Known simply as the Paris Conservatoire, this hugely influential music school opened in 1795 and counts Berlioz, Ravel, and Debussy among its alumni. The original building now houses the drama school, but visitors to CNSMDP’s new campus in Parc de la Villette can watch students hone their craft in an extensive program of concerts and masterclasses. Tickets are usually free, but require reservations.

For starters, this is the big circular building you can see from the nearby Eiffel Tower. Known as the ‘maison ronde’ (or ‘round house’), the headquarters of Radio France hosts full-scale performances in its spectacular 21st-century concert hall with the National Orchestra of France and the Radio France Philharmonic and Choir. Get there early to check out the museum’s exhibits but allow extra time if you need to pick up your tickets.

This jewel of an 18th-century court theater was inaugurated for the wedding feast of the future King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1770. Thanks to a detailed renovation (the orchestra’s original seats and stands were rediscovered, having been hidden from revolutionaries), it’s lost none of its ancient régime splendor and hosts carefully curated concerts, operas, and drama with an emphasis (appropriately enough) on Baroque and Classical repertoire from Monteverdi to Mozart.

Take a tour with a singing guide, gather round the piano in the grand foyer for the Châtelet Musical Club, or catch a show in the Châtelet’s gilded great hall (which also hosts orchestral performances for children). This grand 19th-century theater now features mostly musicals and plays, but for any classical music-lover, the venue that saw the birth of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé is worth a visit. The bar’s €12 champagne might tempt you to linger.

As significant a Paris landmark as Notre-Dame or the Eiffel Tower, and known simply as L’Opéra, the Palais Garnier is a spectacular symbol of France at the height of its Second Empire extravagance. It’s now used primarily by the Paris Opera Ballet, but the building’s gilded halls, sweeping staircases, and glittering chandeliers were the inspiration for The Phantom of the Opera. Tours include access to the library museum, but check before in case the main auditorium is closed.

A monument of sleek glass and cool granite, the Opéra Bastille is a modern addition to the Place de la Bastille—and the after-theater crowds have contributed to a bustling nightlife scene on nearby Rue de Lappe. The home of the Paris Opera since 1989, the building’s stark exterior is polarizing among locals, but nobody denies the magic inside: The stage is huge, sight lines are excellent, and the productions are among the most ambitious (and impressively cast) of any French opera house.

This neo-classical masterpiece is two blocks away from the Champs-Élysées, but it’s ground zero for musical modernism: This was the site of the scandalous The Rite of Spring riot in 1913. Things are more relaxed these days (perhaps a credit to the bubbly of choice, Laurent-Perrier, served at three bars in-house). Today, in addition to hosting the Paris Chamber Orchestra, the hall is the heart of Paris’s comic opera tradition, with Offenbach and Rossini very much on the menu.

Located in the Parc de la Villette, the Paris Philharmonic is part of a growing complex, the Cité de la Musique, which is devoted to all things musical. A modern, wave-like hall designed by Jean Nouvel, the Philharmonie is worth a visit just for the view from the roof. It’s home to the Orchestre de Paris, which sounds buoyant under its new chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä, but world music, early music, and international touring orchestras are all part of the program.

Created for chamber music in the last years of the belle epoque, Salle Gaveau has hosted performances by Debussy, Stravinsky, and Poulenc, as well as benefit galas for the victims of both world wars. Now restored to its original gray and gold interior, the hall hosts regular chamber music performances, as well as piano recitals, talks, and small-scale operas. The acoustics are excellent; the view from the balcony less so—something to bear in mind when choosing your seat.

With collections of Warhol, Basquiat, and Pierre Huyghe, the art at this stunning Frank Gehry-designed cultural center in the Bois de Boulogne leans contemporary. So do the musical offerings. Run by fashion behemoth LVMH, the Foundation is a stylish cocktail of new music and intimate recitals featuring the boundary-pushing artists from around the world (Lang Lang played opening night in 2014, and more recent seasons have featured András Schiff, Krystian Zimerman, and the Capuçon brothers).