The Halles

market, Paris, France

Also known as: Forum des Halles

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June 29, 2026

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The Halles of Paris was the city's central market from 1183 to 1969. Originally a wholesale market for fresh produce, it was housed in distinctive 19th-century iron-and-glass structures designed by Victor Baltard. After the market relocated to Rungis, the Halles quarter underwent renewal. The old market halls were demolished in 1971, leaving a symbolic void. A new underground shopping center, the Forum des Halles, opened in 1979, but faced criticism for its lack of popularity and issues with drug dealing. Efforts have been made to renovate the site and preserve some of the neighborhood's historic character, including the church of Saint-Eustache and the Commercial Exchange (formerly the Grain Exchange).1

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Paris
The Halles of Paris
Several streets northwest of the Hôtel de Ville is the quarter of the Halles, which was from 1183 to 1969 the central market (ultimately a wholesale market for fresh products) of Paris. When the market moved out to a new location at…
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Several streets northwest of the Hôtel de Ville is the quarter of the Halles, which was from 1183 to 1969 the central market (ultimately a wholesale market for fresh products) of Paris. When the market moved out to a new location at…
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Georges-Eugène, Baron Haussmann
…central marketplace known as Les Halles (the latter surviving into the 1960s).
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…central marketplace known as Les Halles (the latter surviving into the 1960s).
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Western architecture
Construction in iron and glass
…umbrellas, such as Victor Baltard’s Halles Centrales, Paris (1853–70; demolished 1971). An especially beautiful example of iron-and-glass construction is Henri Labrouste’s nine-domed reading room at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (1860–67).
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…umbrellas, such as Victor Baltard’s Halles Centrales, Paris (1853–70; demolished 1971). An especially beautiful example of iron-and-glass construction is Henri Labrouste’s nine-domed reading room at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (1860–67).
Read More