Neighborhood MONTORGUEUIL
Les Halles is THE CENTRAL AREA of Paris, France, located in the 1er arrondissement, just south of the fashionable rue Montorgueil. It is named for the large central wholesale marketplace, which was demolished in 1971, to be replaced with an underground modern shopping precinct, the Forum des Halles. It is notable in that the open air center area is below street level, like a pit, and contains sculptures, fountains, and mosaics, as well as museums including the Musée Grévin - Forum des Halles (a wax museum).
Beneath this lies the underground station Châtelet-Les-Halles, a central hub of Paris's express commuter rail system, the RER.