Currently, la forum des Halles is a large underground mall and a tranportation hub in the center of Paris close to the Chatelet district in the 1st arrondissment. Up until 1971, it was a lively market that I can only imagine (unfortunately!!) would have been a center for high quality food products from all over France.
Les Halles was created in 1137 and survived for almost 800 years as a bustling marketplace, undergoing various architectural changes throughout it's history, the most notable being the construction of an iron and glass complex by Victor Baltard in the mid eighteen hundreds.
As the city grew and traffic congestion from the trucks bringing food to and from the markets became a problem, the market was moved in 1971, to the Rungis in the outskirts of Paris.
Click here for some good photos of the new Rungis marketplace.
Click here for the Rungis marketplace website.
And here for some old photos and/or art of les Halles.
1 comment:
Wow! Would have loved to have seen the old Les Halles! Would love to see the new place too! Hope you did!
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