Walk: “Chaussée d’Antin: Rediscovering Paris”
What if you could explore the elegant Paris of theaters and grand department stores… in a neighborhood that was once nothing but mud and marshland? From the Madeleine Church to the Opéra Garnier, passing through the Olympia, hidden passages, and the glass domes of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, this walk takes you through three centuries of high society, shows, scandals, and urban transformations.
Your walk begins at the Church of La Madeleine, a false Greek temple imagined at different points as a church, a train station, and a temple to the Glory of the Grande Armée. Beneath its monumental columns echoed the funerals of Chopin, Coco Chanel, Dalida, and Johnny Hallyday, while in its shadow a discreet solidarity restaurant has been serving affordable meals for more than 50 years.
You then head up Rue de Sèze and Rue Caumartin, where marshland once gave way to private mansions, hanging gardens, and curved façades marking the entrance to a chic new 18th-century development. Behind these bourgeois walls hide criminal affairs, rooftop gardens, and pages of literature: Mirabeau stayed here during the Revolution, and Stendhal wrote The Charterhouse of Parma in record time just steps away.
The walk then leads you in front of the famous red marquee of the Olympia: long before this legendary music hall, the site hosted… roller coasters! Before welcoming Piaf, Brel, the Beatles, Hendrix, or Johnny, the place thrilled adrenaline lovers with terrifying rides. In the surrounding streets—Place Édouard VII, the Théâtre Édouard VII, and the Athénée-Louis Jouvet—you’ll find a true theater district, haunted by the spirits of Sacha Guitry, Louis Jouvet, and the golden age of Parisian drama.
A few steps later, you shift from the world of performance to that of spectacular shopping: Galeries Lafayette and Printemps Haussmann, with their glass domes, monumental staircases, and festive windows, tell the story of the invention of modern department stores, seasonal sales, escalators… and large-scale Parisian chic.
The walk ends between the Opéra Garnier—a palace of marble, gilding, and legendary opera ghosts—and Rue de la Victoire, where the memories of Bonaparte, Joséphine, and the Grande Synagogue of La Victoire converge, a major landmark of French Judaism and national heritage.
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During this visit you will:
• explore on foot the Chaussée d’Antin – Opéra – Haussmann district, from Madeleine to Olympia, the grand department stores, and the Opéra Garnier;
• discover delightful anecdotes: hanging gardens, high-society murder, early roller coasters, the first ATMs, the Phantom of the Opera…;
• enjoy iconic photo spots: Haussmann façades, domes, the Olympia marquee, Place Édouard VII, the Opéra Garnier;
• experience an immersive, lively, and sensitive visit—far from the typical “checklist” tours.
More than just a visit, it’s a dive into the Paris of entertainment, commerce, and illusions, where every façade has a story to tell.
Download the Audio Guide Paris app for free and unlock this full walk through the Chaussée d’Antin district—a theatrical, elegant, and secret-filled Paris just waiting to be revealed.