By day, l'Opra-Charles Garnier's neo-baroque opera house that was built between 1857 and 1874 and is now one of the prime tourist attractions in Paris-is almost permanently obscured by parked tour buses. In the evening it gets swamped by an endless stream of music lovers. After performances, the stairs in front are littered with people smoking, drinking, and arguing. That's why we're here in the twilight zone between five and seven in the morning, when la Cit still belongs to the street sweepers, the bakery delivery drivers, and the first hobos emerging from their sleeping holes.
We park the Rolls in front of the opera house, the haunt of the antihero of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel, The Phantom of the Opera. Of course, the book has faded into obscurity, and the story is now better known as the plotline for an Andrew Lloyd Webber blockbuster musical. L'Opra de Paris was the place where the beautiful chorus girl Christine, the charming and attractive Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, and the tragically disfigured phantom experienced their amour fou.
Our journey starts at Goodwood, where Rolls-Royces are built. We then head for the port of Dover, where the customs officers take so long to search the car that the lunchtime train leaves without us. Once we've crossed the channel, Calais to Paris is an easy two-hour-plus run, providing you keep your eyes peeled for hidden radar traps, unmarked police cars, and random speed checks on the approach to the many toll barriers.... Read full article