~ PARIS Passages~

The passages of Paris are covered arcades that date to the early 19th century.  In the 1850's there were almost 150 of these 'original shopping malls'.  They were built to protect the wealthy shoppers from the weather.  There about a dozen left and mostly they are well maintained. There are quite a few concentrated in the 2nd and 9th arr.

Galerie Vivienne is one, if not the most beautiful of the passages.  The elegant marble mosaic floors, wrought iron fixtures and glass covered vaulted ceilings take you back in time.  The shops are mostly well established, unique or avant-garde.   

New and used book shop.

The small bottle in the lower left is a standard sized bottle of wine.  The others are various kinds of 'magnums'.  The larger bottles are usually Bordeaux. Burgundy or Champagne.

This was the prettiest little shop.  All of the unique decorative flowers are made by hand of paper. The shopowner was behind the counter making them as we browsed.

Connected to the Galerie Vivienne is the smaller though equally elegant Galerie Colbert.

The next 3 passages are very close together, seemingly flowing one into the other.

  Passage des Panoramas is one of the larger arcades, though not as well maintained; there are also many,less pretentious cafes and restaurants.  It doesn't have the beautiful mosiac tile floors but you definitely feel the ambiance of the turn of the century.

Passage Jouffroy and Passage Verdeau are practically connected; though you do have to cross a street to go from one to the other.

 I found that Passage Jouffroy had the best variety of shops.

  A candy shop.

 a patisserie.

There was also a shop that had items for doll houses and a shop that sold walking canes.

Passage Verdeau has several old and used book shops, art galleries and a shop that specializes in old postcards.

 and of course a restaurant or two.

Passage des Princes caters to toys.  All of the shops are toy shops.  It is very small~ just a short L-shaped area but quite unique.  We came upon it by accident, noticing a colorful toy store first, then realizing we were in a passage when we saw the glass ceilings.

Galerie Vero-Dodat is another quite small passage.  Named after the two butchers who created it, it houses only a few shops; most notably the Christian Louboutin shoe store.

Searching out the passages of Paris is an adventure and a great way to spend a day!