<BR>This is not our first visit to Paris & so this time we just want to mostly 'wander.'<BR>What do you know about the Passages? Are they worth seeking out & which are the best. What else is in the neighborhood so that we can make the day 'flow.'

Here's a link to an article from the Seattle Times about the passages: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsourc...1&query=CHOPIN <BR><BR>If you do a text search here for "passages and Paris", you'll find lots of threads on the subject.

The following web site for Paris walks has a link for the passages<BR><BR>http://parisinconnu.free.fr/index_us.htm<BR><BR>Here is a little tour you might enjoy.<BR><BR>Take the metro to Grands Boulevards, which is on Blvd. Monmartre. In the next block, heading west, you will see Passage Jouffroy where the Musee Grevin is located. Across the street is the Passage de Panoramas. Right inside is a little restaurant, Le Creperie, which among other things serves delicious coupes [ice cream sundaes]. For the gastronomically challenged there is a tea room a little further down. Bear right through the passage and its various branches to Rue Vivienne and then left. You will pass the Bourse [stock exchange] and the brasserie Le Vaudeville. Take a look at the menu. This is our favorite restaurant and we have dinner there frequently. Further on down, left side, are Galerie Vivienne and Galerie Colbert. These run parallel to each other and the latter contains the rear entrance of Le Grand Colbert., another good restaurant. At the next street, Rue des Petits Camps, you can follow Rue Vivienne to the Palais Royale; or you can go left to the Place des Victoires, with the statue of Louis XIV astride his horse, and bear right to the Passage Vero Dodat. <BR><BR>

France Magazine (www.francemag.com) just did a long artice on the passages. Great pictures. See pages 44 to 51.

I have only been in one of the Passages (I think it was the Passage Vero Dodat). I suspect not all Passages are created equal. The one I went through did not have much life to it. I think there were a few vacancies. I add this not be critical, but to direct you to some of the other Passages, which might have a little more life. <BR>

Thanks to those who answered.<BR><BR>Anyone else had the experience of walking around some of them? Is it worth seeking out? Which did you like the best?

Hi Walker: My detailed trip report on exploring passages from our August trip was a victim of the new and "improved" indexing on the site. <BR><BR>Oh well, I'll summarize. On our last trip to Paris, we did as many passages as we could fit into three and one half days. No, not all passages are created equal. We felt the best ones are around Blvd Montmartre, and our serendipitous experience there was the Musee Grevin, a wax museum (when one drags along kids, one has an excuse to indulge in the tacky--and yes, we liked it). <BR><BR>Our next favorite area was between the Place Vendome and Les Halles. There are a bunch there, and of course, there are tons of things to do and see, plus some very nice restaurants. We liked checking restaurants (like Grand Vefour) that we're not able to afford! We walked from the Marais along the Seine so we could visit all the menagerie shops, went as far as Angelina's for hot chocolate, and then worked our way back doing passages.<BR><BR>Here's my best advice: Do the passages on weekdays. I don't know about the rest of them, but the ones around the Louvre were not bustling on a Saturday afternoon.<BR><BR>I, too, had used some of the resources that posters have listed above (isn't this forum fantastic?), but a good concrete walking plan for our tours ironically came at breakfast at our hotel, le Caron de Beaumarchais. The owner keeps guidebooks stacked around, and "Paris: The Unofficial Guide" had three passages walking tours that I used as final itinerary for each day.<BR><BR>The two non-passage things that we did were to check out the tip of the Ile de la Cite where Simone Signoret and Yves Montand lived and to take the Canal St. Martin ride to check out the Parc Villette.

One of the things I asked Michael Osman to include in our day was the passages. We say 3 -- from a working class one to the most upscale, Galerie Vivienne -- It combines nicely with a stroll through the court of Palais Royal and ALWAYS with a stop for coffee or wine It was WELL worth the time.<BR><BR>Here are some of my pictures from that trip: http://travelswithus.net/june02/paris/passages.html

Several years ago I took along a print out of one of those "passages" tours. We set out on a Saturday morning planning to spend the better part of the day doing the whole thing. Frankly it was very disappointing and after about the first 5 or 6, we just quit. While some were clearly architectural gems at one time, mostly we found them (at least the ones we started with) run down, badly in need of repair, and filled with down and out stores and cafes. I kept thinking, "nothing begins to compare with those spectacular little passages or galleries in London near Picadilly". <BR>Don't get me wrong. It's an OK way to spend a few hours, but maybe I had built it up to be more than it was. I've just enjoyed walking in most of Paris just as much.

Galeries Colbert and Vivienne are well worth a visit, both for their beautifully restored architecture and decor, and for the shopping and eating (Vivienne especially for the shopping). Montand and Signoret lived on the Place Dauphine, one of the best spots in Paris, IMHO.

The passages aren't a highlight of Paris, but if your intent is to wander anyway, you could certainly check them out. My prefered would be the passage Vivienne (but I could be mistaken...I've a big issue with remembering names).<BR><BR><BR>What you could do? You could start from the Tuileries, and if you're interested in jewelry, head to the Place vendome and look at the pieces displayed in the most upscale jeweller shops in Paris Then you could head toward the Palais Royal, and on your way visit the Saint-Roch church. <BR><BR>Go into the garden of the Palais-Royal, which is surrounded by XVII° century (If I remember correctly) buildings. You could check the shops around the garden (a lot of them sell stamps, coins, medals...). At one end of the garden, there's a set of columns of various size which is according to some a masterpiece of modern art, but according to others should be demolished. One column is under the ground level and surrounded by water. People have spontaneously decided that if you throw a coin and that it lands on the column instead of falling in the water it would bring luck, or something like that. It seems tourists love throwing coins on or in things (not only tourists, actually...my coin landed on the column).<BR><BR>From the Palais Royal, you can explore several of the passages we were discussing which are situated in the surrounding streets.<BR><BR>Once done, go to "Les Halles". Roam at your pleasure in the modern garden above, or in the subterranean mall, watch the young crowd which gather in this area. Possibly visit the Saint-Eustache church which is just beside the garden. Then go on your way towards the Pompidou museum of modern art. Decide for yourself if the building is a marvel of architecture or just plain ugly. On a summer day, there would be a lot of entertainers on the plazza in front of the museum (and some pickpockets).<BR><BR>By then you've reached the Marais, which is just east of you. Cross the gay district and the Jewish district, and explore the old streets of the Marais, check some interesting shops, and search for the old mansions ("hotels particuliers"). There are several of them in this district, check your guideboook. The oldest building in Paris should be somewhere around here too.<BR><BR>Now, the mandatory and perfectly preserved XVII° century buildings. If you're lucky there will be musicians (usually classical or jazz) playing under the gallery.<BR><BR>End up on the Place de la Bastille. Check the new Opera and the little marina on the canal St-Martin. Possibly drink something along with the young crowd in one of the latino bars in and around the "rue de la Roquette". From there (if you want more) :<BR><BR>-either follow the "Viaduc des arts" which is a former elevated train line transformed into a long garden-like walk (I hope you're not visiting Paris in winter). Very long. You could follow it and then other gardens practically until the Vincennes wood outside paris. The "Viaduc" is at roof-level. It's really a pleasant walk when the weather is fine, there are flowers, etc..<BR><BR>-Either come back to the Seine river, checking the renaissance "Hotel de Sens" on your way, cross the Seine and visit the Ile-Saint-Louis (with a mandatory stop at Berthillon (a famous ice-cream shop, for people who wouldn't know).<BR><BR>I think such an itinerary would allow you to see very varied areas of the downtown Paris, with a different athmosphere, different crowd, etc...<BR><BR>

I forgot part of a sentence in the above post :<BR><BR>Just before the Bastille, I was refering to "the mandatory PLACE DES VOSGES and its perfectly preserved XVII° century buildings".<BR><BR>And by the way, just before the Place des Vosges, you should cross the charming "Place du Marche Sainte-Catherine" (a very long name for a little plazza) surrounded by cafes.<BR>

Wow, Clair...cutting and pasting for my next trip. Thanks for the info.