Paris Walks : The Passages Couverts of Paris

With Christmas calling, garlands and decorations spreading all around, nowhere better to head but the old Passages Couverts!

Which district of Paris was the first equivalent of London’s West End or New York’s Broadway? What was the location the original Opera, that was attracting crowds long before the flamboyant Palais Garnier? Where did you meet with friends, go shopping, dine before a show and grab a bite after some endless play?

Did the success of the Palais Royal’s galleries spread north? Was there anywhere you could seek refuge when the skies suddenly opened over that busy thoroughfare that is now the rue des Petits Champs? Did the truly chic mingle with the bourgeoisie? What did all the folks up from the provinces first set eyes on as they descended all stiff and hungry from the long haul from their remote villages to the great beehive of a capital?

To these and many other questions we will attempt to give answers, together with descriptions, details and of course lots of anecdotes connecting people’s past with the present time in the glorious (and recently renovated, bringing it back to its’ original beauty!) Gallerie Viviene and Passage Colbert. The smells, colours and reflections of forgotten malls, secret corridors and exotically named corners will take us back to the days of Balzac, Zola and Hugo, when every child dreamed of toys from the Passage Choiseul and every fan would queue for a glimpse of the great Rachel as she returned exhausted to her apartment in the little universe of the Passage Verot Dodat.