Galerie de Montpensier, Arcaded gallery in the Palais-Royal, 1st arrondissement, Paris, France
The Galerie de Montpensier is a covered arcade inside the Palais-Royal, running along the western side of the garden from the Montpensier Peristyle to the Joinville Peristyle. Its flat ceiling rests on rows of pale cream stone columns with square bases, and a passage leads to 24–25 Rue de Montpensier. A hanging sign reads "BACQUEVILLE" with the words "ORDRES, FRANCAIS, ETRANGERS".
The gallery was first called Galerie Montpensier, then renamed Galerie des Combats in 1840 before reverting to its original name. Its name comes from the nearby Rue de Montpensier, named after Antoine Philippe, Duke of Montpensier (1775–1807), brother of King Louis-Philippe I. During the Revolution, the Café Corazza there hosted the Society of the Friends of the Constitution before it moved to the Couvent des Jacobins.
The gallery's name comes from the neighbouring Rue de Montpensier, named after Antoine Philippe, Duke of Montpensier, brother of King Louis Philippe I. It was renamed Galerie des Combats in 1840 before reverting to its original name. Visitors can look for the passage between numbers 24 and 25 of the Rue de Montpensier.
The gallery is easily walkable and connects to nearby metro stations, making it a natural route through the neighborhood. Comfortable shoes help when exploring, as the covered passage extends quite far and invites leisurely browsing through the shops.
The clockmaker Charles Oudin settled at numbers 51-52 in 1845, and the jeweller, goldsmith and watchmaker Alfred Hamel founded his house at numbers 48-50 in 1879. Look for the shopfronts along this stretch of the arcade, where these trades were once established.
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