Teatro Colon

The Teatro Colon opened in 1892 to a design by the Italian architect Pietro Cantini, in the horseshoe plan of its European models: four tiers of boxes, a painted ceiling, a good deal of gilt and red velvet, and a proscenium curtain painted as a scene in its own right. It closed for a long restoration in which the stage machinery and services were entirely rebuilt behind an interior returned to its original decorative scheme. It now runs a full year of opera, dance, chamber music and theatre. Guided tours go backstage and up into the boxes, which is the only way most visitors see the ceiling properly.

What you actually see

• The horseshoe auditorium - four tiers of boxes beneath the painted ceiling.
• The painted curtain and ceiling - the nineteenth-century decorative scheme restored.
• The backstage tour - stage machinery, fly tower and dressing rooms.
• The foyers - marble, mirrors and the original staircases.

When to go

Guided tours run on set days and fill quickly, so book rather than turning up. The performance season runs through most of the year with a thin programme in January. Evening performances mean crossing La Candelaria after dark, so arrange transport in advance. Tickets for the main opera nights go weeks ahead.

Honest expectations

It is small by opera house standards, and the upper and side boxes have genuinely restricted views, so the cheap seats can mean seeing half the stage. Tours are usually in Spanish unless arranged otherwise. The programme is thin in some months. There is no permanent exhibition, so outside a tour or a performance there is nothing at all to see.

Nearby

La Candelaria's museums and the gold museum are within a few blocks.