Category: Free to do

A stroll inside of the famous arcade mentioned by Benjamin, Zola, and Huysmans (amongst others).

It opened c.1800 and was the first covered passage to have gas lighting as well as the particular style of roof you see in the video. The arcade maintains its rich, 19th century ornamentation.

Passages des Panorama was so-called after a pair of nearby rotundas that featured panoramic paintings (the 360 degree ones). Sotheby’s has an example of the kind of panorama that would have been displayed in one of those rotundas.

The rotundas were demolished in the 1830s, but the passage is still with us, and, as you can see, as busy as ever!

Please forgive my awful pronunciation. Thank you for visiting!