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 characteristic of the French capital.
Galerie de la Madeleine is one of the most chic and elegant in Paris, with luxury boutiques and upscale stores.
The popular Passage du Havre, near to the department stores on Boulevard Haussmann was completely transformed into a shopping mall in 2012 and no longer resembles its original structure. In a nod to its former architecture, 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.
Passage des Princes, situated on Boulevard des Italiens, was built in 1860, destroyed in 1985 then rebuilt identically as before in 1995. It is currently closed for renovation work.
Passage des Princes, situated on Boulevard des Italiens, was built in 1860, destroyed in 1985 then rebuilt identically as before in 1995. It is currently closed for renovation work. 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, Passage des Deux Pavillons is the smallest covered passage in the capital. Its entrance lined with two pavilions housing pretty shops and its winding, atypical layout gives it a special 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. Just next door, Passage du Bourg-l’Abbé, topped by a slightly rounded glass roof, houses several workshops and artisans, and seems to be suspended in time with its quaint 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.
The covered passageways, most of which were designed in the 19th century, cut through buildings in Paris to provide a covered shopping street sheltered from bad weather and the noise of the city. Even today, these galleries are still a great place to shop, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the variations in the Parisian weather.
Paris has more than twenty galleries and covered passages, which survived the modernization work carried out by Baron Haussmann during the Second Empire and which are now great places to stroll and shop to escape the vagaries of the weather.
The galleries and covered passages are mostly concentrated on the Right Bank of the Seine, in the liveliest districts of the capital.
The galleries and covered passages are generally open to walkers every day of the week. Some passages close at midnight and are not accessible on Sundays or over the weekend.
Passage des Panoramas, which was built in 1799 in the Grands Boulevards district, is the oldest covered passage in the capital.
The covered passages are freely accessible but to find out more about the secrets and anecdotes of their unique Parisian heritage, you can take a guided tour with A stroll through Paris’s covered passages by Cultival or with Le Paris de Sophie, an audio-guided tour with Rewind, or a self-guided family tour with Explorhappy, an investigation trail game with Qui Veut pister ? or Paris ma Belle, or an escape game with Jeu Visite.
