Passage Pommeraye

The Passage Pommeraye is a three-level nineteenth-century shopping arcade in the heart of Nantes, Pays de la Loire, considered one of the finest surviving examples of the commercial gallery form in France. Opened in 1843 and designed by architects Durand-Gasselin and Leclerc, it connects two streets at different levels of the city's topography — the Rue de la Fosse below and the Rue Crébillon above — via a dramatic staircase flanked by neoclassical sculpture, ornate ironwork balustrades, and a glass-and-iron roof that fills the interior with diffused natural light. The arcade takes its name from two local merchants, Pommeraye and Giffard, who financed its construction. Three floors of shop fronts are connected by the central staircase, which terminates at each level with sculpted groups representing Commerce, Industry, and the Arts. The ironwork in the balustrades and roof supports is considered among the finest decorative metalwork produced in France in the 1840s. Boutique fashion shops, a bookshop, a pharmacy, and a café currently occupy the commercial units, giving the arcade a lived-in character distinct from purely tourist attractions. The Passage Pommeraye has been used as a filming location regularly, most notably appearing in the 1963 Jacques Demy film Lola. The glass roof creates changing qualities of light throughout the day; late afternoon in autumn and winter, when low sun strikes the ironwork at oblique angles, produces the most dramatic visual effect. Entry is free during trading hours. It is located a short walk from the tram network and from the Château des Ducs de Bretagne.