Rue de Rivoli & the arcades

Napoleon's arcaded street

Rue de Rivoli takes its name from Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Rivoli in 1797. Begun under Napoleon I from around 1802 along the Louvre and the Tuileries, its elegant western section was built to a single design: continuous neoclassical façades raised over a covered arcade, with strict rules on height, materials and even the shops allowed beneath. The street was later extended eastward towards the Marais under Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann, becoming one of the great through-routes of central Paris.

Arcades, tea rooms and covered passages

The kilometre of arcades facing the Tuileries shelters bookshops, boutiques and, at no. 226, Angelina — the 1903 tea house famous for its thick hot chocolate and Mont-Blanc pastry. A few steps north lies the glass-roofed Galerie Véro-Dodat (1826), one of the best-preserved covered passages in the city, its black-and-white marble floor and painted ceilings unchanged since the Restoration.

Good to know before you go

The arcades are free to walk and stay dry in the rain, which makes the street a natural wet-weather route between the Concorde, the Louvre and Châtelet. Métro stations line the whole length, so you can join or leave the walk almost anywhere.