The Revolutionaries of Retail: Paris and the Invention of Shopping
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About the Tour
About the Tour
Paris doesn’t just embrace shopping – it invented it. The city pioneered window displays, department stores, and the concept of browsing for pleasure. On this walking tour, you’ll discover how aristocrats, entrepreneurs, and revolutionary leaders transformed the business of purchasing from a mundane transaction into the recreational activity we know today.
This 60-minute tour starts at the Place des Victoires, once the heart of Parisian couture. You’ll explore the elegant covered passages that first made window shopping possible. I’ll lead you to the historic Palais Royal, where revolutionary speeches sparked the storming of the Bastille, and along the prestigious Rue Saint-Honoré, where Marie Antoinette’s designer Rose Bertin created towering hairstyles complete with model ships at Le Grand Mogol.
Along the way, you’ll witness how French innovations in plate glass, arcade design, and retail display forever changed the relationship between shoppers and merchandise across the globe. The tour ends at the Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville, once a humble cart that’s grown into a retail empire.
Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:
- Step inside the stunning Galerie Vivienne, where gas lighting and glass roofing created the first comfortable indoor shopping environment
- Discover the Palais Royal galleries where Charlotte Corday bought the knife she used to assassinate revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat
- Explore the site of the Grands Magasins du Louvre, one of the world’s first department stores
- Visit the restored La Samaritaine, whose 750-million-euro renovation brought Art Nouveau glamour back to the Seine
- Browse the riverside stalls of the bouquinistes, booksellers who’ve operated from outdoor boxes since the 1850s
- Walk through Napoleon’s elegant Rue de Rivoli arcades, built to showcase French commercial prowess
By the end of this tour, you’ll have a sense of how this birthplace of modern retail therapy turned shopping into an art form. Although you could complete the walk in less than an hour, be prepared to window shop, browse, and even make a purchase.
Tour Producer
Tour Producer
Philippa Campsie
Philippa Campsie lived in Paris as a student, studying French history and literature at the Sorbonne, and staying in a chambre de bonne with a view of the tip of the Eiffel Tower. She never got the city out of her system after that and returns regularly with her husband, Norman Ball. Since 2010, she and Norman have written about Paris on a blog called "Parisian Fields" (https://parisianfields.com/). They like to get beyond basic tourist information, and draw on her experiences in urban planning and his knowledge as a historian of technology to explain features of the city's streets, and tell the stories of people who contributed to the life of the city. Philippa started creating tours for VoiceMap in 2015. Currently, she is carrying out research in Paris on the history of the education of blind people (the first school for the blind was founded in Paris) and the invention of braille. One day she hopes to create a tour for visually impaired visitors to the city.
Preview Location
Preview Location
Location 4
Galerie Vivienne interior
Arcades like this contributed to the invention of window shopping in two ways.
First, they made window displays something that fashionable shoppers could enjoy in comfort. In the 19th century, streets... Read More
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How VoiceMap Works
Major Landmarks
Major Landmarks
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Place des Victoires
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Galerie Vivienne
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Jardin du Palais Royal
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Louvre Museum
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La Samaritaine
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Place du Châtelet
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Tour Saint-Jacques
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Hôtel de Ville
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BHV Marais
Getting There
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start location75001 Paris, France
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Total distance3km
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Final location52 Rue de Rivoli, 75004 Paris, France
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Distance back to start location1km
Directions to Starting Point
The tour starts in the Place des Victoires. The best way to get there is the Number 29 bus, which runs between the Porte de Montempoivre in the east and the Gare Saint-Lazare in the west. The westbound bus stops right in the the Place des Victoires.
Otherwise, take Line 3 on the Metro and get off at the Bourse station. Exit at Sortie No. 2 for Notre Dame des Victoires. You will emerge beside the old stock exchange of Paris with its massive pillars. There is a brown sign on the corner pointing towards the church of Notre Dame des Victoires on the street of the same name. Take this narrow street to the very bottom, turn left and immediately right onto a very short pedestrian street that leads into the Place des Victoires.
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Tips
Tips
Places to stop along the way
The tour offers many places to stop. If you want peace and quiet, sit down in the gardens of the Palais Royal where chairs are available. Take time to tour La Samaritaine; there is a pleasant restaurant on the top floor. The tour ends at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville, where there are restaurants and washrooms.
Best time of day
Do this tour on a weekday or Saturday, when the shops are open. Avoid Sundays or public holidays. Most shops stay open until about 7 p.m.
Precautions
Central Paris is busy and generally safe, although pickpockets may be found in very crowded areas and on the Metro. Always cross streets at designated crosswalks when the light is green.
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