During my 1960's trip to Paris, I met a girl who introduced me to the experience of Les Halles at 3AM and then to the French Onion soup. I understand that Les Halles has been "torn down" and that the location of the offloading of the vegetables for the restaurants in Paris has been moved. Does anyone know where it is now. It makes me feel very old to draw upon an experience which is old and which the young have not had. Se la Vie. Ross
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
"Does anyone know where it is now." Yes, the market was torn down in the 70's. The replacement is located in the suburb of Rungis, south towards the Orly airport, and is not even close to the same as the old one, ambience-wise. (sigh) The old location is now a shopping mall. Oh well, c'est la vie.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23443 posts
This one stays with the memories. What else did she introduce you to that we could assist you with?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
I dunno how hideous it is. I mean, yes, okay, I admit the "architecture" is pretty ghastly... but we rather like stopping in every now and then. The vibe is young and the demographic reflects the people of Paris out shopping for fast fashion and so forth. And there's a cafe in the movie theatre that has nice deep cushiony chairs for taking a load off. And Église Saint-Eustache is steps away! It is a magnificent late Gothic church - actually worth seeing all on its own. And when we visited this past December, the little park between the church and les Halles was being re-done, with freshened-up landscaping and new swings and suchlike. And one day we stumbled on a street market nearby. I'll admit, I am hoping they "do better" next time, but I won't totally trash poor old les Halles.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
The Les Halles near St Eustache is totally skippable-full of tacky shops. We wasted valuable time seeing it. Located nearby is the wonderful DeHillerin cookware shop where Julia Child shopped back in the day. Despite not buying a thing, it was fun to visit. So very French!
Posted by
Marseille
150 posts
"The old location is now a shopping mall." Yes, and a hideous one at that. Fortunately I believe there are plans afoot to redevelop it, let's hope they don't get it wrong again this time (not that they could do any worse than its current state in my opinion).
Posted by
OP
milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
36 posts
Thanks. I'll pass. And, I'm just not going to tell what else she introduced me to but it sure was great. Ross
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
Even if the old Les Halles was still there she wouldn't be, try Facebook.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
@Susan: OMG, yes, E. DeHillerin is amazing. Wonderful. Gobsmacking. We visit - we window shop - we drool. See? I am not totally hip hop and down market! :D Seriously, though, les Halles is a tacky mall, no doubt about it. And E. DeHillerin is beyond fantastic... but I always say there's something to be seen pretty much everywhere. And we love checking out the styles on the kids who hang out in and around the mall. But now I am seriously off topic. Apologies!