A Walk Around Les Halles, Paris

Les Halles was Paris's central fresh food market. It was demolished in 1971 and replaced by the Forum des Halles, a modern shopping mall built largely underground and directly connected to the massive RER and métro transit hub of Châtelet-Les-Halles. The shopping mall welcomes 150,000 visitors daily.
A major reconstruction of the mall was undertaken in 2010, and the new version of the Forum des Halles was inaugurated in 2018. The 2.5 acre Canopée was opened on 5 April 2016,. In 2017, the Forum des Halles was the second most visited shopping mall in the Paris region with 42 million visitors.
Gare de Châtelet - Les Halles is Paris's busiest rail station, serving 750,000 travelers on an average weekday. The buildings and their surroundings have been criticized for their design. In 2002 Mayor Bertrand Delanoë announced that the City of Paris would begin public consultations regarding the remodeling of the area, calling Les Halles "a soulless, architecturally bombastic concrete jungle".
A design competition for the Forum and gardens was held, with entries from Jean Nouvel, Winy Maas, David Mangin, and Rem Koolhaas. Mangin's design for the gardens, which proposed replacing the landscaped mounds and paths of the 1980s design with a simplified pattern of east-west pedestrian promenades and a large central lawn, was selected. The plan also includes extending the pedestrianized area further east to include all the streets bordering the gardens. Another competition was held for the redesign of the Forum. Ten teams submitted plans, and the proposal by Patrick Berger and Jacques Anziutti was selected in 2007. Their design includes a large undulating glass canopy which will cover the redesigned Forum.[ STIF and RATP began plans for the remodeling of the Châtelet-Les-Halles station in 2007, and the following year Berger and Anziutti were awarded a contract for redesign of the station.
The station redesign includes new entrances on Rue Berger, Rue Rambuteau, and Place Marguerite de Navarre, an expanded RER concourse, and improved pedestrian circulation. Construction began in 2010 on a project which includes the gardens, Forum, and station, and is scheduled to continue through 2016. The clients are the City of Paris, RATP, which operates the Paris Metro, and La Société Civile du Forum des Halles de Paris, which operates the Forum.

[@andersbertilsson494]

I remember when the former Forum les Halles was built in the eighties and there was a smell in the metro around Les Halles but i think it turned out rather good with the enormeous Fnac now sadly killed of by intertnet shopping. This looks fantastic though, amazing there already is a new center.

[@MarceloSicoli]

Watching from Brasilia, Brazil in April 2024

[@danieldumas7361]

Awesome Video. Totally professional, both in imagery & lighting. Taking us from the grand entrance through
the other extremity of The Canapé. Great Job Michael. Merci!

[@varoonnone7159]

canOpé*
A canApé is a sofa 😉

[@mayumiueyama2252]

Thank you for a wonderful tour.
Impressive editing and camera maneuver at a professional level. Thank you 🌈💚

[@bindiasood6781]

Your video is amazing. Love 🗼Paris

[@yjlee8423]

Hello, thank you for your video. the video allows me to rediscover the charms of the Forum des Halles in Paris. Merci beaucoup !

[@user-vp9ut6ow3j]

pour un français rungis a détruit les halles de paris,c'est zéro les halles aujourd'hui,un échec total,faut regarder les archives des vidéos de 1967 pour conprendre.les halles étaient le coeur de paris.c'est vrai que l'hygiène n'était pas bonne ,dans un seul pavillon 6 douches pour 500 travailleurs.les vieux du quartier en sont mort de chagrin, toute une vie brisée.

[@steverees123]

Nice job! Good editing, and good audio, which is often ignored.

[@louishundred1812]

Waaaaoo Beautiful place 💕

[@Adrenaline_chaser]

They've done this colossal work to install that magnificent canopy but they didn't bother to install some brighter, decent looking panels in the floor/pavement. The floor looks cheap af!

[@AvalonisIntervision]

Dommage qu'on n'ait pas vu le jardin des Halles...

[@phenixreturns]

good! the New Halles (forum des halles was really different before = not as beautiful and open, it was dark, grey)

[@guastomike]

Thanks again for your excellent daily uploads of Paris videos. On youtube there is a shortage of videos on Canal Saint Martin (particularly thru the tunnel back to the Seine) and of the batobus/bateau bus. Just a thought. Thanks again.

[@MichaelJirochVisualArtist]

Michael Cox ...I did a winter one of St. Martin Canal. Actually Christmas Day. No one...I mean no was around on the canal. It looks completely different in winter. I also tried to film it this trip, but I just ran out of energy. I figured, I did it already, and I need some rest.

[@guastomike]

@@MichaelJirochVisualArtist I must have missed it - I'll look for it. Hope you get some rest. Thanks for your videos and taking time to reply.

[@ai.117unsc4]

Kõninga ajal ehitatu õ talo kõninga latse latse lemmik shopping center

[@spekterum]

Very noisy and untidy place. Much better in the old days (except the Metro)

[@toutanina3325]

J'aurais aimé voir les magasin de ce halle ???

[@bleclercq]

Quelle horreur tout ce monde... la jungle urbaine