Has anyone ever visited the passages of Paris? I have never made time for it in my past visits, but they seem rather intriguing. I believe most (if not all) are in the area surrounding the Louvre. Is it worth it to set aside an afternoon? Thanks.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Absolutely! They're an especially great way to spend the time on a rainy day, but I wouldn't skip them just because the sun was shining. It sticks in my pea brain that they shut down late afternoon or early evening and most are not open on ....Sunday?
Posted by
Lebanon
711 posts
The passages are wonderful, but they are not all right around the Louvre. We take the metro to Bourse. That is the stock exchange building I believe. It is hard to find the beginnings of the passages, but someone can show you and they are on a good map of the arrondisements.You can go through 4-5 passages. They are quite worthwhile. I collect handcolored French postcards from the early 1900,' and there several good postcard shops. My husband collects old photo memorabilia and there are several shoppes for that as well as a shop in the village St. Paul.
Posted by
OP
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
355 posts
Thanks so much for your feedback. I will be in Paris the first week of October, and I am definitely going to fit it in.
Thanks again!
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
For the record: Steve's quote in the odd type face is lifted from
http://www.forbeginners.info/paris/shopping/
and has nothing to do with the opening hours of the shops in the passages.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1864 posts
See if you can find a book called Romantic Paris by Thirza Vallois. The whole book is enjoyable and useful (a rare combination). One of her walking tour descriptions is about the passages. She lists seven of them: Galerie Vero-Dodat,in the first; Galerie Colbert, Galerie Vivianne, and Passage du Grand-Cert in the 2nd; Passage Jouffroy and Passage Verdeau in the 9th; and Passage Brady in the 10th arrondisements. I haven't visited any yet, but intend to do so this summer.