Tips 1 - 3 of 3 Paris Shopping
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Forum Les Halles: Forum Les Halles
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Name of Shop: Forum Les Halles
Elegant? Fashionable? Suave? Chic? Stylish? Sophisticated? Distinguished? Cultured? Refined?
Forget it! This place is popular in both senses of the word, first because lots of people come here and second because they aren't necessarily members of the affluent upper strata of Parisian society. In fact most of them aren't Parisians at all, but come here on the RER trains from various unfashionable suburbs.
Until 1971 this was the site of Les Halles, the central wholesale food market, with large iron and glass buildings that were constructed in the 1850s, 60s and 70s.
Les Halles were long considered one of the quintessential sites/sights of Paris, so much so that as a timid young student in the early 1960s I summoned up all my courage and went over to try the traditional Parisian Onion Soup with bread and melted cheese at one of the typical workers' restaurants. The soup was really fine, as was the dinky little restaurant, and to this day I'm still a big fan of Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée -- if I ever write a restaurant tip that's what it will be about. (Or maybe Bel Canto, but don't hold your breath, okay?)
In 1971 the old Les Halles market was torn down and replaced by the world's largest underground station, "Châtelet – Les Halles", which is served by three regional RER lines (A, B and D) and by five of the traditional Paris Métro lines (1, 4, 7, 11 and 14).
On top of the station they built a shopping center, Forum Les Halles, which is where I used to go to rent bicycles from Roue Libre, and where I still go sometimes to get concert tickets at the fnac store.
In the middle of Les Halles, as the centerpiece of the entire architectural complex, they created -- a big hole in the ground, which I believe was intended to let some daylight into the nether regions of the complex.
Now that thirty years have passed I think it would be fair to say that a big hole in the ground is not a very good thing to have as the centerpiece of an architectural complex. Various plans have been proposed to remedy this, and the architect David Mangin has been entrusted with the daunting task of rearranging and upgrading Les Halles -- and resolving the conflicting interests of commuters, railroad unions, local residents, politicians and everyone else involved.
Mangin is well aware of the importance and difficulty of this project. He has been quoted as saying, only half jokingly: “Les Halles is the centre of Paris, and Paris is the centre of France, and France is the centre of the world”.
Second photo: Looking down in Forum Les Halles.
Third photo: Looking through Forum Les Halles towards the church Saint-Eustache, which by the way is where Mozart's mother was buried in July 1778.
Fourth photo: Looking out over the famous Les Halles hole-in-the-ground towards the stock exchange. Saint-Eustache church in on the right.
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Phone: 01 44 76 96 56
Directions: Velib' 1027
Métro Châtelet - Les Halles
GPS 48°51'41.62" North; 2°20'52.46" East
Website: http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=1893
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Name of Shop: fnac
You can get concert tickets or a Museum Pass at the big fnac store in the shopping center at Forum Les Halles. I have also ordered opera tickets through their website www.fnac.com. Besides tickets, they also sell books, CDs and DVDs, computers, television sets, cameras, video-games, etc.
Actually there are eight fnac stores in Paris, all with ticket sales. Besides the one at Forum Les Halles, they are located:
• at 4, place de la Bastille, near the new opera house
• in the Galerie du Claridge, 74, avenue des Champs-Elysées
• at 77-81, boulevard Saint-Germain
• the 13th arrondissment at 30, avenue d'Italie
• in Paris-Montparnasse at 136, rue de Rennes
• in the Passage du Havre at 109, rue Saint-Lazare
• in the 17th arrondissment at 26-30, avenue des Ternes
Nobody in France seems to know what fnac stands for, not even people who work there, but in fact the initials are for "Fédération nationale d'achats des cadres" because the company was originally founded in 1954 as a purchasing service for civil servants.
Strangely enough, the two founders of fnac were militant Trotskyite Communists, and one of them was even a former bodyguard of Leon Trotsky.
Second photo: Entrance to the fnac store in Forum Les Halles.
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Phone: 0825 020 020 (EUR 0.15/min.)
Address: 1-7 rue Pierre Lescot, Centre commercial Forum
Directions: Velib' 1027
Métro Châtelet - Les Halles
GPS 48°51'41.62" North; 2°20'52.46" East
Website: http://www.fnac.com/
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Pariscope: Pariscope
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Name of Shop: Pariscope
One of the first things I do when I arrive in Paris is to go to a newsstand and buy a copy of the weekly magazine Pariscope, which comes out every Wednesday and lists more or less everything that is going on in Paris and vicinity in the coming week.
Pariscope is printed in black and white on thin paper in a small typeface, in a format which has not changed since 1965, as far as I can tell. It lists theaters, concerts of all sorts, activities for children, festivals, guided tours, films, art exhibitions, restaurants and nightlife activities. This is all in French, of course, so if you can't read French you would probably need someone to help you find what you are looking for.
Amazingly, Pariscope still only costs 40 cents, that's 0.40 Euros.
Fourth installment, continued: two new Transportation tips plus one update.
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 Comments for Nemorino about Paris | | | | |
jumpingnorman Sun Oct 25, 2009 01:12 UTC
Hi Don - the Saint Chapelle looks like a really awesome place for concerts and your paris tips continue to amaze me with regards to detail - but yes, those catacombs were interesting and a bit spooky....Norman :) | grado Tue Sep 29, 2009 04:09 UTC
Your info on the Velib was fantastic! Do you know anything about the Paris Pass? I couldn't find anything on VT. Thanks again for terrific info! Jan Gradowitz sjgrado@yahoo.com | risse73 Tue Sep 22, 2009 22:15 UTC
Read the customs, nightlife, warning, shopping & hotel tips. Love the riverside dancing scene, the "fnac" ticket info, the charming hotels, but hate the anti-immigrant sentiment. Thanks for visiting my general Peru page! -Marissa- | joiwatani Sun Aug 9, 2009 21:36 UTC
I was here early this year but didn't have enough time to explore it! Might be back next time when time and money allow. |
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on Oct 9, 2008
