Forum des Halles, Paris
Address: Les Halles Metro Station
Arrondissement: 1st
About the Forum des Halles
Paris' Forum des Halles has a unique 800 year history. From 1200 through 1500, the area was a thriving marketplace which specialized in tasty foods and a variety of businesses. Parisian's came here to mill about, shop and enjoy food and friends into the wee hours of the morning.
However, as the city grew larger the congestion that Halles created became too much for the citizens of Paris. In the 1960s the cafes and stalls were moved to Rungis, a suburban area near the Orly Airport.
As much as Parisian's thought that the move of Halles was for the best, they were equally appalled at the disgraceful hole left behind from a marketplace that had thrived in their city for centuries on end. It was dubbed "le trou des Halles" which translates to the hole of the Halles. So the city did them one better and filled in the gaping fissure with yet another place that Parisian's could come to mill about, shop and enjoy food and friends into the wee hours of the morning.
The site, now appropriately named Les Halles again, is more than meets the eye. Above ground it appears the area has been filled in as a pretty park. But if you look closely, or simply take the metro to Les Halles, you will find an underground subway station in the depths, topped by an underground shopping mall and finally on ground level, the mentioned park. Each is functionable in its own right; the world's largest underground metro whisks locals and tourists alike around the busy city; the mall is filled with anything one's heart could desire such as shopping, restaurants, clubs, museums and move theaters; the park provides a lovely place to sunbath and enjoy a picnic lunch.
The newness has worn off in recent years and the Les Halles area has slowly been declining. The area felt unsafe and big name stores began to leave the mall in search of a more profitable location. To keep the centuries old Les Halles tradition alive, the city of Paris, has recently (as of 2006) chosen French architect Mangin to revive the entire area.
The new and the old: the Forum des Halles and St Eustache
Young people in a hallway in the Forum
Covered passageways with shops
Dr. EMAD H. ISMAEEL
Web Site: http://sites.google.com/site/emadhanee/
Tel : +964 (0)770 164 93 74
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