Galerie Vivienne

Galerie Vivienne Review

The grande dame of Paris's 19th-century passages couverts, or covered arcades, this beautifully restored gallery, with its tiled floor, will send you back to a time of gaslights and horse-drawn carriages. Parisians came to passages like this one to escape the muddy streets, and to see and be seen browsing the boutiques under the glass-and-iron roofs—the world's first shopping malls. Today, the Galerie Vivienne still attracts top-flight shops such as Jean-Paul Gaultier (6 rue Vivienne) and the high-quality secondhand clothes seller La Marelle (No. 21), as well as boutiques selling accessories, housewares, and fine wine. The Place des Victoires, a few steps away, is one of Paris's most picturesque squares. In the center is a statue of an outsized Louis XIV (1643-1715), the Sun King, who appears almost as large as his horse.