For centuries this was the beating heart of Parisian commerce — the great central food market that Émile Zola called "the belly of Paris." The old iron-and-glass market pavilions were demolished in the 1970s and replaced by an underground shopping complex, the Forum des Halles, which was itself rebuilt between 2010 and 2016 with a swooping glass-and-steel canopy designed by Patrick Berger.
Today the complex holds over a hundred shops, a large Fnac bookstore, cinemas, and a swimming pool, all spread across several underground levels above the massive Châtelet–Les Halles metro hub. The surface-level Jardin Nelson-Mandela is a pleasant green space where you can rest your feet. The surrounding streets are lively with restaurants and bars, especially along Rue Montorgueil to the north — one of the best market streets left in central Paris.