Palais Garnier, the street opening straight onto the place de l'Opéra. Interiors by Ed Tuttle, a spa with hammam and sauna, and the Michelin-starred restaurant Pur' by Jean-François Rouquette within the hotel itself.
Where to dine
- Pur', Jean-François Rouquette — One star in the Guide Michelin (held since 2008), at the heart of the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, rue de la Paix, a few minutes from the Palais Garnier. Chef Jean-François Rouquette (formerly of Taillevent and the Crillon) signs a haute cuisine built on the produce, with an open kitchen and a chef's table for insiders.
- Drouant — An institution of the Opéra quarter founded in 1880, on the place Gaillon, where the prix Goncourt has been awarded since 1914. Chef Romain Van Thienen (trained alongside Cyril Lignac and Yannick Alléno) revisits the great French classics in an Art Deco setting — ideal before or after the gala, a few minutes' walk from the Palais Garnier.
What to experience
- Visite des coulisses du Palais Garnier — Extend the gala by stepping behind the scenes: the official guided tours of the Opéra national de Paris reveal the grand foyer, the grand staircase and lesser-known spaces of Charles Garnier's monument; the AROP also organises private visits taking in the wings, the dance studios and the costume workshops, where some 1,500 costumes are made each year.
- Ritz Club & Spa — The day after the gala, head for 15, place Vendôme, a few minutes' walk from the Opéra: a mosaic swimming pool beneath a trompe-l'œil sky, Biologique Recherche treatments and the wellness pavilion of the most legendary of Parisian palace hotels — the Belle Époque interlude that answers the splendour of Garnier.
Official event website →