austine

Can anyone tell me what the Passages are in Paris? Are they shopping areas?

Kate2

They are covered passages or galleries. Sort of enclosed shopping centers . Mostly found in the 1st 2nd & 9th -some expensive, some not too.

cigalechanta

there are shops, restaurants and various services in some. Here's the list.
http://www.parisinconnu.com/passages/index.htm

monpetit

Go to a precedent post by Degas : passage in paris : a great rainy day activity. He explains passages and give a terrific itinerary with comments on
thez shops in each passage...
Erik

walkinaround

they are alleys and the word passage should not imply a shopping arcade. they are not necessarily covered.

although as other posters said some do contain upscale shops. sometimes you get a group of the same type of businesses (Example, passage brady which is filled with asian restaurants). others contain a mix of industrial things with a shop or restaurant or two.

JulieVikmanis

I love the passages. Finding them takes you into different areas of town and increases you knowledge (and love) of Paris. Makes you feel like you really are starting to know the real city, not just the tourist parts. I expect that a search using passages and Paris on this forum should yield a lot of information to help you plan a tour of them. enjoy.

degas

This thread covers some you will like, but there are others. Have a good time exploring them.


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34455833

Judy

"Walking Paris" by Gilles Desmons details 30 walks in & around Paris. One walk is the Passages....we're going to do this next week.
The book is a packable size and has some great walks.

Chatters

That's a good one, Judy!! I also made copies of certain chapters from Desmons's book "Walking Paris". Some of the passages were absolutely fabulous, yet another wonderful layer to that incredible place that is Paris!!

RonZ

I think this is in the noted thread, but google for passages couverts and click on the english translation.

Gretchen

While some are not covered, the ones that are are often glass covered and beautiful shopping arcades.

nonnafelice

Last Christmas we stayed in a hotel (Mercure Ronceray) whose entrance was inside the Passage Jouffroy. Here's another good article about the Passages:

http://www.metropoleparis.com/2003/851/851pass.html

Robespierre

Between the Rue de la Huchette and Quai Saint-Michel and just west of Petit Pont, there is a little alley called la Rue du Chat qui Pêche (Fishing-cat Street). It's about four feet wide, and contains no doors into the buildings on either side. It struck me as a conspicuous waste of valuable real estate because it had not been claimed by the adjacent landowners.

My Parisian friend says it's the smallest "street" in town. Does anyone know of other similar? Or, for that matter, how something like this might come to be?

cigalechanta

if you click on the url I posted here, you will see photos of each passage you click on, some are very beautiiful.

JulieVikmanis

cigalechanta, Thanks so much for the site. I've added it to my favorites. Hope to explore them all in future trips.

Christina

Robespierre, I have an amateur interest in French history and architectural history, so have a lot of books on that, including some French ones. I could only find a little bit on rue du Chat qui Peche, which isn't that unusual, but I'll tell you.

First, you know that is the very oldest part of Paris and in medieval times, a lot of streets were very narrow and small. This is just one that has remained. It may be the smallest "street" but there are several there seem very close runners-up, in the central area of Latin Quarter or the center islands, or around Les Halles or the Louvre. I think its main claim to fame in that regard is just that it may be the smallest one that the city is labelling "rue", as others that size are often called impasse or something. There are others that are pretty small, also, like Rue Chantres on Ile de la Cite, which is one of the oldest medievl parts of Paris. There are other small streets around the Latin Quarter, especially near the Sine (like rue des Grands Degres).

This street was originally named rue des Etuves (which means steambaths) because that area was known for its public baths. I have books with some photos from late 1800s around that area and St Germain just over the border (near St Andre des Arts) and there were buildings of public baths there, also.

Historically, the think the name is a distortion of two words -- pesca and gat (this isn't terribly unusual, for a name to be turned into a French word that just sounds similar to other words, not the same meaning). I don't know Latin, but suspect those are Latin words given that is the origin of many French words and the history of the city.

Those words for the street were in reference to it being a "fish landing stage" as it is right near the Seine and there were a lot of fishmongers around there and shops or displays selling fish. By the end of the 14th century, it was renamed to something that roughly means "alley where one goes to the fish shops".

It's really just an alley, so I do think it gets to be known for being the smallest street just because it has managed to keep the term "rue" in its name (and not having disappeared from urban renewal), rather than a small narrow street being unique in medieval Paris. Now it's so wellknown, they probably can't change it.

Le Chat qui Peche seems to be a popular name in France for auberges or restaurants, I've seen several of them. I hate in one in Honfleur which was also right near the port. There used to be a wellknown jazz club in Paris by that name (but I don't think it exists any more) and there is still a restaurant with that name near there.

That's all I know.

tondalaya

cig, great reference for us. other lady above, you do go on, nothing to do about passages.

Robespierre

Christina -

Thank you! Mystery solved. I've seen that name elsewhere, too. The sign on a Montelimar inn shows a cat with one paw reaching into a pool with a fish in it.

cigalechanta

You're welcome julie and Ton. It's the best site on passages I've found.

austine

Thanks for all the info. Are the passages open on Sundays?