The covered passages of the Montmartre and Saint-Martin suburbs

Starting point and access: Place de l'Opéra.
- Metro - Lines 3, 7, 8. Take exit 1, Place de l'Opéra.
- RER - Line A (Auber station, follow the signs for the metro).
- Bus - Lines 20, 21, 22, 27, 29, 32, 45, 52, 66, 68, 95.

(S) When you exit the metro station in the middle of the square, turn left and cross at the pedestrian crossing. Continue along Boulevard des Capucines. Cross Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin on the left and continue straight ahead on Boulevard des Italiens. Then take the second left, Rue des Italiens. Turn right at the end of the street, at the foot of a building with a large clock on top.

At the end, turn left onto Rue Taitbout. You will quickly come to Boulevard Haussmann; follow it to the right. At the traffic lights, turn left, cross the boulevard and take Rue Laffitte. Take the first left, Rue Pillet Will (plaque commemorating the birthplace of Napoleon III). After a right-hand bend, you will come to Rue Lafayette; follow it to the right.

(1) At the traffic lights, cross Rue Lafayette and turn left onto Rue de Provence. At the next intersection, return to Rue Taitbout and follow it to the right. At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue de la Victoire and pass in front of the Grande Synagogue. At the corner, turn left onto Rue Saint-Georges. At the traffic lights, cross Rue de Châteaudun and follow it to the right. Pass in front of the Notre-Dame de Lorette church.

(2) At the corner of the church, turn left onto Rue Fléchier. At the side of the church, cross the intersection on the right and take Rue des Martyrs, which continues slightly uphill. Take the second street on the right, Rue Choron. At the next intersection, turn left onto Rue Milton and continue uphill. Take the first street on the right, Rue de l'Agent Bailly (a beautiful cobbled street).

At the end, go down Rue Rodier on the right. At the traffic lights, turn left and cross a small square. Then cross Rue de Maubeuge at the traffic lights and enter Passage Briare opposite. At the end, follow Rue Cadet to the right. At the crossroads shortly after, go straight ahead. At the crossroads, cross Rue Lafayette again and continue straight ahead into Rue Cadet. At the crossroads, take the second street on the left, Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, and follow it for about 20 metres.

(3) Then turn right into Passage Verdeau. On the other side, cross the street and enter Passage Jouffroy. Climb the stairs and turn right at the foot of a service door of the Musée Grévin. At the end of the passage (entrance to the Musée Grévin on the left), cross Boulevard Montmartre at the traffic lights and continue along Passage des Panoramas.

At the intersection between two covered passages, turn left into Galerie des Variétés. Then turn right into Galerie Saint-Marc. At the next intersection, follow Galerie Montmartre to the left (signposted at the exit). You will come out onto Rue Montmartre. Follow it to the left for a few dozen metres.

(4) Cross the street at the pedestrian crossing and take Rue d'Uzès opposite. At the end, turn left onto Rue Saint-Fiacre. At the end, first turn left then right to cross Boulevard Poissonnière and go down Rue Rougemont. At the end, at the foot of the monumental entrance to a well-known bank, turn right onto Rue Bergère. Immediately turn left onto Rue du Conservatoire and walk along the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts on your right.

(5) Take the first right, Rue Sainte-Cécile (pedestrian street), and pass in front of the entrance to the church of the same name. At the end, turn left onto Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière. After a few dozen metres, turn right, pass under a porch and take Rue Gabriel Launain. At the end, turn left onto Rue de Hauteville.

At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue des Petites Écuries. After No. 17, turn right onto Passage des Petites Écuries. At the end, turn left onto Cour des Petites Écuries. This will take you to Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis. Turn right and follow the street for about 50 metres.

(6) Then turn left to cross the street and enter Passage Brady (Indian restaurants). You will come out onto Boulevard de Strasbourg. Follow it to the right for about 20 metres. Then cross the boulevard at the pedestrian crossing and take Rue Gustave Goublier opposite. Go under a porch, cross Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin at the pedestrian crossing and follow it to the left.

At number 62, turn right into a passageway with a chicane at the entrance. At the end, follow Rue Bouchardon to the left. At the intersection that quickly appears, turn right onto Rue du Château d'Eau. Then take the second right, Rue Taylor. At the end, go under a porch (narrow passage) to reach Rue René Boulanger and follow it to the right. Go straight ahead and ignore all the streets on the right. Walk along the Théâtre de la Renaissance and reach Porte Saint-Martin.

(7) Cross Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin at the traffic lights, then follow Boulevard Saint-Denis. Cross Boulevard de Strasbourg, continue along Boulevard Saint-Denis and pass two metro stations. Immediately after, turn right into Passage du Prado (lots of hairdressers). The passage turns left at a roundabout. You will come out onto Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis; follow it to the left. Go around the Porte Saint-Denis on the right and cross Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle at the traffic lights.

On the other side, turn right, follow the railing on your right and turn into the first street on the left, signposted Rue de Cléry on the left-hand pavement and Rue de Beauregard on the right-hand pavement. At the intersection that quickly appears, at the foot of a very narrow building, turn right onto Rue de Beauregard. Walk along a church on your right and, at the foot of the bell tower, turn right onto Rue Notre-Dame de Bonne Nouvelle. Cross Rue de la Lune and continue straight ahead. Go down a flight of steps, turn right and you will quickly reach the Bonne Nouvelle metro station (E).

To return home:
- Metro - Line 8 or 9.

Good walking shoes are sufficient for this urban route.

There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

A detailed map is required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Access to covered passages:
Covered passages are generally private roads: follow the signs on site. Information on opening days and times could not be found for all the passages used in this hike. They are all open Monday to Saturday; some are closed on Sundays and public holidays. Opening hours displayed on site:
- Passage Jouffroy: 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Passage Brady: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (6:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Sundays).
- Passage du Prado: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (closed on Sundays and public holidays).

Walk taken by the author on 5 November 2021.

From Place de l'Opéra (S) to Notre-Dame de Lorette Church (2):
- Palais Garnier (1875) (S), designed by architect Charles Garnier (1825-1898). It was the only building in Paris to house an opera house for many years, before the construction of the Opéra Bastille.
- Large clock at the top of a building on Rue des Italiens.
- Location of Napoleon III's birthplace at the corner of Rue Laffitte and Rue Pillet-Will.
- Great Synagogue, Rue de la Victoire.
- Notre-Dame de Lorette Church (19th century) (2).

From the Church of Notre-Dame de Lorette (2) to Rue Montmartre (4):
- Pretty Rue de l'Agent Bailly.
- Passage Briare, opened in 1885.
- Former front of a confectionery shop (3).
- Passage Verdeau (1846).
- Passage Jouffroy (1845).
- Grévin Museum, Boulevard Montmartre.
- Passage des Panoramas (1799), one of the oldest covered passages in Paris, with its perpendicular galleries.

From Rue Montmartre (4) to Bonne Nouvelle metro station (E):
- Monumental entrance to a bank headquarters, Rue Bergère, at the bottom of Rue Rougemont.
- Saint-Eugène and Sainte-Cécile Church (19th century) (5).
- Cour des Petites Écuries.
- Passage Brady (1828).
- Renaissance Theatre (7).
- Porte Saint-Martin (1674) (7).
- Porte Saint-Denis (1672).
- Passage du Prado, opened in 1785, covered in 1925.