Covered passages guided tour
The covered galleries are part of the gems of the north side of the Seine, the so called “legs of Paris” due to the commercial activity that takes place there. Only a few remain today in the capital (around twenty) but most have kept a uniqueness and charm typical of the time they were built, during the first half of the XIXth century.
Guided tour of the covered passages: Innovative architecture for the time, built of steel and glass, the covered galleries were an investment for the parisian bourgeoisie, with the land bought up formerly occupied by convents or private mansions in ruins. For XIXth century consumers they were a possibility to find all sorts of merchandise in the same place, out of the rain and away from the muddy and dirty streets!
Novelty shops sold fashion accessories or exotic products. Clocks, sometimes still in place and gas lighting ensured the comfort of the clients in every regard!
What does a guided tour of the covered passages with With’art include?
From the Palais Royal, we will travel through these covered galleries to the Grands Boulevards. During this visit, you will walk along peaceful corridors, headquarters of the first newspapers, reading rooms and other living spaces: restaurants, bars and concert halls, symbols of modernity in XIXth century Paris.
Unfortunately, many of them are now distroyed but approximatively twenty covered galleries are remaining in the city. Many of them are still completely empty of tourists !