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Landmark · Vivienne · 2e arrondissement

Galerie Vivienne

The buildingStill standing
Getting inWalk straight in
What's there nowStill the same

A covered passage open to the public; the bookshop Colette frequented, now the Librairie Jousseaume, trades at nos. 45–47.

A glass-roofed 1820s shopping arcade near the Palais-Royal, and home to the bookshop the City of Paris calls Colette's haunt.

Address
6 rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris
Years
1826–present
IllustrationThe Galerie Vivienne passage in colour, mosaic floor, shopfronts and glass roof

The passage and its mosaic floor today.

Editorial illustration

The place, briefly

The Galerie Vivienne is one of the covered passages built into central Paris in the 1820s, a few minutes' walk north of the Palais-Royal. From her rooms on the rue de Beaujolais, Colette came here with her neighbor Jean Cocteau. At nos. 45–47 stood the bookshop Petit-Siroux, now the Librairie Jousseaume, which the City of Paris describes as her repaire — her haunt.

The passage was constructed in 1823 and inaugurated in 1826, and it kept its decoration where grander neighbors lost theirs: a mosaic floor, a glass roof and dome, and pale neo-classical plasterwork run the length of its arms. That survival is why it reads today much as it did when Colette used it.

The Librairie Jousseaume still trades from the same address, and the galerie remains a public passage rather than a preserved monument — open, free to walk, and lined with shops.

Key facts

What it is
A covered shopping passage between the Palais-Royal and the Bourse
Built
Constructed 1823, inaugurated 1826
Colette's connection
The Petit-Siroux bookshop here — now Librairie Jousseaume — was her haunt
Look for
The mosaic floors, the glass roof and dome, the bookshop at nos. 45–47
Today
Open to the public and free to walk

In images

Inside the Galerie Vivienne, at the Librairie Jousseaume — the bookshop Colette frequented.Editorial illustration
The passage and its mosaic floor today.Editorial illustration

Timeline

  1. 1823

    The passage is constructed off the rue Vivienne.

  2. 1826

    The Galerie Vivienne is inaugurated.

  3. 1920s–1950s

    Colette, living at the nearby Palais-Royal, frequents the galerie and the Petit-Siroux bookshop.

  4. Today

    The bookshop, now Librairie Jousseaume, still trades at nos. 45–47; the passage keeps its mosaics and glass roof.

On the map

Questions before you go

What is the Galerie Vivienne?

A covered shopping passage in the 2nd arrondissement, near the Palais-Royal. It was constructed in 1823 and inaugurated in 1826, and keeps its mosaic floors, glass roof and neo-classical decoration.

What is the Galerie Vivienne's connection to Colette?

Colette frequented the galerie from her nearby Palais-Royal home, often with Jean Cocteau. The bookshop here, Petit-Siroux — now the Librairie Jousseaume — is described by the City of Paris as her repaire, or haunt.

Is the bookshop Colette visited still there?

Yes. The former Petit-Siroux bookshop trades today as the Librairie Jousseaume, at nos. 45–47 of the galerie.

Can you visit the Galerie Vivienne?

Yes. It is a public passage, free to walk, and lined with shops, bookdealers and tea rooms. It is open daily.

Where is the Galerie Vivienne?

Between the Palais-Royal and the Bourse, with entrances on the rue Vivienne, the rue des Petits-Champs and the rue de la Banque.

Writers who knew this place

Illustrated portrait of Colette

Colette

French · The French novelist who wrote the Claudine books under Willy’s name, earned her independence on the music-hall stage, and made women’s private lives a serious literary subject.

Frequented by

Colette frequented the Galerie Vivienne from her nearby Palais-Royal home, often with Jean Cocteau. The City of Paris describes the passage's Petit-Siroux bookshop, now the Librairie Jousseaume, as her repaire.

— Une balade sur les pas de Sidonie devenue Colette; Galerie Vivienne — official site

Within walking distance

The 9 rue de Beaujolais frontage in colour, its doorway, street lamp and Palais-Royal wall sign

Apartment · Palais-Royal

9 rue de Beaujolais

Colette's home above the Palais-Royal garden, and the address that made her its dame. She lived here from 1938 until her death in 1954.

Visit the place
The Grand Véfour dining room in colour, its painted panels, mirrors and red banquettes

Restaurant · Palais-Royal

Le Grand Véfour

The Palais-Royal restaurant Colette favored in her last years, a few doors from her apartment. A brass plaque still marks her seat.

Visit the place
The school at 6 rue de Louvois today, pale brick and stone with the tricolore over its doorway

School · Passages couverts

École du Square Louvois

The municipal school Louis-Ferdinand Céline attended from 1900 to 1905, two minutes' walk from the family shop in the Passage Choiseul — the first classroom of the boy then registered as Louis-Ferdinand Destouches.

Visit the place
The Palais-Royal garden gates and colonnade in colour, clipped trees and gravel walks beyond

Park · Palais-Royal

Jardin du Palais-Royal

The colonnaded garden Colette watched from her Palais-Royal windows for the last years of her life, and the setting of her 1954 state funeral.

Visit the place
References

References

The sources below include histories, archival materials, scholarly research, and official records that informed this page. They document Galerie Vivienne, the people connected to it, and its place in Paris.

  1. 1Une balade sur les pas de Sidonie devenue Colette

    Website
    Ville de Paris
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Galerie Vivienne page.

    View source

  2. 2Galerie Vivienne — official site

    Website
    Used for

    Web source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Galerie Vivienne page.

    View source

  1. 3OpenStreetMap

    Map data
    Used for

    Map data used to verify addresses, geographic coordinates, and the placement associated with Galerie Vivienne.

    View source

  2. 4Galerie Vivienne — historic monument record

    Official record
    POP, Ministère de la Culture
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

These references provide the documented foundation for this page's history and context. Claim-level citations remain attached to the specific claims they support.

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