Description

Come and discover the most exotic covered passages, travel to the Orient without leaving Paris, and experience their atmospheres, both past and present. Paris without its covered passages would not be Paris. They witnessed the life of our capital from the beginning of the 19th century. Their construction spanned from the end of the 18th century until the Second Empire. In 1850, there were about fifty in Paris. A little over ten remain today.<br><br> Witnesses to a Paris in full swing, they were the forerunners of modern shopping arcades, but with more charm. They experienced the innovations and fashions of the first half of the 19th century: the use of metallurgy, gas lighting, cafés, restaurants, and theaters. Parisians of all social classes gathered there, strolling from shop to shop, chatting in cafés, enjoying themselves at the theater or in cabarets, relaxing in the baths, searching for their soulmate or a "swallow"...<br><br> Today, these covered passages have preserved moving traces of this rich past and are experiencing new chapters with their restaurants and unique shops.<br><br> During this stroll along Rue Saint-Denis, we will visit six arcades with an oriental atmosphere. You will discover Hindu, Middle Eastern, and Egyptian worlds, as well as fabric shops, artisans, and one of the oldest and most beautiful covered passages in Paris.<br><br>