There are passages in Paris that feel like polished jewels, like Galerie Vivienne or Passage Colbert, where every visit feels like stepping into a museum. And then there is Passage Choiseul. I’ll admit it: every time I cross it, I feel less like a tourist and more like a Parisian. It doesn’t try to impress you with elaborate mosaics or lavish decoration. It just… exists. Alive, breathing, working.
This is the longest passage in Paris, a narrow, long artery of life connecting Rue des Petits-Champs to Rue Saint-Augustin. It’s less polished than its famous siblings, but its walls are soaked in a different kind of story: stories of great literature, scandalous music, and a miserable childhood that gave rise to one of France‘s greatest and most controversial writers. Let’s dive into the real soul of this passage.
History: The Birth of a Giant, Its Turbulent Life, and Its Revival
The Birth of Paris’s Longest Passage (1825-1827)
Passage Choiseul was born out of cold business thinking. In the 1820s, Paris was in the grip of passage mania, and Banque Mallet, one of the city’s most important private banks, spotted a profitable real estate opportunity. It purchased four old mansions, including part of the 17th-century Hôtel de Gesvres, and handed the project to the architect François Mazois (1783-1826).
Mazois, who sadly died before he could see the project completed, designed a passage with a different character. Instead of focusing on grandeur and ornamentation, he emphasized functionality. The result was a passage with a record length of 190 meters, made up of two rows of identical four-story buildings, with the ground floor and gallery devoted to shops, and the upper floors, above the glass ceiling, devoted to housing. It was, in essence, a covered commercial street, efficient and well lit.
A Stage for High Art and Scandal: Theater and Literature
The real uniqueness of Passage Choiseul didn’t come from its architecture, but from the creative souls it attracted. It quickly became a lively cultural hub, where masterpieces and resounding scandals were born.
Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens: Offenbach’s Kingdom
In 1855, the German-Jewish composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) was looking for a new home for his theater, the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens. He found it here, in Passage Choiseul, in an old theater called “Théâtre Comte” that had mostly staged children’s shows. Offenbach renovated the place and turned it into the beating heart of French operetta.
Here, within these walls, some of his greatest and most scandalous works premiered, such as “Orphée aux Enfers” (Orpheus in the Underworld) and “La Belle Hélène”. All of Paris flocked to the passage to watch the bold, satirical shows, which featured the famous can-can dance and outraged conservative critics. The passage became a gathering place for the Parisian elite, and the theater, which still exists today, remains a living testament to this golden age.
And here is one of the most famous musical pieces in the world, which premiered right here:
Louis-Ferdinand Céline: A Miserable Childhood in the “Passage des Bérésinas”
But the most fascinating and darkest story of the passage belongs without a doubt to the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894-1961). Céline, one of the giants of French literature (and also a despicable antisemitic figure), spent his childhood here. His mother, Marguerite Destouches, ran a small shop selling antiques and lace, first at number 67 and later at number 64.
Contrary to the romantic image, Céline’s memories of the passage were harsh and bitter. In his autobiographical novel “Mort à crédit” (Death on Credit), he described the passage under the name “Passage des Bérésinas,” after the river where Napoleon’s army suffered a crushing defeat.
He remembered it as a dark, suffocating, foul-smelling place, “the biggest gas bell in the whole City of Light,” where around 300 gas lamps burned nonstop and poisoned the air. His chilling descriptions stand in stark contrast to the idyllic image most people have of Parisian passages.
Émile Zola and the Bourgeois Hypocrisy of “Pot-Bouille”
Céline wasn’t the only one to find literary inspiration around the passage. Émile Zola (1840-1902), in his biting 1882 satire “Pot-Bouille” (loosely, “Stewpot,” an expression for a simple meal), set the novel’s action in a new, elegant apartment building on Rue de Choiseul, right next to the passage.
The novel follows Octave Mouret, a hero who would later appear in “The Ladies’ Paradise,” who arrives in Paris and discovers the hypocrisy and moral decay hiding behind the respectable facade of his bourgeois neighbors. Zola uses the building as a microcosm of Parisian society, exposing the contrast between the grand main staircase and the filthy back service stairs: a perfect metaphor for the gap between declared morality and hidden deeds.
A Home for Cursed Poets
Even before Céline, the passage was already a home for literature. At number 23 stood the publishing house of Alphonse Lemerre (1838-1912), who was the publisher of the Parnassian poets. Here, the poems of Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) were first published, and here the Nobel Prize-winning writer Anatole France (1844-1924) worked for years as an editor and reader.
Decline, and a Surprising Revival with a Japanese Touch (the 1970s)
Like many passages, Passage Choiseul faded over time and was neglected. It was seen as old-fashioned, and its shops struggled to compete with the big department stores that opened on the nearby boulevards. But in the 1970s, a revival arrived from an unexpected source.
The young Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada (1939-2020) opened his first boutique in the passage, “Jungle Jap.” His colorful, bold shop pumped new life into the old passage’s veins and turned it into a pilgrimage site for fashion and bohemian crowds. Although Kenzo later moved to Place des Victoires, he had already reignited the spark, and the passage once again became a fashionable spot.
Passage Choiseul Today: Practical Information for Visitors
Today, Passage Choiseul is a charming mix of old and new. Alongside old bookshops and art galleries, you’ll find small restaurants, clothing stores and one siesta bar. It’s still used as a handy shortcut by Parisians in a hurry, and it’s a great chance to experience an authentic slice of the city.
Addresses and Opening Hours
The passage has several entrances, which makes it especially accessible.
- South entrance: 40 Rue des Petits-Champs
- North entrance: 23 Rue Saint-Augustin
- Additional entrances: 40 Rue Dalayrac and through the nearby Passage Sainte-Anne.
The passage is open Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. It’s closed on Sundays.
Getting There
The passage sits in the heart of the 2nd arrondissement, a short walk from the National Library, the Palais-Royal and the Palais Garnier.
- By metro: The closest stations are Quatre-Septembre (line 3) and Pyramides (lines 7 and 14).
- By bus: Many lines stop nearby, including lines 20, 29, 39, 74, and 85.
Want to Discover More Passages?
If visiting Passage Choiseul has left you wanting more, I invite you to join me on a magical journey through Paris’s hidden gems. I’ve put together a special walking route for you, taking you through the most beautiful and interesting covered passages in the city.
You can find the full route in this article: A Walking Tour of Paris’s Covered Passages.
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