Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Germany

Destroyed by WWII bombing in 1944, Frankfurt's original opera house was rebuilt over several phases, reopening as a concert hall in 1981. The Old Opera House, or Alte Oper as it is now called, may have lost the prima donnas to the Frankfurt Opera and Play House, but has quickly grown to become one of Frankfurt's most recognizable icons, thanks in no small part to the building's impressive Italian renaissance facade. Visitors drawn to the building's architectural flourishes are often treated to the sounds of the philharmonic orchestra, broadcast live over speakers set up around the building.