Passage des Panoramas

Passage des Panoramas

We continue north along Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victories and turn left into the glass-covered Galerie Montmartre.

This is a labyrinth of passages, known from the most important of them, which runs southward from Boulevard Montmartre to Rue Saint-Marc. These glass-roofed passages were opened in 1799 and preserve their time-honoured dignity. The best known is the Passage des Panoramas.

Passage Choiseul

These passages or galleries were the forerunners of modern malls. People can shop there without the noise and danger and pollution from car traffic.

Passage Choiseul

After inspecting the galleries we return to the Bourse and at its southern end turn to the right into Rue du Quatre Septembre. When we reach Rue de Choiseul, we turn left, walk to the end of that street and continue into one more of the long passages, Passage Choiseul.

This glass-covered shopping passage has some elegant shops and lots of customers.

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Passage de Caire

Passage de Caire

We walk past the west fronts of the two churches and turn left to cross Square Émile Chautemps to enter the first passage, Passage du Ponceau. From the other end of the passage we turn a few steps to the left into the prostitution street Rue Saint-Denis and then turn right into Passage du Caire.

Passage de Caire

This long shopping passage from 1800 has become dilapidated but still keeps some of its initial charm. In a small widening near the far end of it rascals once congregated and caroused at nights, but during daytime they worked the city feigning blindness and other disabilities. Here the decorations are Egyptian

This long shopping passage from 1800 has become dilapidated but still keeps some of its initial charm. In a small widening near the far end of it ras
cals once congregated and caroused at nights, but during daytime they worked the ci
ty feigning blindness and other disabilities. Here the decorations are Egyptian.

Bourse

After leaving the passage at the other end we take Rue du Nil or Rue d’Aboukir to Rue Réaumur where we turn right and walk westwards. Here live many Arabs who have probably been attracted to the street names in this area which have been here since Napoleon came from his Egyptian campaign. Walking 400 meters we arrive at the Bourse.

The Neoclassic stock exchange was built 1801-1826 with Corinthian columns on all sides. From a balcony we can perceive the lively business on the exchange floor. It sometimes resembles a riot rather than bourgeois law and order.

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Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs

We turn again to the right and walk Rue au Maire to Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs.

A Romanesque church built in the 12th C. in honour of the saint who is now better known as Santa Claus. It is mainly Gothic, with Renaissance parts, the remains of a disappeared Benedictine monastery.

Almost alongside it is Saint-Martin-des-Champs, a Romanesque church from 1130, also a part of the same monastery complex. The back of the chancel is the only remains of the original style.

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Bourse du Commerce

Almost beside the church, on the other side of the building site, there is the circular Bourse de Commerce.

The circular building with a dome is the commodities exchange with a lively trading in flour, sugar, wine, coffee and cocoa.

Here we end this walk. The Forum des Halles metro station is nearby.

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Forum des Halles

If we can break away, we leave and continue westwards along Rue Aubry Boucher and Rue Berger to the new shopping centre Forum des Halles.

The Forum has been built on four floors, mainly underground, replacing the former famous food market for wholesalers, Halles, which has been transferred out to the Rungis at the Orly airport. This has been a marketplace since 1100. Forum now houses a lot of shops, including outlets of fashion houses, and cafés, in a rectangle around a sunken, open square.

On the other side of Forum des Halles is a big building site. It is planned to have there both under ground and above ground similar futuristic buildings in the style of Forum. We also see the same style in new apartment buildings around. This style could be called a waterfallism of glass and steel.

Forum itself is a lively place. Its central square attracts many people. Still, the French preserve the old when they build into the future. Where Rue Berger meets Forum, the area around the Innocents fountain has been conserved.

Saint-Eustache

Saint-Eustace & Forum des Halles

Behind the steel and glass we glimpse Saint-Eustache, which is our next stop on this walk.

The second biggest church of Paris and also one of the finest, built in 1532-1640 in Gothic style with Renaissance decorations. The west front was built much later, in 17th C. style, the south tower still missing. The noble transept façade, which we see from Forum, is Renaissance, extensively decorated and flanked by two slender staircase towers.

The interior is solemnly and extensively decorated among Gothic columns and buttresses. The gems are the organ and the acoustics. Many a concert has been held here, including first performances of music by Liszt and Berlioz. Te Deum was introduced here.

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Palais Beaubourg

Centre Pompidou, Palais Beaubourg

We turn our attention to Palais Beaubourg.

This was once the most controversial building in the world and has for a long time been one of the most popular museums in the world, opened in 1977.

Centre Pompidou, Palais Beaubourg

The palace itself has the appearance of a colourful oil refinery, all covered with ducts, big and small. Each colour represents a purpose, yellow for electricity, red for people and goods, green for water and blue for air-conditioning. The ducts are in a steel frame which is not covered on the outside. The palace was designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano.

Centre Pompidou

We enter Centre Pompidou.

Inside there are a few museums. The most famous is the museum of modern art, one of the biggest museums of 20th C. art, a revelation for enthusiasts. The importance stems partly from French painters having been in the vanguard of modern art. This museum is on the 3rd and 4th floors. In a part of the 4th floor are shown the works of contemporary artists, partly avant gardists.

The museum covers mainly the history of 20th C isms, starting where impressionism left off. Exhibited are cubism and fauvism, abstract geometrism and expressionism, dada and surrealism, pop and conceptualism, etc. This history is clearly set forth in the museum and is in itself an excuse enough for a Paris visit.

Beaubourg also houses a branch of the famous film museum in Palais Chaillot, having a continuous run of vintage films. Also there are concerts, lectures and plays. The action is always on in the museum and it has proved to be one of the most successful museums of art in the world, a real pan-artistic museum. About 10 million people visit each year. Not to be forgotten is the view.

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Place Pompidou & Beaubourg

Place Pompidou

We retrace our steps out of the alley, turn right and continue to Place Pompidou.

The square in front of Palais Beaubourg is a a lively place. Musical performers and circus artists show their talents for big and small crowds. At the end of the performance the artists walk around with their hats.

Last time that we walked through on a sunny morning a fire swallower and a music band of eight took care of the happenings. This is a good diversion for those who want to spend the day in the culture of the amazingly good museum of Beaubourg.

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Palais Soubise

Palais Soubise and Hôtel de Rohan

We continue to the end of Rue des Rosiers and turn a few steps to the right where there is a tiny garden behind Notre-Dame-des-Blancs-Manteaux. We cross the garden past the church and turn left into Rue des Francs-Bourgeois to the National Archives in Palais Soubise and Hôtel de Rohan.

Hotel de Rohan

Archives Nationales are housed in many adjoining buildings. The best known are Hôtel de Rohan, facing Rue Vielle du Temple, and Palais Soubise, facing us. That palace was built in 1705 in the style of Louis XV. It has a horseshoe shaped garden in front.

Rue Pierre au Lard & Beaubourg

The museum houses 280 kilometres of shelves carrying six billion of state documents. Historic exhibitions are also held in Palais Soubise

Rue Pierre au Lard

From the museum we go to the next corner and there turn left Rue des Archives until we arrive at Rue Sainte-Croix-Bretonnerie, where we turn right. Just before we come to Palais Beaubourg we turn right into a crooked alley, Rue Pierre au Lard.

The ancient and dilapidated walls of the alley contrast with the avant-garde landmark of Palais Beaubourg in front of us.

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Hotel Carnavalet

Hotel Carnavalet

We leave the square at its north west corner and walk Rue des Francs-Bourgeois to Hôtel Carnavalet at our right.

Built in 1644 when the Mannerist style was developing into the French Château style. It was given its appearance by the well known architect Mansart. The original part of the mansion was built around a courtyard which is behind the main entrance. Later other wings were added so that the palace became a square and a crucifix around four courtyards.

The palace is now a museum of the history of Paris with exquisite antique furniture

Rue des Rosiers

We retrace our steps to Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, go past the museum and then immediately turn left along Rue Pavée and at once to the right along Rue des Rosiers.

Rue de Rosiers

The main Jewish street of Paris. Some synagogues and Middle Eastern shops and Hebrew book shops are in the street and also in the side street to the left, Rue des Ecouffes.

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