The covered, pedestrian galleries cut through the middle of buildings and covered with glass ceilings, are a typically Parisian architectural curiosity. Most of them are home to boutiques, old-fashioned tearooms or cafes, restaurants, second-hand bookshops, art galleries and artisans.
Paris has around twenty of them in its liveliest districts, notably around the Grands Boulevards and the Palais Royal. These quaint picturesque shopping arcades are a valuable testimony to 19th-century Paris, transporting visitors into another time!
Each passage has its own distinctive character. Some of these passages are particularly emblematic of the capital.
The Galerie de la Madeleine is one of the capital's most chic and elegant with its luxury boutiques and upmarket shops.
The popular Passage du Havre, close to the department stores on Boulevard Haussmann, was completely transformed into a shopping mall in 2012, and no longer corresponds to its original structure. In a nod to its architectural past, a zenithal glass roof provides natural light to the shopping arcade.
in the Opéra district, Passage Choiseul, which had a makeover in 2013, has a wide variety of shops and a large choice of restaurants for a quick lunch. It can be reached via the winding Passage Saint-Anne.
The Passage des Princes, on the Boulevard des Italiens, was built in 1860, destroyed in 1985 and rebuilt identically in 1995. It is currently closed for renovation. The glass-roofed Passage Verdeau has several art galleries and many antique dealers. Just a few steps away, in Passage Jouffroy, inaugurated in 1846, is the famous Grévin museum, which exhibits wax figures of historical and contemporary personalities. It is also the location of Hotel Chopin, named in honour of the great composer who, in his day, was fond of this arcade. Passage des Panoramas, the oldest in Paris, dates back to 1799. It is home to the Théâtre des Variétés, which opened in 1807 and is still in activity today.
Near to the Domaine national du Palais-Royal, the elegant Galerie Vivienne, with its colourful mosaic floor, glass rotunda, luxury boutiques and antique shops, is one of the most typical in Paris.
Galerie Colbert was built in 1823 and is unusual in that it has no shops. Its colonnade and rotunda, topped by a glass dome, house the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art and the Institut National du Patrimoine. Open to the public, the site is perfect for a stroll, followed by lunch at the Grand Colbert brasserie, situated at the entrance to the Galerie and famous for its art deco style.
Between these two galleries, the Passage des Deux Pavillons is the smallest passageway in the capital. Its entrance, lined with two pavilions housing pretty boutiques, and its winding, atypical layout give it a unique charm.
Close by is Galerie Véro-Dodat with upscale boutiques, like Christian Louboutin’s atelier boutique.
One of the most spectacular passages in Paris is Passage du Grand-Cerf, with its 12-metre-high metal and wrought-iron structure. Right next door, the Passage du Bourg-l'Abbé, with its slightly rounded glass roof and a number of workshops and craftsmen, seems to be suspended in time with its charming old-fashioned shop windows.
Passage du Caire, the capital's longest and narrowest (over 360 metres long), is home to many ready-to-wear wholesalers and other fabric manufacturers.
Finally, Passage Brady, commonly referred to as ‘Little India’, is always bustling with its Indo-Pakistani, Mauritian and Reunionese shops and restaurants.
