Paris Passages
Wander through these glass roofed shopping galleries from the 1800s. They’re filled with independent and interested shops, ranging from knife sharpeners to candy shops.
Passage Verdeau (6 Rue de la Grange Batelière)
Passage Jouffroy (10-12 Boulevard Montmartre), gets crowded because of the wax museum next door, but it remains a prime location for Instagram pictures. Have a meal upstairs at Le Valentin and you can watch the entire gallery from the couches.
-Librairie du Passage, one of the oldest bookstores in Paris. Look for the owner, Jean-Luc Langlaude, and ask him to show you the collection in his private office with its fancy windows.
Passage des Panoramas (11 Boulevard Montmartre), one of the oldest surviving passages, built in 1800.
-Have (a pricey) lunch at the Caffè Stern
Passage Des Princes (5 Boulevard des Italiens)
Galerie Vivienne (6 rue Vivienne, near 4 Rue des Petits Champs), hard to find because there are no signs, but shouldn’t be missed. Look for shops with antique maps, prints, books and photographs.
Galerie Véro-Dodat (19 rue Jean Jacques Rousseau)
Passage du Grand Cerf (145 rue Saint-Denis)
-Shop: L’Illustre Boutique, for stationary and prints
Passage de l’Ancre (223 rue Saint-Marin or 30 rue Turbigo), with it’s cute umbrella shop