Chez Jim: My Personal Paris - Passages and Galeries


Passages and Galeries

Perhaps because Paris can be very rainy, a number of buildings include 'passages' (arcades), essentially indoor pedestrian streets. Each of these has its own character. Most are on the Right Bank.

These are just a few, but you'll encounter others if you keep an eye out for doors that lead to more than courtyards.


Passage Vero-Dodat

Not far from the Louvre. Shorter than some of the others, but elegant and charming enough to merit a visit.

METRO: Louvre.


Galerie Vivienne

Just off the Place des Victoires, which is a high fashion center. The passage itself is covered with a skylight and includes Legrand's famous wine shop, as well as a tea salon, a bookstore, a toy store and several other pricey but striking shops.

METRO: Bourse.


Passage des Panoramas

This goes on for several blocks, a true bazaar of little shops and restaurants. Far more working class than the other two, but that's part of its charm. (It's got an American connection: the 'panoramas' were set up by Robert Fulton in the Nineteenth Century and were a popular attraction in that pre-cinema age.)

METROS: Bourse, Montmartre.




LAST UPDATED:January 2009

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