The Opéra Bastille is the newer of the two opera houses in Paris. It was first designed by a Canadian architect named Carlos Ott and then constructed in 1989. This building is also the larger of the two main opera houses in Paris and gets its name from the place de la Bastille. It is a gigantic structure, covering an entire city block. It is almost 30 stories high and ten of these are below ground. There are over 22,000 square metres on each level of the structure. The Opera Bastille is so immense that there are probably well over 45 kilometers of corridors in this building. The opera auditorium and stage occupy only four percent of the building's volume which can also attest to its immense size. It seats something over 2700 people which is quite large even by typical opera standards. The remaining parts of this cavernous edifice are dedicated to backstage areas. These parts of the Opera Bastille include the many workshops and all the infrastructure that is necessary to support a world-class grand-opera production. If you are planning your tour through Paris this year, don't forget to check out the Opera Bastille as you will not be disappointed.