Opera is one of the few art forms where the building, the tradition, and the performers all matter equally. The cities below have all three. The standing room ticket at the Vienna State Opera costs €4. The point is that opera in Europe doesn't have to be expensive, and these are the cities where the infrastructure for it is genuinely world-class.

The Cities

Vienna

Vienna is the global capital of opera and it has earned that title. The Wiener Staatsoper — the Vienna State Opera — is one of the most active opera houses on earth, running productions almost every night of the season (September to June) with a rotating repertory that rarely repeats a production within the same week. The ensemble is exceptional; the building is extraordinary. Standing room tickets (Stehplatz) cost €4 and go on sale 80 minutes before curtain — the audience that uses them is knowledgeable and the atmosphere is different from the stalls in ways that are hard to explain until you've experienced it. The Volksoper runs a parallel programme of operetta and lighter repertory at lower prices.

Best for: The most serious opera city in the world, with the most accessible ticket prices for what you get.

Milan

La Scala is one of the handful of opera houses that has defined the form. The acoustics are exceptional; the productions are often the most technically ambitious in Europe; and the audience is the most knowledgeable and demanding outside Vienna. The season runs from December (opening night is 7 December, Sant'Ambrogio, a major Milanese cultural event) through July. Tickets sell out fast for the most in-demand productions; book through the official website as early as possible. Gallery seats at the top of the house offer good acoustics at significantly lower prices than the stalls.

Best for: The most famous opera house in Italy, in a city that treats opening night as a civic occasion.

Prague

Prague has a serious opera history and two major houses that run regular programmes: the National Theatre and the Estates Theatre, where Mozart conducted the premiere of Don Giovanni in 1787. The Estates Theatre is one of the most beautiful eighteenth-century opera houses in Europe and still programmes period repertory that makes the building feel appropriate. Ticket prices are significantly lower than Vienna or Milan: good seats can be had for €20-40. Quality is high for the price; the Czech repertory includes Smetana and Dvořák works you won't see programmed as frequently elsewhere.

Best for: Historic opera houses at accessible prices, with Czech repertory that Vienna and Milan rarely programme.

Budapest

The Hungarian State Opera House on Andrássy Avenue is one of the most beautiful opera house buildings in Europe — neo-Renaissance, gilded, decorated to the point of excess, which is entirely the right approach for an opera house. The programme runs a broad repertory including Hungarian composers (Bartók, Kodály) that rarely appear on Western European stages. Ticket prices are lower than Vienna or Milan; quality is high. The house itself is worth a daytime tour even if you don't attend a production, but attending a production is better.

Best for: One of the most beautiful opera house buildings in Europe, with a programme that includes repertory you won't find in the West.

Seville

The Teatro de la Maestranza is not in the top tier of European opera houses by reputation, but Seville has a claim to opera that goes beyond the venue. This is the city where Carmen is set, where The Barber of Seville is set, where Don Giovanni's Leporello catalogues his master's conquests. Attending an opera in Seville carries a weight of association that no other city can match for certain repertory. The programme is lighter than Vienna or Milan but consistently well-performed. Coming for the flamenco and discovering the opera is a valid way to experience the city.

Best for: The city where European opera's most famous works are set, which changes how they feel.

Paris

The Opéra National de Paris operates across two houses: the historic Palais Garnier (which Phantom of the Opera romanticised for a generation and which is genuinely extraordinary inside) and the modern Opéra Bastille, which has the technical capacity for large-scale productions. The programme is ambitious and diverse; ticket prices are mid-range by European capital standards. The Palais Garnier stages ballet as often as opera; if dance matters to you, this is where the Opéra de Paris Ballet company performs.

Best for: Two complementary houses, and the Palais Garnier as a building experience in its own right.