Built on the site of the former Hôtellerie du Grand Cerf, no one knows quite when this gallery was opened to the public. Named for the wooden cerf (stag’s head) hanging in the entryway to a pub at the end of the walkway, there’s no denying that Passage du Grand Cerf is one of the capital’s more luxurious passages. A throwback to the Belle Epoque, there is perhaps no better rainy day activity in the city than traipsing through these whimsical walkways… #1 Passage du Grand Cerf, 2nd arrondissement Largely constructed during the 19th-century, by 1850 there were some 150 passages, all stained glass windows, steel frames, and ornate decor. Between Grand Boulevards and wide terraced streets, the charm of the Parisian passages is not lost on the casual passerby, never mind the curious explorer. Unfortunately, the mass overhaul of the retail industry by department stores saw the demolishment of many of the passages and today only a handful survive. Largely dating back to the 18th and 19th-centuries, the covered passages of Paris were constructed so as to serve as shopping arcades filled with bookstores, independent boutiques, and eateries.
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