Covered passages of Paris

The covered passages of Paris (French: Passages couverts de Paris) are an early form of shopping arcade built in Paris, France, primarily during the first half of the 19th century. By 1867, there were approximately 183^[1] covered passages in Paris but many were demolished during Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Only 25 survived into the 21st century, all but one are in the arrondissements (municipal districts) on the Right Bank of the Seine.

The common characteristics of the covered passages is that they link at least two streets, have glass ceilings and are: pedestrianised; artificially illuminated at night (initially with gas lamps); privately owned; highly ornamented and decorated; lined with small shops on the ground floor. The passages’ upper floors usually had apartments.^[2] Originally, to keep the passages clean, each would have at the entrance an artiste de décrottage (a ‘shoe cleaning artist’).

From a cultural standpoint, the passages have served as centers of social interaction: Alfred de Musset frequented the Galerie Vérot-Dodat when visiting a famous actress.^[2] Eugène-Francois Vidocq, the father of criminology and of the French police system, lived in the Galerie Vivienne in 1840.^[2] As a child, Louis-Ferdinand Céline lived in the Passage Choiseul.^[2] The passages were the subject of Walter Benjamin's incomplete magnum-opus Das Passagen-Werk (Arcades Project) which was posthumously published.

List of currently accessible passages

The following table lists the covered passages that still exist and remain accessible to the public.

District	Name	Date	Entrance	Hours	Heritage listing	Length	Image
1	Passage des Deux-Pavillons	1820	6 rue de Beaujolais 5 rue des Petits-Champs		Mérimée	33m
1	Galerie Véro-Dodat	1826	19 rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau 2 rue du Bouloi	Monday-Saturday (except public holidays) 0700-2200	Mérimée	80m
2	Passage Ben-Aïad	1826	9-11 rue Léopold-Bellan 8 rue Bachaumont	Closed to the public	Mérimée	90m
2	Passage du Bourg-l'Abbé	1828	120 rue Saint-Denis 3 rue de Palestro	Monday-Saturday 0700-1900	Mérimée	47m
2	Passage du Caire	1798	33 rue d'Alexandrie 2 place du Caire 237-239 rue Saint-Denis 14, 34 et 44 rue du Caire	Monday-Friday 0700-1800		360m
2	Passage Choiseul	1829	40 rue des Petits-Champs 23 rue Saint-Augustin 40 rue Dalayrac Passage Sainte-Anne		Mérimée	190m
2	Galerie Colbert	1826	6 rue des Petits-Champs 2 rue Vivienne		Mérimée	83m
2	Passage du Grand-Cerf	1825	145 rue Saint-Denis 10 rue Dussoubs	Monday-Saturday 0800 - 2000	Mérimée	117m
2	Passage des Panoramas	1800	10 rue Saint-Marc 11 boulevard Montmartre 38 rue Vivienne 151 rue Montmartre	0600-2400	Mérimée	133m
2	Passage du Ponceau	1826	119 boulevard de Sébastopol 212 rue Saint-Denis	Monday-Friday 8-9		92m
2	Passage des Princes	1860	5 boulevard des Italiens 97-99 rue de Richelieu	Monday-Saturday 0800 - 2000	Mérimée	80m
2	Passage Sainte-Anne	1829	59-61 rue Sainte-Anne Passage Choiseul		Mérimée	47m
2	Galerie Vivienne	1823	4 rue des Petits-Champs 6 rue Vivienne 5 rue de la Banque	0800 - 2000	Mérimée	176m
3	Passage Molière	1791	82 rue Quincampoix 157, 159, 161 rue Saint-Martin		Mérimée	46m
3	Passage Vendôme	1827	16 rue Béranger 3 place de la République	Monday-Friday 0700 - 2000 Saturday 0800 - 2000	Mérimée	57m
6	Cour du Commerce-Saint-André	1776	59 rue Saint-André-des-Arts 21 rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie 130 boulevard Saint-Germain		Mérimée	120m
8	Cité Berryer	1745	24 rue Boissy-d'Anglas 24 rue Royale		Mérimée	95m
8	Arcades du Lido	1926	76-78 avenue des Champs-Élysées 59 rue de Ponthieu			120m
8	Galerie de la Madeleine	1845	9 place de la Madeleine 30 rue Boissy-d'Anglas	Monday-Saturday (except public holidays) 0800-1900	Mérimée	53m
8	Passage Puteaux	1839	33 rue de l'Arcade 28 rue Pasquier	Monday-Friday 0700 - 2400		29m
9	Passage du Havre	1845	69 rue de Caumartin 109 rue Saint-Lazare			115m
9	Passage Jouffroy	1845	10-12 boulevard Montmartre 9 rue de la Grange-Batelière	0700 - 2100	Mérimée	140m
9	Passage Verdeau	1847	6 rue de la Grange-Batelière 31 bis rue du Faubourg-Montmartre	Monday-Friday 0700 - 2100 Saturday-Sunday 0700 - 2000	Mérimée	75m
10	Passage Brady	1828	43 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin 22 boulevard de Strasbourg 33 boulevard de Strasbourg (covered section) 46 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis		Mérimée	216m
10	Passage du Prado	1830	16 boulevard Saint-Denis 16 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis	0900 - 1900		120m

Further reading

• New Paris Guide, Or Stranger's Companion Through the French Metropolis: To which is Added a Description of the Environs. A. and W. Galignani. 1827.
• Lefeuve, Charles (1875). Les anciennes maisons de Paris, Volume 4 (in French). C. Reinwald et cie. street by street, house by house

References

1. Joanne, Adolphe Laurent (1867). The Diamond Guide for the Stranger in Paris ... L. Hachette & Company. p. 90.
2. "Découvrez la magie des galeries et passages couverts parisiens". www.paris.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-31.

External links

• "Paris's top 10 hidden shopping passages". The Guardian.
• "Le charme parisien des passages couverts". ParisInfo (in French).