Visit to the Passages couverts de Paris Activity

A visit to a little-known part of the capital!

Shields of glass and metal, "romantic shortcuts" in a Paris that was thought to have disappeared, the passages or galleries were born in the 19th century. Celebrating the pleasures of commerce and shopping, they were built in Paris, mostly on the right bank. Now replaced by the department stores of which they are contemporaries, there are only about twenty passages left today that bear witness to the bygone splendours of a capital that was then in the throes of upheaval.

Born of the speculative fever after the French Revolution, the passages and galleries were quickly adopted by Parisians.

Safe, aesthetic and comfortable, they were reserved for the exclusive use of pedestrians who discovered a new architecture in a Paris that looked like a medieval city.

Sentiments of freedom, equality and leisure long coveted, they are also elegant shortcuts where the whole of Paris is concentrated.

Privileged places for strolling, film sets, these "bazaars" or "souks", Parisian version, hold many secrets for us.

• Guided tour