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You will find this covered passage at number 11 Boulevard Montmartre.
The Passage des Panoramas was built in 1800 after the Hotel de Montmorency had been demolished, so it is the oldest in Paris. Its name comes from the fact that the American William Thayer placed two bowers in Boulevard Montmartre that contain panoramas that showed images of famous battles and views of other cities.
A panorama is a panoramic landscape made over a curved surface, such as a cylinder, in which the spectator sits in the middle so as to feel as if they are in the centre of the scene. In some way, the panoramas were the seed of what today could be the projections on spherical screens of the Imax cinemas.
The Passage des Panoramas is also world famous because it was the first gallery to be gas-lit in 1817. Although it seems a bit boring at the ends, the inside of this gallery is much livelier and its 133 metres’ length and more than 200 years’ history contain more than a few anecdotes. For example, from 1868 the Julian Academy was here, a painting studio that was attended by artists such as Duchamp or Matisse.
Walk around at your leisure and try and guess how the Parisians’ taste has changed through these veritable time tunnels. If you fancy a snack, have a coffee and a piece of cake in the restaurant at number 57, which years ago belonged to a famed chocolate artisan.
In 1834, this gallery was enlarged with 4 more passages: Feydeau, Montmartre, Saint-Marc and Variétés. Of these, we recommend a supper in the Passage des Variétés because you will see entering and leaving the artists from the Variétés Theatre via the back door. A real live show.
Arc de Triomphe (18)
Church of The Madeleine (23)
Fontaine de l'Observatoire (43A)
Jardin du Luxembourg (43)
Les Invalides (55)
Odeon Theatre (45)
Passage des Panoramas (67B)
Place des Vosges (74)
Pont Neuf (8A)
Saint Germain des Prés (46)
Bastille Opera (73)
Conciergerie (35)
Grand Palais et Petit Palais (29)
La Défense (100)
Montmartre (60)
Opéra Garnier (25)
Passages Couverts (67)
Place du Tertre (63)
Quartier Latin (38)
Sainte Chapelle (5)
Arènes de Lutece (75)
Belleville (88)
Champ de Mars (15)
Fontaine des Innocents (27B)
Île Saint Louis (7)
Jardins des Champs Elysées (11)
Le Défenseur du Temps (27C)
Metro Art-Noveau (36)
Moulin de la Galette (95)
Palais de l'Elysée (28)
Parc Monceau (82)
Place Pigalle (70)
Quai Voltaire (53)
Saint Severin (41)
The Seine (3)
Au Lapin Agile (64)
Bercy (81)
Cimetière du Montmartre (68)
Françoise Miterrand Library (78)
Institut du Monde Arabe (79)
Jardins du Trocadéro (14)
Les Catacombes de Paris (49)
Montparnasse Cemetery (48)
Moulin Rouge (69)
Palais du Luxembourg (42)
Passage Jouffroy (67A)
Place Saint-Sulpice (50A)
Rue des Rosiers (87)
Saint-Étienne du Mont (91)
Val-de-Grâce (92)
Auteil (94)
Cathedral Orthodox Saint Alexandre Nevsky (83)
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (85)
Hotel de Lauzun (9)
Institut Pasteur (54)
La Ruche (93)
Maison de Radio-France (17)
Montparnasse Tower (47)
National Library (77)
Palais Royal (26)
Passages Verdeau (67C)
Pont de l'Alma (8C)
Saint Eustache (27A)
Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre (66)
Villette Park (98)
Basilique Saint-Denis (97)
Chaillot (13)
Cour de Rohan (52)
Île de la Cité (6)
Jardin des Plantes (76)
La Sorbonne (51)
Marché aux Puces de St. Ouen (96)
Mosquée de Paris (80)
Palais de la Porte Dorée (84)
Palais-Bourbon. Assemblée-Nationale (30)
Passy (89)
Port de l'Arsenal (72)
Saint Julien le Pauvre (39)
Saint-Sulpice (50)
Carnavalet Museum (34)
Musée de la Magie (90)
Musée d'Orsay - Art (59B)
Musée Picasso (33)
Victor Hug's House (58)
Georges Pompidou Centre (32)
Musée de l'Orangerie (21)
Musée d'Orsay - History (59A)
Museum of The Louvre - History (19A)