The ancestors of our modern-day shopping centres, Parisian arcades date back to the beginning of the 19th century and are located on the right bank of the Seine, in the vicinity of the Palais-Royal and boulevards. As evidenced by their arches, rounded windows and Egyptian motifs, these strange streets covered by a glass roof were designed on the model of Arabic arcades and souks*. Sheltered from bad weather, mud and horse-drawn carriages, arcades allowed shopkeepers to stack and present their wares and elegant ladies could stroll here far from the madding crowd. They were also practical pedestrian shortcuts from one district to another. The advent of department stores, under the Second Empire, announced the decline of these singular places, which have nevertheless marked in their way the history of Parisian town planning.

 

We suggest you discover  a few of these vestiges of a bourgeois and rococo Paris, some of which have been superbly restored. Allow one day.

 

 

Let's begin our tour with the Galerie Véro-Dodat arcade linking Rue du Bouloi to Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It was cut in 1826 on behalf of two pork butchers from the provinces who had made a fortune in Paris and after whom it is named. Until Rue du colonel Driant was cut in 1915, Passage Véro-Dodat offered a practical shortcut between the Halles and the Palais-Royal, which made it immediately popular.  Restored in the 1980s, this arcade is fascinating with its transparent mirrors, black and white marble paving stones, neoclassical ceiling with gilt mouldings, and wood and bronze shop fronts.

 

 

On entering the arcade from the Rue du Bouloi end, you will walk past the picturesque Café de l’Epoque frequented until 1855 by poet Gérard de Nerval. This café is a most typical, old-fashioned and warm Parisian 'zinc' (zinc bar lending its name to this type of establishment) where you feel at home drinking a glass of Beaujolais or a cream coffee while discussing the day's news. Further on, at number 15, the famous Milanese art publisher, Franco Maria Ricci, continues to exhibit his marvellous magazines in which the reproductions of paintings are works of art in themselves! Number 17, for its part, is the shop of a remarkable stringed-instrument maker. As for the antique dealers located in the arcade, they have a reputation for their very rare Art Deco furniture.

 

Now head towards the legendary Jardin du Palais-Royal, a highly frequented venue under the Ancient Regime and at the time of the Revolution. Until 1828 it was the setting of the famous Galeries de Bois arcades frequented by a throng of artists and courtesans. Historians say these arcades were the ancestor of them all.

 

Facing Rue de Beaujolais, the Grand Véfour restaurant (3 Michelin stars)  is one of the capital's most prestigious, both for its 18th century decor and its cuisine by Guy Martin.

Fifty metres away, the little Passage de Perron arcade houses La Maison Anna Joliet selling marvellous craft music boxes. This arcade with steps connects Place du Palais-Royal to Rue de Beaujolais.

 

A little staircase now leads you to Rue des Petits Champs, opposite the former Bibliothèque Nationale on Rue Vivienne. This district forms a 'golden triangle' between Place du Palais-Royal, the Bourse (stock exchange) and Place des Victoires (laid out in honour of Louis XIV by Jules Hardouin-Mansart) and is one of the most elegant and lively in Paris! Here you will also find Galerie Vivienne. With its mosaic flooring, wraught iron staircases, original glass roof, magnificent rotundas and Empire period decoration, this arcade, listed in the Historic Monuments Inventory, is probably the most elegant of all!  Inaugurated in 1826, it was the Parisians' favourite until the Second Empire, owing to its ideal situation between the Palais Royal and the hard-working districts of the boulevards, Bourse and Chaussée d'Antin.

 

Rare or second-hand book buffs can rummage in the trays at Librairie Jousseaume, before admiring the old watches sold at number 43 and savouring the cheese cake and hot chocolate at 'L'A Priori Thé'. Located between Galerie Vivienne and Rue de la Banque, Caves Legrand wineshop, established in 1919, is a Parisian institution as regards groceries and 'fine wines' (as they were called in the past)…

 

Parallel to Galerie Vivienne, Galerie Colbert was built shortly afterwards on the site of the former Hôtel Colbert (where the Regent Philippe d'Orléans lived). To equal its neighbour, Galerie Colbert had to feature architectural feats, which explains the 15 metre diameter, glazed dome. The latter has been entirely restored by the Bibliothèque des monuments historiques, owner of the arcade since 1974. Between Galerie Colbert and Rue Vivienne, you will appreciate the old-fashioned charm of the brasserie Le Grand Colbert in which the friezes dating back to 1830 have been registered by the Monuments Historiques. Open seven days a week, this Parisian brasserie par excellence is also well known for its beef tartare, home-made chips and rum baba.

 

 

Cut in 1827, this arcade has always been considered as 'simple and modest' in its structure and ornamentation. At number 23 is located the publisher Lemerre which published most of the Parnassians' poems as well as Paul Verlaine's first poems. The Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, inaugurated by Offenbach, is still located in the midst of the shops.

 

 

Now head towards Rue Saint Marc, on the other side of the Bourse. At number 10, there are three inter-connecting arcades that straddle the IInd and IXth districts and form a kind of town in the town! Walking along this strange pedestrian network, you realise the extent to which arcades are still a futuristic concept proving that pathways can be cut through towns, sheltered from noise and cars...

Very lively with its restaurants, postcard sellers and underwear boutiques, Passage des Panoramas was cut in 1799.It owes its name to an attraction that consisted in projecting panoramas of large cities, painted by the American Fulton, on to the walls of a cylindrical room bathed in darkness. This less stylish arcade is still well known today for its philately boutiques. Leading to Boulevard Montmartre, it then continues across the boulevard with Passage Jouffroy which has housed since 1882 the famous Musée Grévin. This arcade, built in 1836 and restored in 1987, is the first to have been entirely built in steel and glass.

 

 

Passage Jouffroy is marvelously poetic with its many boutiques that are all stranger than each other! At number 34, you'll discover Monsieur Segas's amazing boutique of ancient walking sticks priced from 150 to 1,500 euros for a hand-carved ivory stick. A fine Christmas present! Monsieur Segas also organises extremely refined exhibitions of erotic works. Pieces of embroidery, dolls and art books also make Passage Jouffroy highly appreciated by a throng of specialists. Those who love this rare venue can spend a romantic night at Hôtel Chopin where room 409 offers a fine view over the glass roof and dome of Musée Grévin…

 

 

Created in 1846 in the prolongation of Passage Jouffroy, Passage Verdeau connects Rue de la Grange-Batelière to Rue du faubourg-Montmartre. Like its two close neighbours, this arcade had its heyday in the period before the Second Empire when the Parisian bourgeoisie came to show off their wealth on the boulevards which were then the centre of society life and night socialising... Collectors who frequent the close-by Salle Drouot like to come here to rummage in their search for rare books, period newspapers, lead soldiers, antiques, cinema posters, comics or old photos.

 

On the corner of Passage Verdeau and Rue de la Grange-Batelière, I Golozi is both a restaurant and a grocery. You'll find here an excellent selection of products from Italian regions, such as the culatello di Zibello, speck from Tyrol, 24-months dried Parma ham, truffle cheese from Piemont and great balsamic vinegars.

 

 

The arcades located between Boulevard de Sébastopol and Rue Saint-Denis were built after the Restoration. Their architecture is more simple and their style less flamboyant. Some are even almost in ruins. Most have been diverted from their traditional function as a place to stroll and shop, in favour of wholesale trade activities (as is the case in Passages Bourg-l'Abbé, du Ponceau and du Caire, transformed into warehouses). Passage Brady (46 rue du Faubourg-St-Denis) is worth a detour for its exotic ambience: Indians and Pakistanis invested this site in the 1970s. In recent years, it has even become an attraction for American tourists on the lookout for the unusual and 'really plebeian' Paris... Far from picture-postcard Paris, you'll feel a foreign experience here with Indian restaurants fragrant with the smell of incense and tandoori chicken, bazaars, video rental shops, and hairdressers where a man's cut costs merely 6 euros!

 

More stylish, the 120 metre long Passage du Grand Cerf connects Rue Saint-Denis to the now very hip 'Village Montorgueil'. With its three floors rising to a height of 12 metres above ground, it has the highest glass roof in Paris. This amazing arcade houses 33 trendy boutiques of craftsmen, creative artists, interior architects, and designers. Also, not far from this arcade, you'll come across one of the capital's most famous and cosmopolitan pubs: The Frog & Rosbif.

 

* As Jean-Claude Delorme and Anne-Marie Dubois rightly remark, 'In all the history of arcades, the very oriental idea is to be found of the accumulation of wares in a very small space bathed in a singular zenithal light'.  Passages couverts parisiens, éditions Parigramme, 1999.

 

1 euro = approximately 0.67 GBP