The walkway galleries started in 1786 and went on in the  nineteen hundreds with a total of 183. Sadly, only 25 remain today. Napoleon was a major influence on their expansion. 

If you’re heading to Paris for the Olympics , with up to fifteen million others, or just a mid-year holiday, you’re likely not to see much rain. It will be hot. When visiting Paris earlier in the year, on our first day of rain, the natural thought was to visit indoor places. E.g. museums, art galleries etc. If there are queues normally, they are even bigger on rainy days and extreme hot days.

I was inspired by a website article on the “covered passages in Paris ”. These passages are basically long indoor walkways with shops selling art, stamps, postcards, walking sticks, umbrellas, sweets, stuffed animals, bags, etc. The walkways are called galleries and have a stylish artisan feel with numerous quirky nik-nak shops, restaurants, coffee stops  and more.

We order coffee in a cute cafe and are presented with the biggest and the most colourful croissants I’ve ever seen.

Above these malls with a central high glass ceiling, there are also apartments and some old-fashioned hotels.

The walkway galleries started in 1786 and went on in the  nineteen hundreds with a total of 183. Sadly, only 25 remain today. Napoleon was a major influence on their expansion. Given extreme winter weather in some months in Paris, they were a way of getting around parts of the city without getting wet, cold or in the summer when too hot. The decor is ornate as are the floors with bright colours and lots of hanging lights and signage.

So, we have a fun ninety minutes exploring and rummaging in the shops. There are colourful characters sitting around who all look as though they have a host of stories  to share.  These arcades are the early forerunners  of shopping malls of  today. It is such a shame many have been destroyed. I’m on a mission to seek out some old French prints to add to my collection. In our waterfront retreat in Victoria, Sri Lanka, in each bathroom we have an original or a copy of a French artist’s work. Basically, it is a row of various French dogs peeing up against a wall, whilst above them cats watch on. The artist was Boris O’Klein, born in Moscow, lived in France with an Irish name. His art is so funny and so French.

We found some further galleries that majored on up-end exclusive fashion and accessories.

So Paris may be hot and hectic  in the months ahead, these galleries may just be an interesting way to stay cool. If that doesn’t work, watch the whimsical funny Paris set movie, “Amelie”. I started writing this article sitting in a coffee shop opposite Galleries Lafayette. Jezzabel was shopping and promised this fourth time in the store  would be the last on the trip.