Vibrant Galerie Vivienne – Why It’s My Favorite

Galerie Vivienne delights your eye at every turn. The mosaic tile floors first captured my attention. The design detail draws the eye inward to the passage and beckons you to enter.

This vaulted galerie is 42 meters long (137.8 feet).

Having just left the Palais Royal gardens that were sunny and hot, the cooler interior of the passage way was definitely inviting. Those beautiful floors are the work of G. Facchina, an Italian mosaic artist. He “signed” his work, in a mosaic of course, on the floor of the galerie. Look at the floor in the picture with a child’s push-chair. You can see the mosaic with his name.

Want to have lunch at a sidewalk café?

There are three entrances to Galerie Vivienne. However, to me, this one on rue des Petits Champs is the most eye-pleasing. The detail of the iron work is spectacular as are the caryatids above the door. History tidbit: Did you know that this term caryatid comes from the Greek term karyatides. It means maidens of Karyai which was an ancient town with a temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis.

A sunny day makes Bistro Vivienne the perfect place to dine. To me, there is nothing quite like a sidewalk café for that perfect Paris ambiance. But, if the weather is inclement, I can still have a sidewalk café dining experience here.

Inside the passage, the café spills out on the tile floor with tables for diners. The glass skylights provide enough natural lighting that you still have the feel of dining outside.

Built Between 1823 and 1826

F.J. Delannoy designed Galerie Vivienne which was built 1823-1826. Located in the 2^nd arrondissement, it was Paris’ early day version of a mall. Like many of the passages and galeries found here in Paris, Galerie Vivienne provides the shopper with a variety of options.

My weakness…..bookstores. Several bookshops always distract me as I wander through. I never tire of looking through the variety of old books available. I love the bookstore (Librairie) sign on the right. The gentlemen is pouring over a book and the sign says achat et vente which means “bought and sold”.

Inside the shop, an erudite gentleman sat reading an ancient looking tome. His desk was toppling with books of all types and sizes.  The bookshop shelves were lined with books and the proprietor was surrounded by stacks of books on the floor.

We have an historic set of mathematics books that I will bring here one day…..one day when my suitcase has the weight space for 8 hardback books! I wonder if they will become one of his stacks of books.

Several clothing boutiques, art and antique galleries, as well as a perfume shop can also be found here. I find window shopping does less damage to my budget.  Following this confinement period due to COVID-19, I can’t help wondering if these little shops will have survived.

Turning around, you can see that on this day all the busyness was to be found at the bistrot. The rest of the galerie is virtually devoid of foot-traffic.

Other Galeries/Passages Nearby

Galerie Vivienne parallels Galerie Colbert. The Bibliotheque Nationale owns Galerie Colbert. Thus, there are no shops. However,  the bronze statue titled Dying Eurydice (Euridyce mourante, by Charles-François Lebœuf) under the magnificent rotunda is beautiful to view. Those marble columns leading up to the rotunda are splendid!

On this map, I’ve color grouped the passages and galeries in Paris. Those nearest to Galerie Vivienne are in blue.

Resources

Delorme, Jean-CLaude, Dubois, Anne-Marie: Passages Couverts Parisiens, 2002

Goudot, Alain: Carnet de Paris Les Passages Couverts, 2007

Moncan, Patrice: Le Livre des Passage de Paris, 2009