Sample of Paris life at 19th century shopping arcades
- Lunchtime can be particularly busy in Passage des Panoramas, where a handful of bars and restaurants compete for limited sidewalk space. Photo: Spud Hilton, The Chronicle
It's impossible to know if the Parisians who designed and built the Passage des Panoramas, a labyrinth-like temple of commerce with iron-and-glass vaulted ceilings and neoclassic arches, foresaw the possibility that it would still be in use two centuries later.
Or that they might be held accountable for the Mall of America.
It's more probable that they saw the value, and profit, in a place for a good long stroll among the necessities, luxuries and diversions of everyday life. A low-key pocket in the unending bustle that is Paris.
Which is how I came to be standing at the entrance to a great-great-grandpapa of modern shopping malls, seeking out Paris, not in its monuments or museums but in the remaining handful of narrow covered passages where Parisians have lurked, laughed, loved and browsed for centuries.
In an epic city that dares first-time visitors to try to do it all, I had to wonder if it's possible to find a broader, less overwhelming Paris in some largely overlooked 19th century arcades.
While not exactly secret, half the experience, apparently, is finding the covered passages. If there are signs pointing to Passage Jouffroy or Galerie Colbert (the way they do to the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre), I didn't see them.
The passages also are lesser known in part because most are in the portions of Paris' 2nd, 9th and 10th arrondissements that hold few other attractions for tourists. As when they were built, they tend to be populated mostly by Parisians seeking refuge from the weather or the bustle of the street.
With the exception of the granite steps that have been worn inches shorter by 190 years of pedestrian traffic, the floor was wall-to-wall neoclassical mosaic designed by Italian artist Giandomenico Facchina in the mid-1800s. For a moment, it seemed wrong to be walking over it, akin to using a van Gogh as a doormat.
Built in 1823, Galerie Vivienne is among the most-refined and best-preserved passages - and the most likely to still appeal to the pre-Revolution residents of the nearby Palais-Royal. Along with a half-dozen interior design shops, a watchmaker, the tony Bistrot Vivienne and a photo gallery are fashionable pret-a-porter boutiques, including shops for Yuki Torii and Jean Paul Gaultier.
At the point where Galerie Vivienne turns left, however, is the longest tenant - Librairie Jousseaume, an antique bookstore that opened to the public about the same time as the passage itself (and possibly before a few of the antique books were written). Inside the hotel-room-size shop, it seemed oddly dim, as though the thousands of volumes were absorbing the light from outmatched fixtures. Every flat surface was stacked with tomes in all sizes, some bound in covers that looked thick enough to stop bullets, leaving separate narrow, winding passages from the door to shelves on the other side and to a bearded man behind a desk stacked a foot deep in periodicals.
I wanted to run my fingers over the red leather binding of a collection by Victor Hugo (possibly printed while the author was still writing), but considered that, like fine art, it was better to look than touch.
Or that they might be held accountable for the Mall of America.
It's more probable that they saw the value, and profit, in a place for a good long stroll among the necessities, luxuries and diversions of everyday life. A low-key pocket in the unending bustle that is Paris.
Which is how I came to be standing at the entrance to a great-great-grandpapa of modern shopping malls, seeking out Paris, not in its monuments or museums but in the remaining handful of narrow covered passages where Parisians have lurked, laughed, loved and browsed for centuries.
In an epic city that dares first-time visitors to try to do it all, I had to wonder if it's possible to find a broader, less overwhelming Paris in some largely overlooked 19th century arcades.
Light, naturally
The idea was sound. City planners in the late 18th century developed covered pedestrian arcades for shopping as an escape from foul weather - and an alternative to foul streets that at the time had too many horses, too few sidewalks and too much sewage in a city with nonfunctioning sanitation. Of the 150 to 200 passages (depending on whom you ask), about 20 or so remain. They fell out of novelty and favor, especially after the city's move toward grand boulevards later in century, and most were demolished or reused.While not exactly secret, half the experience, apparently, is finding the covered passages. If there are signs pointing to Passage Jouffroy or Galerie Colbert (the way they do to the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre), I didn't see them.
The passages also are lesser known in part because most are in the portions of Paris' 2nd, 9th and 10th arrondissements that hold few other attractions for tourists. As when they were built, they tend to be populated mostly by Parisians seeking refuge from the weather or the bustle of the street.
Preserved passage
Despite the rows of faux-marble columns, the fashionable storefronts, sculptures of goddesses and the elegant glass canopy, the first inclination when entering Galerie Vivienne is to look down.With the exception of the granite steps that have been worn inches shorter by 190 years of pedestrian traffic, the floor was wall-to-wall neoclassical mosaic designed by Italian artist Giandomenico Facchina in the mid-1800s. For a moment, it seemed wrong to be walking over it, akin to using a van Gogh as a doormat.
Built in 1823, Galerie Vivienne is among the most-refined and best-preserved passages - and the most likely to still appeal to the pre-Revolution residents of the nearby Palais-Royal. Along with a half-dozen interior design shops, a watchmaker, the tony Bistrot Vivienne and a photo gallery are fashionable pret-a-porter boutiques, including shops for Yuki Torii and Jean Paul Gaultier.
At the point where Galerie Vivienne turns left, however, is the longest tenant - Librairie Jousseaume, an antique bookstore that opened to the public about the same time as the passage itself (and possibly before a few of the antique books were written). Inside the hotel-room-size shop, it seemed oddly dim, as though the thousands of volumes were absorbing the light from outmatched fixtures. Every flat surface was stacked with tomes in all sizes, some bound in covers that looked thick enough to stop bullets, leaving separate narrow, winding passages from the door to shelves on the other side and to a bearded man behind a desk stacked a foot deep in periodicals.
I wanted to run my fingers over the red leather binding of a collection by Victor Hugo (possibly printed while the author was still writing), but considered that, like fine art, it was better to look than touch.
The similarly upscale Galerie Colbert runs a parallel L-shaped course next to Galerie Vivienne, but is home to exhibitions, university annexes and a back door to restaurant Le Grand Colbert, a chi-chi brasserie with film credits in the 2003 Jack Nicholson flick "Something's Gotta Give."
Built in 1799 (rebuilt, revamped and restored many times since), Passage des Panoramas is the oldest remaining arcade, as well as the first building in Paris equipped for gas lighting. It rests on the site of the former Hotel de Montmorency-Luxembourg, and was named for two enormous panoramas inside rotundas that were torn down in 1831.
If each passage represents a different side of Paris life, Panoramas and the connected galleries (Varietes, Feydeau and Saint-Marc) are about average, working locals. And philatelists.
The shops here lean toward small business: affordable clothes, accessories, artist studios and galleries, hairdressers and (since the early days) a critical mass of shops for stamp and postcard collectors. Had I not been hungry, I would have sifted through the bins of antique postcards for hours - one labeled "France," the other "France: Guerre." War.
Toward the end of the lunch rush (possibly an oxymoron in Paris), I took a table at Bistrot des Panoramas that had been placed in front of a stamp shop. The waiter said that when neighboring shops are closed, the restaurants use the space, further filling up an arcade walkway that is little more than 10 feet wide. If there were other tourists in the mostly business and casual lunch crowd, I didn't notice them.
The passage also is the poster child for the romance of early shopping arcades, something that French author Emile Zola used repeatedly in the short story "Nana," about a young Paris prostitute in 1867 who becomes a stage performer. "She adored the Passage des Panoramas. The tinsel of the 'Article de Paris,' the false jewelry, the gilded zinc, the cardboard made to look like leather, had been the passion of her early youth," Zola wrote. "It remained, and when she passed the shop-windows she could not tear herself away from them."
Built in 1846 to dovetail on the popularity of Panoramas, Jouffroy is mentioned in the 1852 "Illustrated Guide to Paris" listing of passages as "one of the most frequented in Paris."
It felt more lively and seemed to hold the promise of low-key entertainment. Some of that has to do with the Musee Grevin next door, a wax museum that opened in 1882 and exits into the covered passage, as well as hanging shop signs that range from traditional to the bizarre.
It appeared there were more out-of-towners, but the bulk of the drifting crowd were young couples with book bags, escaped office workers, pairs of women browsing, older couples with small dogs. Few of the cliches from the tourist bistros on the Left Bank seemed to apply here.
People's gallery
While the passages might be the ancestors of modern commercial malls, any family resemblance between the plate of duck confit and frites in front of me and Hot Dog on a Stick is purely coincidental. I had set aside the day just for hunting passages and, after walking from the Latin Quarter and crisscrossing the 2nd Arrondissement untold times, I welcomed the variety of cuisine and the opportunity to relax and Parisian-watch in Passage des Panoramas.Built in 1799 (rebuilt, revamped and restored many times since), Passage des Panoramas is the oldest remaining arcade, as well as the first building in Paris equipped for gas lighting. It rests on the site of the former Hotel de Montmorency-Luxembourg, and was named for two enormous panoramas inside rotundas that were torn down in 1831.
If each passage represents a different side of Paris life, Panoramas and the connected galleries (Varietes, Feydeau and Saint-Marc) are about average, working locals. And philatelists.
The shops here lean toward small business: affordable clothes, accessories, artist studios and galleries, hairdressers and (since the early days) a critical mass of shops for stamp and postcard collectors. Had I not been hungry, I would have sifted through the bins of antique postcards for hours - one labeled "France," the other "France: Guerre." War.
Toward the end of the lunch rush (possibly an oxymoron in Paris), I took a table at Bistrot des Panoramas that had been placed in front of a stamp shop. The waiter said that when neighboring shops are closed, the restaurants use the space, further filling up an arcade walkway that is little more than 10 feet wide. If there were other tourists in the mostly business and casual lunch crowd, I didn't notice them.
The passage also is the poster child for the romance of early shopping arcades, something that French author Emile Zola used repeatedly in the short story "Nana," about a young Paris prostitute in 1867 who becomes a stage performer. "She adored the Passage des Panoramas. The tinsel of the 'Article de Paris,' the false jewelry, the gilded zinc, the cardboard made to look like leather, had been the passion of her early youth," Zola wrote. "It remained, and when she passed the shop-windows she could not tear herself away from them."
Walking the line
By design, Passage Jouffroy and Passage Verdeau continue the same line as Panoramas. You can stroll a quarter mile through Paris, from the 2nd Arrondissement to the 9th, and only step into the open twice, to cross Boulevard Montmartre and Rue de la Grange Bateliere.Built in 1846 to dovetail on the popularity of Panoramas, Jouffroy is mentioned in the 1852 "Illustrated Guide to Paris" listing of passages as "one of the most frequented in Paris."
It felt more lively and seemed to hold the promise of low-key entertainment. Some of that has to do with the Musee Grevin next door, a wax museum that opened in 1882 and exits into the covered passage, as well as hanging shop signs that range from traditional to the bizarre.
It appeared there were more out-of-towners, but the bulk of the drifting crowd were young couples with book bags, escaped office workers, pairs of women browsing, older couples with small dogs. Few of the cliches from the tourist bistros on the Left Bank seemed to apply here.
Much of the rest of the 460-foot-long passage is a melange of photo galeries, a bakery, small cafes, antique vendors, bookstores, a confectionary, one shop devoted to walking canes and another devoted to dollhouse accessories and miniatures and, at a curious jog in the passage, the front door to the Hotel Chopin. The hotel, with surprisingly inexpensive rooms that run from tiny to tinier, opened in 1846 as one of the first tenants.
I continued to the far end of Jouffroy and across the street to Passage Verdeau, where the architecture and design are essentially the same, but the businesses seemed smaller, more temporary, quirkier and, in general, fewer.
A glass of Bordeaux at the contemporary Le Stube restaurant seemed well timed, but workers already were closing up in late afternoon.
These days the passage is modern art inside an antique frame. Art workshops, design shops and studios line each side, as well as what seemed like a few sole-owner shops with artisan goods - soaps, clothing, accessories - as if the passage is an incubator for independent small businesses. Even the wine bar at the entrance, Le Pas Sage, offers a hip urban vibe.
From Grand Cerf, I exited onto Rue Saint-Denis, one of the oldest streets in Paris, laid out by the Romans in the first century. (While the Romans were a lusty bunch, it's doubtful they could have foreseen the number of sex shops and strip clubs today.)
While Passage du Caire probably is least useful to travelers - the shops are wholesale only - it still reveals a side of Paris, the Sentier neighborhood, known both past and present for the textile and clothing industry. The passage strewn with garment racks and shipping boxes is not as complex as an Egyptian bazaar (Caire is French for Cairo, named at a time of Egypt obsession), but I still managed to get lost in a triangular loop of garment and fabric shops.
What Passage du Caire lacks in classic beauty, is in part offset by the new-ish, artsy Hotel Edgar, a boutique property with just 12 rooms, each designed by a different artist. It seemed like a clear nod, both to the local heritage and to the future.
After only a cursory look at Passage du Prado (remarkable only for being shorter than other covered arcades), eventually I found the well-worn entrance to Passage Brady. My initial skepticism from the physical appearance - crumbling architecture, loose plywood flooring, blue tarps - gave way to astonishment once the aroma hit me. As the passage opened up, I were flanked by restaurants - Palais des Rajpout, Jardin de l'Inde, New Calcutta, La Reine du Kashmir.
Passage Brady, it turned out, is an unofficial Little India, a colorful collection of restaurants, flower vendors, sari shops and convenience stores reflecting the growing Indian, Kashmiri and Pakistani communities in Paris. Also in the two-block passage were hairdressers, spice shops and one costume vendor with a full-size yellow bunny outfit in the window.
I continued to the far end of Jouffroy and across the street to Passage Verdeau, where the architecture and design are essentially the same, but the businesses seemed smaller, more temporary, quirkier and, in general, fewer.
A glass of Bordeaux at the contemporary Le Stube restaurant seemed well timed, but workers already were closing up in late afternoon.
Old frame, new art
More so than any other covered arcade, Passage du Grand Cerf (Big Deer Passage) gives the impression of the height, design and grandeur of a European train station - but without the width of even a single platform. Grand Cerf is the only covered passage left constructed just of iron and glass (gilded in dark woods), reflecting the more industrial nature of the Saint-Denis district, which in the 1830s was filled with small factories and workshops. At 40 feet, it's also the tallest of the arcades, increasing the train station illusion.These days the passage is modern art inside an antique frame. Art workshops, design shops and studios line each side, as well as what seemed like a few sole-owner shops with artisan goods - soaps, clothing, accessories - as if the passage is an incubator for independent small businesses. Even the wine bar at the entrance, Le Pas Sage, offers a hip urban vibe.
From Grand Cerf, I exited onto Rue Saint-Denis, one of the oldest streets in Paris, laid out by the Romans in the first century. (While the Romans were a lusty bunch, it's doubtful they could have foreseen the number of sex shops and strip clubs today.)
Hooked in a loop
Just past Rue du Caire is Passage du Caire, but instead of Old World architecture and shops made for browsing, I found windows full of naked mannequins.While Passage du Caire probably is least useful to travelers - the shops are wholesale only - it still reveals a side of Paris, the Sentier neighborhood, known both past and present for the textile and clothing industry. The passage strewn with garment racks and shipping boxes is not as complex as an Egyptian bazaar (Caire is French for Cairo, named at a time of Egypt obsession), but I still managed to get lost in a triangular loop of garment and fabric shops.
What Passage du Caire lacks in classic beauty, is in part offset by the new-ish, artsy Hotel Edgar, a boutique property with just 12 rooms, each designed by a different artist. It seemed like a clear nod, both to the local heritage and to the future.
Currying flavor
The trail led up Rue Saint-Denis, past the hulking Port Saint-Denis monument at Boulevard Saint-Denis and up Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis (all named for a guy whose miracle was carrying around his own head for a while after it was chopped off).After only a cursory look at Passage du Prado (remarkable only for being shorter than other covered arcades), eventually I found the well-worn entrance to Passage Brady. My initial skepticism from the physical appearance - crumbling architecture, loose plywood flooring, blue tarps - gave way to astonishment once the aroma hit me. As the passage opened up, I were flanked by restaurants - Palais des Rajpout, Jardin de l'Inde, New Calcutta, La Reine du Kashmir.
Passage Brady, it turned out, is an unofficial Little India, a colorful collection of restaurants, flower vendors, sari shops and convenience stores reflecting the growing Indian, Kashmiri and Pakistani communities in Paris. Also in the two-block passage were hairdressers, spice shops and one costume vendor with a full-size yellow bunny outfit in the window.
Soaking in Brady's curry-infused air, it seemed the term "passage" didn't really apply, at least not philosophically. Our experience had not been a tunnel that takes you from one place to another, but of the passage as the destination itself. Passage Brady was our last stop, and Little India was a last petit bite that seemed to round out the experience. I was far from having tasted all of Paris.
It had been a great meal, just the same.
Passage de Choiseul, 40-42 rue des Petit Champs, 2nd, Quartre-Septembre metro stop.
Passage Moliere, 161 rue Saint Martin, 3rd, Rambuteau metro stop.
Passage du Ponceau, 243-245 rue Saint-Denis, 2nd, Reaumur-Sebastopol metro stop.
Hotel Edgar: 31 rue d'Alexandrie, +33(0)1 40 41 05 19, www.edgarparis.com. Also a chic restaurant on the property. Rates start at $212 per night.
Historic Rentals: (800) 537-5408, www.historicrentals.com. Boutique vacation rental firm with private apartments on both sides of the Seine, including one about 10 minutes walk from Passage du Grand Cerf. Weekly rates only, starting at $995.
Bistrot Vivienne: 4, rue des Petits Champs, +33 01 49 27 00 50, www.bistrotvivienne.com. Next to Galerie Vivienne. Entrees: $22-$41.
Le Passage de Pondichery: 87 Passage Brady, +33 1 53 34 63 10, (page on Facebook). Lunch and dinner. Entrees start under $9
It had been a great meal, just the same.
Other passages
Passage des L'Industries, 41 rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, 10th, Strasbourg - Saint-Denis metro stop.Passage de Choiseul, 40-42 rue des Petit Champs, 2nd, Quartre-Septembre metro stop.
Passage Moliere, 161 rue Saint Martin, 3rd, Rambuteau metro stop.
Passage du Ponceau, 243-245 rue Saint-Denis, 2nd, Reaumur-Sebastopol metro stop.
If you go
Getting there
The covered passages described here are in the 2nd, 9th and 10th arrondissements.Where to stay
Hotel Chopin: 10 Blvd. Montmartre, (46 Passage Jouffroy), +33 1 47 70 58 10, www.hotelchopin.fr. Rates start at $120 per night.Hotel Edgar: 31 rue d'Alexandrie, +33(0)1 40 41 05 19, www.edgarparis.com. Also a chic restaurant on the property. Rates start at $212 per night.
Historic Rentals: (800) 537-5408, www.historicrentals.com. Boutique vacation rental firm with private apartments on both sides of the Seine, including one about 10 minutes walk from Passage du Grand Cerf. Weekly rates only, starting at $995.
Where to eat
Bistrot des Panoramas: 10 Passage des Panoramas, +33 01 40 26 76 10. Entrees starting at $10.Bistrot Vivienne: 4, rue des Petits Champs, +33 01 49 27 00 50, www.bistrotvivienne.com. Next to Galerie Vivienne. Entrees: $22-$41.
Le Passage de Pondichery: 87 Passage Brady, +33 1 53 34 63 10, (page on Facebook). Lunch and dinner. Entrees start under $9
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