THE COVERED SECRETS PASSAGES OF PARIS – FRANCE – Paris, France

EXPERIENCE:

The covered galleries were in vogue at the beginning of the 19th century, they made it possible to do your shopping while being protected from bad weather, mud and the danger of the Parisian streets. The tour will start at the new bridge, at the foot of the statue of Henri IV. The Pont Neuf or Pont-Neuf is, despite its name, the oldest existing bridge in Paris. We will head towards the Paris Stock Exchange: a circular building surmounted by a dome. At the approximate location was the Hôtel de Soissons which belonged, at the beginning of the 13th century, to Jean II de Nesles. We will then reach the Vero-Dodat passage. In 1826, two investors, the charcutier Benoît Véro and the financier Dodat, had this neo-classical passageway built between the Palais-Royal and the Halles. It offered a pleasant shortcut between these two places, which were very popular at the time, and was quickly adopted by the public We will continue with the Palais Royal built for the Cardinal de Richelieu by the architect Lemercier, builder of the Sorbonne, the main body (1634), facing the Louvre, became a royal residence (Regency of Anne of Austria) then of the Orléans family from 1661. The work was completed and remodeled in the 18th and 19th centuries. The three wings that close the sides of the garden date from the end of the 18th century. We will thus arrive at the Galerie Vivienne. It was built in 1823 and was originally called the “Galerie Marchoux” but before its inauguration in 1826 it was quickly renamed “Galerie Vivienne”, because this gallery connects rue Vivienne and rue des petits champs. Its success comes above all from its location, because it allows easy access to the galleries of the royal palace, these galleries are in the 19th century a high place of celebration, gambling and prostitution. It is also the first underfloor heated walkway. We will arrive at the Passage Verdeau, opened in 1846 by the Société du Passage Jouffroy, it was named after one of the members of this society. In the extension of the Jouffroy and Panoramas passages, it is one of the clearest and most airy passages, with its high glass roof in the shape of a fishbone and a very refined design of neo-classical lines. Since the opening of the Hôtel Drouot, the Passage has attracted many collectors. In addition to old books, we find in this passage, second-hand cameras, antique furniture, embroidery. There are also several restaurants and tea rooms. We will end this walking tour near the Grands Magasins, on the famous Boulevard Haussmann, named after the famous Baron Haussmann, then prefect of Paris and who transformed the City under the Second Empire.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

Pont Neuf Les Halles
La Bourse
Passage Vero-Dodat
Palais Royal

Discover top places to stay, exciting tours, and unforgettable events in Paris, and popular cities like France.