The covered passages of Paris () are an early form of shopping arcade built in Paris, France, primarily during the first half of the 19th century. In recent years French author Patrice de Moncan has found historical proof of the existence of up to 50 covered passages in Paris (number that seems to have been inflated from 100 to 185 in older references) but many were demolished during Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Only 25 survived into the 21st century, all but one are in the arrondissements (municipal districts) on the Right Bank of the Seine.
The common characteristics of the covered passages is that they link at least two streets, have glass ceilings and are pedestrianised, artificially illuminated at night (initially with gas lamps), privately owned, highly ornamented and decorated, and lined with small shops on the ground floor. The passages’ upper floors usually had apartments. Originally, to keep the passages clean, each would have at the entrance an artiste de décrottage (a ‘shoe cleaning artist’).
The passages have served as centers of social interaction: Alfred de Musset frequented the Galerie Vérot-Dodat when visiting a famous actress. Eugène-Francois Vidocq, the father of criminology and of the French police system, lived in the Galerie Vivienne in 1840. As a child, Louis-Ferdinand Céline lived in the Passage Choiseul. The passages were the subject of Walter Benjamin's incomplete magnum-opus Das Passagen-Werk (Arcades Project) which was posthumously published.
They should be distinguished from other Parisian roads also called passages but whose route runs in the open air.
List of currently accessible passages The following table lists the covered passages that still exist and remain accessible to the public.
District Name Date Entrance Hours Heritage listing Length Image 1 1820 6 rue de Beaujolais 5 rue des Petits-Champs 33m 1 1826 19 rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau 2 rue du Bouloi Monday-Saturday (except public holidays) 0700-2200 80m 2 1826 9-11 rue Léopold-Bellan 8 rue Bachaumont Closed to the public 90m 2 1828 120 rue Saint-Denis 3 rue de Palestro Monday-Saturday 0700-1900 47m 2 1798 33 rue d'Alexandrie 2 place du Caire 237-239 rue Saint-Denis 14, 34 et 44 rue du Caire Monday-Friday 0700-1800 360m 2 1829 40 rue des Petits-Champs 23 rue Saint-Augustin 40 rue Dalayrac Passage Sainte-Anne 190m 2 1826 6 rue des Petits-Champs 2 rue Vivienne 83m 2 1825 145 rue Saint-Denis 10 rue Dussoubs Monday-Saturday 0800 - 2000 117m 2 1800 10 rue Saint-Marc 11 boulevard Montmartre 38 rue Vivienne 151 rue Montmartre 0600-2400 133m 2 1826 119 boulevard de Sébastopol 212 rue Saint-Denis Monday-Friday 8-9 92m 2 1860 (originaly closed in 1985 and rebult in 1995) 5 boulevard des Italiens 97-99 rue de Richelieu Monday-Saturday 0800 - 2000 80m 2 1829 59-61 rue Sainte-Anne Passage Choiseul 47m 2 1823 4 rue des Petits-Champs 6 rue Vivienne 5 rue de la Banque 0800 - 2000 176m 3 1791 82 rue Quincampoix 157, 159, 161 rue Saint-Martin 46m 3 1827 16 rue Béranger 3 place de la République Monday-Friday 0700 - 2000 Saturday 0800 - 2000 57m 6 1776 59 rue Saint-André-des-Arts 21 rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie 130 boulevard Saint-Germain 120m 8 1845 9 place de la Madeleine 30 rue Boissy-d'Anglas Monday-Saturday (except public holidays) 0800-1900 53m 8 1839 33 rue de l'Arcade 28 rue Pasquier Monday-Friday 0700 - 2400 29m 9 1845 69 rue de Caumartin 109 rue Saint-Lazare 115m 9 1845 10-12 boulevard Montmartre 9 rue de la Grange-Batelière 0700 - 2100 140m 9 1847 6 rue de la Grange-Batelière 31 bis rue du Faubourg-Montmartre Monday-Friday 0700 - 2100 Saturday-Sunday 0700 - 2000 75m 10 1828 43 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin 22 boulevard de Strasbourg 33 boulevard de Strasbourg (covered section) 46 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis 216m 10 1830 16 16 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis 0900 - 1900 120m
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