Heritage | Galerie des Galeries

On 15 January 1894, two cousins from Alsace, Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, opened the novelty shop "Aux Galeries Lafayette" in Paris with the ambition of giving access to the best of commerce and creation.

Nearly 130 years later, the Galeries Lafayette group continues to bring this commitment to life on a daily basis by transmitting, inspiring and helping its visitors and employees discover the rich heritage of its shops.

Architecture

With their century-old heritage, the Galeries Lafayette Group's stores represent a unique architectural and cultural heritage, such as Galeries Lafayette Haussmann in Paris.
A true architectural jewel with its Art Nouveau dome inaugurated in 1912, the iconic department stores', ambassador of a certain French art of living, is an emblematic place of Parisian commerce, rich in historical anecdotes.

Summer tours

This summer, Galeries Lafayette is offering guided heritage tours every morning from 3 July to 1 September. This is a unique opportunity, outside opening hours, to go behind the scenes of the department stores', from its neo-Byzantine dome to the archives perched on the top floor of the building.

More informations
From 3 July to 1 September
Visits in French on Thursdays and Saturdays from 9am to 10.30am
Tours in English on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 10.30am, and on Sundays from 10am to 11.30am.
15 people per visit / €18 per visitor

Photo credit: Mathilde Assier, 2023.

Guided tours

Guided tours in French and English are organised two Saturdays and two Sundays a month at Galeries Lafayette Haussmann. A special event offered outside opening hours, for an intimate and exclusive discovery of the department stores', its history and its architecture. The tour reveals the shop's backstage areas, including the famous 1912 Art Nouveau cupola, recently restored.
Adding to the classic tour route the discovery of Stairway To Heaven, the new artistic commission by Studio GGSV in one of the department store's historic staircases.

Réservations

Historical funds

In order to maintain a close link between today's company and its history, the Galeries Lafayette group created a Heritage and Archives department in 2008, which preserves and promotes the department store's historical collection in a dedicated space on the 9th floor of the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann shop. This collection, regularly enriched by new acquisitions, is made up of documents, furniture and ready-to-wear items, retracing over 125 years of history.

Contemporary views

Committed to a dynamic process of enhancing its archives, the Galeries Lafayette group regularly invites artists and designers to create original works in connection with its historical heritage. Thus reinterpreted and sublimated by contemporary creations, the Group's heritage collection becomes alive, accessible and inspiring.

Research Financing

In 2023, the Galeries Lafayette group is introducing a €3,000 grant for the publication or promotion of research work aimed at promoting the department store's historical and cultural heritage.

In 2023, this grant will support Jérémie Cerman, for the publication of his research work on Maurice Dufrêne.

100 years under the Dome

1912-2012: Chronicles of a Creative Itinerary
October 16, 2012 – January 26, 2013

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the construction of its Dome, Galeries Lafayette have decided to celebrate this monument of the Boulevard Haussmann, a symbol of Art Nouveau architecture, by staging unusual events in tune with the life of the department store from 16 October 2012.
To celebrate this hundred-year old construction, Galeries Lafayette have invited two of the leading artists of contemporary creation, the architect Rem Koolhaas – with OMA, his design studio - and the visual artist Yann Kersalé.