The Forum des Halles of Paris !!!

Posted in Food and Wine, France, Paris

It was a time to see old favorites and see their transformation. I did came to Paris every month but on business trips which is not the same as you can understand. Now I had the weekend all to myself and was great to see and be seen with old friends and old places of my favorites. Paris is indeed a moveable feast !! I have written so much in my blog on it , but I keep coming back to old reliable for nostalgia and souvenirs of family time. I came back to the Halles not really into the stores, but the ambiance outside. It has improved indeed, I am joining two older posts into one with updated text and links for you and me, Therefore, here is my take on the Forum des Halles of Paris !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

The Forum des Halles is a shopping center located on the site of the old market of Paris. Things move fast here and already the Forum des Halles was the most visited shopping center in France, with 50 million visitors !! The Halles were called the belly of Paris ,the hole of the Halles ,The Halles have known over time many names and faces. Instead of market stands it was born in the early 1980s such as the Forum des Halles, a large underground shopping center embellished by a large green area, the jardin des Halles (now call Nelson Mandela). Then, today, the Canopée or Canopy.

The Canopée or canopy is formed of 18,000 glass scales open last April 2016. The roof of 18,000 glass scales covers, in addition to shops, new public facilities such as a conservatory, a media library, and a cultural center, dedicated to artistic practice. The canopy part of the new Forum des Halles, a glass and steel structure built reaching 14 meters in height, covers a central patio and welcomes in its wings a conservatory, a hip-hop center, a library, a workshop of amateur practices and a cultural center for the Deaf and Hearing impaired The new Forum and the canopy open to the west on the Jardin Nelson Mandela garden, which has several playgrounds for children. These roads are public, pedestrian and underground.These are the names in no particular order of layout (in black those taken by me while coming here ). Balcon Saint-Eustache, Grand Balcon, Passage de la Réale, Passage des Verrières, Patio-place Pina-Bausch, Place Basse, Place Carrée, Place de la Rotonde, Porte Berger, Porte Lescot, Porte du Jour, Porte du Louvre, Porte du Pont-Neuf, Porte Rambuteau, Porte Saint-Eustache, Rue de l’Arc-en-Ciel, Rue Basse, Rue des Bons-Vivants, Rue de la Boucle, Rue Brève, Rue du Cinéma, Rue de l’Équerre-d’Argent, Rue de l’Oculus , Rue de l’Orient-Express, Rue des Piliers, Rue Poquelin, Rue Pirouette, and Terrasse Lautréamont.

The Forum Les Halles have 7 entry points, These are : Porte Lescot, located rue Pierre Lescot. Porte Berger, located rue Berger. Porte Rambuteau, located rue Rambuteau. Porte Pont-Neuf (access Zone Place Carrée), located at the intersection of rue Berger and rue Pont-Neuf. Porte Saint-Eustache (access Zone Place Carrée), located rue Rambuteau, near the Saint-Eustache Church. Porte du Jour (access to the Place Carrée Zone), located rue du Jour, in front of the Saint-Eustache Church. Porte du Louvre (access Zone Place Carrée), located in front of the Bourse du Commerce, near rue du Louvre. Porte Marguerite de Navarre, located Place Marguerite de Navarre. Entrance Canopy, located between the Nelson Mandela Gardens and the shopping center.

There is a nice underground parking by level -3 You discounts if shows a cinema ticket ,You come into the parking by rue de Turbigo ,the name Forum des Halles-Rambuteau.  The center will reserve taxis for you too, just go to the information desk,zone Lescot au niveau -3. They will call G7 for you which are the best in Paris, me think, There is also, the metro Châtelet Les Halles lines 1, 4, 7, 11, and 14, The RER A, B, and D, There are , also, many bus lines passing by here on rue de Rivoli, boulevard Sébastopol, rue Étienne-Marcel, and rue du Louvre lines 21, 29, 38, 47, 58, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81, 85, and 96, Check updates for routing on RATP.

A bit of history I like tell us that in the mid-19C, twelve pavilions were built by Victor Baltard on the location of the Paris market halls. Les Halles de Paris was the name given to the central market halls, the wholesale market for fresh food products, located in the heart of Paris, in the 1éme arrondissement or district of Paris, and which gave their name to the surrounding neighbourhood or quartier. The history of the Halles is much older than we think, since its origins date back to 1137, when Louis VI set up a first market at this site, on ancient swamps. They are the main setting of Émile Zola’s Ventre de Paris or Paris belly. This large market was held there until the beginning of the 1970’s , In 1969, the Halles, considered too cramped and cumbersome by their location in the heart of Paris, moved to Rungis, in the southern suburbs. From 1971, the pavilions are destroyed: only one escapes the destruction, the Baltard pavilion, reassembled in Nogent-sur-Marne.The Forum was then built and inaugurated in 1979, above the main RER and Metro node in Paris. The creation of a veritable underground city linked to public transport and featuring commercial, cultural, sports and leisure facilities. This direction is confirmed by the Government’s decision to achieve the central point of interconnection of the express regional-RER network, located more than 20 meters underground. During the summer of 1971, the demolition of the pavilion Baltard is made necessary in order to create, in open air, the underground station of the RER. The inauguration takes place on 4 September 1979. On September 13 2019, the Forum des Halles takes its new name of Westfield Forum des Halles. A vibrant area that has improved but recommend still see it in daylight, me think.

The Paris tourist office on the neighborhood of des Halles : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/transport/quartier-des-halles-p2002

The Paris tourist office on the Forum des Halles shopping center : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/shopping/westfield-forum-des-halles-p3732

The Paris tourist office on the newer Jardin Nelson Mandela : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/jardin-nelson-mandela-p1700

The official new Westfield Forum des Halles :  https://www.westfield.com/france/forumdeshalles/centre

There you go folks, a revamp area of my eternal Paris and a huge hub for transports, shopping and restaurants, Again, hope you have enjoy this post on the Forum des Halles of Paris as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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