Galeries St-Hubert

Galeries St-Hubert Review

There are three parts to this arcade: de la Reine, du Roi, and du Prince (of the queen, the king, and the prince). They were built in 1847 as the world's first covered shopping galleries, thanks to new engineering techniques that allowed architects to use iron girders to design soaring constructions of glass. Neoclassical gods and heroes look down from their sculpted niches on the crowded scene below; flags of many nations billow ever so slightly; and the buskers play classical music, while diffused daylight penetrates the gallery from the glassed arches. The shops, which are generally open Monday-Saturday 10-6, are interspersed with cafés, restaurants, a theater, and a cinema.