Covered passages of Paris explained

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’).

Alfred de Musset frequented the Galerie Vérot-Dodat when visiting a famous actress.

Eugène-Francois Vidocq, the father of criminology and of the French police system, lived in the Galerie Vivienne in 1840.

As a child, Louis-Ferdinand Céline lived in the Passage Choiseul.

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		1820	6 rue de Beaujolais 5 rue des Petits-Champs			33m
1		1826	19 rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau 2 rue du Bouloi	Monday-Saturday (except public holidays) 0700-2200		80m
2		1826	9-11 rue Léopold-Bellan 8 rue Bachaumont	Closed to the public		90m
2		1828	120 rue Saint-Denis 3 rue de Palestro	Monday-Saturday 0700-1900		47m
2		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		1829	40 rue des Petits-Champs 23 rue Saint-Augustin 40 rue Dalayrac Passage Sainte-Anne			190m
2		1826	6 rue des Petits-Champs 2 rue Vivienne	Accès permanent			83m
2		1825	145 rue Saint-Denis 10 rue Dussoubs	Monday-Saturday 0800 - 2000		117m
2		1800	10 rue Saint-Marc 11 boulevard Montmartre 38 rue Vivienne 151 rue Montmartre	0600-2400		133m
2		1826	119 boulevard de Sébastopol 212 rue Saint-Denis	Monday-Friday 8-9		92m
2		1860	5 boulevard des Italiens 97-99 rue de Richelieu	Monday-Saturday 0800 - 2000		80m
2		1829	59-61 rue Sainte-Anne Passage Choiseul			47m
2		1823	4 rue des Petits-Champs 6 rue Vivienne 5 rue de la Banque	0800 - 2000		176m
3		1791	82 rue Quincampoix 157, 159, 161 rue Saint-Martin			46m
3		1827	16 rue Béranger 3 place de la République	Monday-Friday 0700 - 2000 Saturday 0800 - 2000		57m
6		1776	59 rue Saint-André-des-Arts 21 rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie 130 boulevard Saint-Germain			120m
8		1745	24 rue Boissy-d'Anglas 24 rue Royale			95m
8		1926	76-78 avenue des Champs-Élysées 59 rue de Ponthieu	Accès permanent			120m
8		1845	9 place de la Madeleine 30 rue Boissy-d'Anglas	Monday-Saturday (except public holidays) 0800-1900		53m
8		1839	33 rue de l'Arcade 28 rue Pasquier	Monday-Friday 0700 - 2400		29m
9		1845	69 rue de Caumartin 109 rue Saint-Lazare			115m
9		1845	10-12 boulevard Montmartre 9 rue de la Grange-Batelière	0700 - 2100		140m
9		1847	6 rue de la Grange-Batelière 31 bis rue du Faubourg-Montmartre	Monday-Friday 0700 - 2100 Saturday-Sunday 0700 - 2000		75m
10		1828	43 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin 22 boulevard de Strasbourg 33 boulevard de Strasbourg (covered section) 46 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis	Accès permanent			216m
10		1830	16 boulevard Saint-Denis 16 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis	0900 - 1900		120m

Further reading

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

External links

• Web site: Paris's top 10 hidden shopping passages. The Guardian.
• Web site: Le charme parisien des passages couverts. ParisInfo. fr.

Notes and References

1. Book: Joanne . Adolphe Laurent . The Diamond Guide for the Stranger in Paris ... . 1867 . L. Hachette & Company . 90 . en.
2. Web site: Découvrez la magie des galeries et passages couverts parisiens . 2023-08-31 . www.paris.fr . fr.