A cheap hotel near Les Halles: a shopping district
A cheap hotel near Les Halles: a shopping district
From Saint-Eustache to Le Châtelet
Come discover a district which is one of Paris’ most ancient, yet which has always reinvented itself over the years. From your cheap hotel near Les Halles, you can explore its streets right up to its bustling heart, and then continue on down to Le Châtelet and its theatres.
Les Halles, Paris’ ancient “belly”
Make sure you don’t miss the impressive Saint-Eustache church, which is right by Les Halles. It mixes Gothic and Renaissance styles and was constructed between 1532 and 1633, then modified in the 18th century. One famous name under its vaulted interiors is Louis XIV’s minister Colbert. To the north of Les Halles runs the Montorgueil district. Its pedestrianised shopping streets are ideal for strolls. It also has lots of fashionable gourmet eateries. To the east, the Fontaine des Innocents stands in the location of a former cemetery and is a listed historical monument dating back to the Renaissance period. Nearby, Rue de la Ferronnerie has a plaque marking the exact spot where King Henri IV was assassinated in 1610 by Ravaillac. Carry on walking down to the Place du Châtelet with its many theatres and on towards Saint-Jacques tower. This is the Parisian starting point for the Road to Santiago-de-Compostela pilgrimage.
Les Halles’ history goes all the way back to the 12th century, when a large food market was set up. Over the centuries, this market won the nickname “the belly of Paris”. Around the year 1860, wide covered glass hallways with an iron framework designed by architect Victor Baltard were constructed. These were then destroyed in the 1970s when the market was moved to Rungis. The enormous underground Forum des Halles shopping centre now occupies the space, with a garden built at surface level. This is an area under constant renewal, even today.
