GALERIE VIVIENNE

If you like shopping you can of course go to Galéries Lafayette or Printemps or huge shopping centres such as Quatre Temps at La Défense, but almost it’s as if you’re travelling back in time when you take a stroll through some of the finest shopping “passages” in Paris.

Nowadays, at the time of department stores, shopping centres and impersonal shops, these passages and galleries, unquestionably, preserved the charm of the Paris of yesterday. They make it possible to the visitors, to evolve in a privileged environment, and to go back in time for a moment.

The Galerie Vivienne is one of them. It was constructed in 1823 by Marchoux, at the time president of the Chambre des Notaires; he acquired for this purpose no. 6 rue Vivienne, no. 4 rue des Petits Champs, and the Passage des Petits-Pères, which were all joined together in a single complex just behind the Bibliothèque Nationale.

Initially called after Marchoux, the arcade soon changed its name to Galerie Vivienne and was opened to the public in 1826 as a commercial area that housed fashionable shops. Because of its central location it quickly became very popular and was much frequented.

The galleries often go by pair, one being often located at the immediate proximity of another, even if both can be very different. Almost adjacent to the Galerie Vivienne and dating from the same period is Galerie Colbert (6, rue des Petits-Champs - 4, rue Vivienne.)

Other "Galeries" are : Galerie Véro-Dodat (8, rue du Bouloi - 19, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau) with its antique dealers, Passage Bourg-l'Abbé (120, rue Saint Denis - 3 rue de Palestro), Passage Choiseul (42, rue des Petits-Champs - 25, rue Saint Augustin), Passage Jouffroy (10, boulevard Montmartre - 9, rue Grange-Batelière), Passage du Grand-Cerf (place Goldoni - 145, rue Saint-Denis), Passage des Panoramas (11, boulevard Montmartre - 10, rue Saint-Marc), Passage Verdeau (6, rue Grange-Batelière - 31 bis, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre), Galerie Royale (9, rue Royale - rue Boissy-d'Anglas), Passage de Retz (rue Charlot - rue Pasturelle), Vendôme gallery (3 rd district), Berryer Passage (between Rue Royale and rue Boissy d'Anglas), Passage Molière (between rue Quincampoix and rue St Martin), Passage St Andre-Rohan (between rue St Andre des Arts and Boulevard Saint Germain).

At Galerie Vivienne make sure you check out Jean Paul Gaultier store, the hand made bags by Natere, the magnificent flower arrangements of Emilio Robba, interesting watches at Garde Temps, or get an unusual bottle of wine at Legrand – filles et fils.

Enjoy,

HK