The area was originally the site of a fortress and prison ("châtelet") and, also, for nearly 800 years, Paris’ central produce and meat market (Les Halles, demolished only in 1969). Today, one finds an enormous underground shopping mall there, as well as one of the biggest, most chaotic and complicated Métro stations in Paris, and streets above filled with lively shops, cafes, bars and arcades. Looking for cheap shoes, vintage clothes, a crêpe, or the chance to beat a friend at air hockey? This is the place. Want to catch a movie? Les Halles’ underground mall has two cineplexes, not to mention the Forum des Images, a huge film library whose extensive collection is a sure draw for any cinephile. Afterwards, grab a bite to eat in a fast food place or a trendy café. And what’s the best thing about a playground for grown-ups? How about no curfew? Châtelet-Les Halles is one of Paris’ night spots and includes everything from sleek, modern bars where one can sip high-priced glasses of wine. The neighborhood is also home to several bars and cafes that cater to the gay community.

For those visitors who want more than fun and games, Châtelet-Les Halles also boasts numerous outstanding historic and cultural sites. Just a quick glance around will show this to be true: the neighborhood is full of old, sometimes leaning, buildings. Other sites, like the Tour St.-Jacques, a high, charming Gothic tower that’s all that remains of a 15th century religious complex, or St. Eustache, an enormous Gothic and Renaissance-style church built dating back from the 13th century, dominate the landscape. Near St. Eustache, one finds the Bourse du Commerce, a lovely, late 18th-century rotunda that today houses part of the Chamber of Commerce. The Fontain des Innocents, located in the Place des Innocents on the neighborhood’s eastern end, is a fountain that once belonged to the overcrowded and long-demolished cemetery of Les Innocents.

As for culture, besides the staggering array of films one can view at the Forum des Images, the neighborhood features galleries, bookstores, and places to buy vintage posters. At the Place du Châtelet, not one but two theaters for dance and the performing arts (the Théâtre de la Ville and the Théâtre du Châtelet) border a sphinx-lined fountain commemorating Napoleon’s exploits in Egypt. There are also Les Halles’ large, modern gardens to wander through and explore. And visitors should take this opportunity. Like a magician’s trick at a birthday party, these gardens, as well as most of the underground mall, will soon be changed forever; major renovation projects are already in store. But one thing that will most likely stay the same here is the sight of the nearby Centre Pompidou modern art museum and center. The building’s unmistakable façade of brightly colored pipes rises up over the landscape, perhaps not uncoincidentally, like a tall jungle gym in this grown-up playland.