Le Forum des Halles, Paris

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I didn't mind visiting this mall several times in my last visit - while the women browsed the shops, I was compensated wit a couple of good pictures of the monuments and gardens around, and the shopping mall itself.

Please don't ask what they sell inside - the same articles, the same brands, the same (high) prices as anywhere else in the global consumer market. I think!

A collection of many stores in a "shopping" center, the Forum is a great place to shop. I like their clothing and shoe stores and their specialty shops. I found myself here one year looking for a "duffle" bag to carry back home some purchases that didn't fit in my luggage.

What to buy: It's a shopping center and they have all kinds of stores like clothing, shoe, electronics, specialty shops.

I purchases an inexpensive duffle bag to store my purchases that didn't fit in my luggage.

What to pay: Every reasonable.

The shop was not far from les Halles, in the street, and it was run by an African guy.

What to buy: It had lots of craft stuff made of wood or other natural stuff, handbags, wooden chairs, statues. I liked it very much because the things looked good quality and were not too expensive. I'll try to put a photo when i find it.

Forum des Halles is the most convenient 'shopping centre' in Paris. It's essentially an underground maze of shops and cafes, with many chain shops. In general it's not cheap, but offers an easier way to shop - Paris is renowned for haute couture fashion etc, but it can be difficult to find an area in Paris that offers a variety of shops under one roof. Be careful of petty thieves in the area surrounding Forum des Halles, especially in the evening.

What to buy: There's a very quaint (but pricy) tea shop in Forum des Halles, along with many catalogue shops and shops such as Sephora, which offer toiletries and perfumes.

What to pay: It's not cheap, but some shops are reasonable.

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A very distinct shopping plaza, the forum is a series of three concentric squares each progressively smaller and deeper underground than its predecessor. The final level connects to the metro and RER. This is a good stop during inclement weather.

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'Les Halles', as it is more commonly known, is a refreshingly different shopping complex from those to which I am accustomed. Where the typical shopping mall in Australia is a large enclosed and generally windowless box, Les Halles is built down the sides of a large hole in the ground, in a cascading series of glazed inward-looking levels. It was built in 1979 as a refurbishment of what had been the old markets area for Paris.

I have seen descriptions saying it is ugly, but I found it quite delightful and airy: as with so many places, it seems beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Having said that, it must be said that in some parts it is beginning to look a little down-at-heel and due for some refurbishment - that applies particularly to the outside areas.

In the central courtyard, I was intrigued by the large (fibreglass?) coloured cow - there were numerous such 'cow' statues around Paris during my visit, I have since learned they are part of a travelling 'art' event called vache-art in Paris, cow-parade in English - it has visited and is visiting many cities around the world. If you wish to learn more, go to www.cowparade.com .

At the lowest level, there are connections to a major rail station for a Métro line and 3 RER lines.

What to buy: Many of the shops seem to be focussed on womens clothing - then again, that applies almost anywhere it seems, and Paris is a home of fashion after all! Likewise, from a mere male's perspective, I thought the prices looked somewhat high. I did find a shop which had some items of interest as souvenirs, but they were not open when I visited.

Main photo - Les Halles from an upper level, looking in.
Photo 1 - From a lower level, looking out across the courtyard to St Eustache church
Photo 3 - Street level view of the outside of the complex
Photo 4 - The strange coloured "vache-art" (there is a play on words, in French) sculpture in the courtyard.

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At the place of the original Halles, the huge food market for Paris till 1969, a huge underground shopping centre is built.

This shoppingcentre is built in different levels and is designed around 'a huge crater', forming a central square. From this square starts a huge labyrinth of underground streets with shops, snackbars and restaurants.

Except shops the Forum des Halles houses also several cultural functions.

What to buy: There are some huge stores with enormous collections of books and music. I found here for example several French books about the Sahara I was looking for.

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This is your basic shopping mall with middle of the road level clothing, not too expensive, not too cheap, but cheaper than many stores on the street. I found several stores to shop in. The most intriguing thing about the place was the design. While slightly dated, I enjoyed exploring the grounds, particularly coming out of the food court area to the surface. The mall is a little confusing to find your way around once inside, but it gave me the opportunity to look at things more than once. There were far less people in the mall than in other places, plus it is protected from weather being that it is underground. Food court was lame, but the bathroom in the restaurant was free to walk in and.... I would eat above ground nearby.

I must note that I liked this place much better than Galleries Lafayette, which, while a beautiful building, was a mess of people and stuff everywhere, too chaotic.

Open every day but Sunday 10-7:30. The is also a parking garage nearby