Chatelet - Les Halles

No visit to Paris is complete without getting lost in the cavernous expanse which is known as "Les Halles". As virtually every Metro and RER line in Paris passes at some point though this crazy labyrinth. (I still haven't found David Bowie in there) You will not be suprised when I tell you that Les Halles is the worlds largest completely underground metro station. Allegedly 750,000 people pass through there everyday, and I can tell you, if you are there during peak hour, it seems as though you get a chance to meet each and every one of them. Either that or each and every one of them behaves like a typical Parisian and dawdles aimlessly in front of you, whilst you, in your strange foreign hurry are attempting to move through with purpose and direction. (A very odd quality, totally at odds with the ambling inhabitants of this town.)

I do hyperbolise a little, as there are only actually 9 train lines that actually stop at Les Halles, but those 9 lines do generate 750,000 passengers a day.

Sitting on top of the Station is an equally convoluted shopping centre known as Les Halles. Much like the station sitting below you quickly lose your sense of direction upon entry.

In fact the whole area is a little bit Alice in Wonderland. For such a beautiful old city as Paris is, Les Halles, is a throwback to some bizzare post modern experiment in urban design that was best left alone around the same time that the Leyland P76 was well and truly abandoned by the car buying masses. . This is best highlighted by the bizzare juxtaposition of the massive 500 year old church Eglise Saint-Eustache, that overshadows the strange glass curves and odd metal hanging gardens of Les Halles.

The area was originally the main markets of Paris, and had been so for many hundreds of years, (since 1183), however towards the middle of the 20th century, most of the markets had disappeared, and the area had become extremely rundown and dilapidated. It also attracted some of the more unsavory element of Paris society. (and in fact still continues to do so). Les Halles is the place in Paris where all of the youngsters from the suburbs come to hang out on a Friday and Saturday night. Late at night in summer it is not always the most attractive place in Paris to be and is perhaps best avoided if possible.

Shopping in Les Halles is a rather painful but ultimately rewarding experience. On the negative side, the shopping centre is a ridiculous entanglement of shops, which seem to be put together in some sort of bizarre arbitrary alignment. Also it is obscenely busy, all of the time. It is a fight to even make your way through the crush of people that descend upon Paris' urban shopping mecca. On the positive side, it does contain, virtually every shop you could ever want to buy something from. So you can't fault the place for its variety.

What is the rewarding part I hear you ask? Well if you can successfully navigate your way through the maze, and make your way out with your shopping and your sanity intact then you have succeeded my friend. You have succeeded where so many others have thrown up their hands and failed, and you can truly call yourself a master of the Les Halles experience.