However, amid the hustle-bustle of the Passage des Panoramas, there are countless other places to whet your fancy. There are specialty shops offering stamps, postcards, books, or photographs. There are gourmet destinations offering “jambon pata negra” (Les Grands d’Espagne) or vin du terroir for the oenophile (Coinstot Vino). There are specialty restaurants with food from all over the world: Japanese, Turkish, Moroccan, and yes, French. For years, the tiny narrow “Racines” has been a food mecca offering bio vegetables and “vins naturels” – a cult destination. For haute gastronomie, Passage 53 with a “menu degustation” with a surprising combination of flavors (as evidenced by the signature “l’Assiette Blanche” composed of squid and cauliflower) has attracted gourmets with adventuresome palettes. For my taste, I prefer the old fashioned “Les Coulisses”, next door to the stage entrance, “Entrée des Artistes”, of the Théâtre des Variétés, with photos of actors that dot the walls, and a bistro ambience of the 1960s where you can have an “honest” (French for good) meal in an authentic Parisian environment that is out of a Georges Simenon novel.

To conclude my promenade in the Passage des Panorama, I have recently headed to Sybella, a ladies shop with a youthful and very feminine personality. I always buy an umbrella: either very “flirty” with polka dots, black and white, or red and white summer stripes, or a fancy ruffled number. New Yorkers never fail to remark these umbrellas which clearly have a “French touch”. Blouses, handbags, too-short skirts, blazers in prints and patterns, and many items with lace trim all abound at Sybella – a shop of whimsy and insouciance for the young at heart.

Passage des Panoramas, II Arrondissement
(between le Boulevard Montmartre and the rue Saint-Marc)

Les Grands d’Espagne
47, Passage des Panoramas – tel: 09 51 55 66 47

Coinstot Vino
25-26 Passage des Panoramas – tel: 01 44 82 08 54

Racines
8, Passage des Panoramas – tel: 01 40 13 06 41

Passage 53
53, Passage des Panoramas – tel: 01 42 33 04 35

Les Coulisses
19, Passage des Panoramas  – tel: 01 44 82 09 52

Sybella
18, Passage des Panoramas – tel: 01 42 36 19 89