The hybrid station of Chatelet/Les-Halles is still by far the most confusing interchange on the Paris Metro but at least the new glass tiles and gleaming escalators brighten the place up.
The underground station, which offers connections between three lines of the suburban RER trains and five different Metro lines, is one of the largest in Europe. Access is complicated by the fact that the station, originally developed in the 1970s, was built below a three storey underground shopping centre. The nineteen different exits from the station are explained by this map, prominently displayed in the station since the recent renovations.
(Click on the photos above to view the gallery or below to enlarge the map)
The team responsible for the new maps and signage have done their best but there’s still a sense of relief when you finally see daylight ahead at the top of the escalator.
Beyond the Window Box 
December 29, 2017 at 9:31 am
Aaagh. That reminds me of Seoul. One metro station there is so large you actually have to catch a train from one part of it to another to change lines. And emerging into the correct part of the outside world? Hmm. Difficult. Especially when you barely know where you want to get to.
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December 29, 2017 at 9:42 am
RATP claim that Les Halles is the biggest underground station in Europe but I guess there are plenty around the world that outdo it in scale and confusion!
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December 29, 2017 at 4:15 pm
I loved riding the Metro, but clearly the planners didn’t do everything right. On the other hand, overall the Metro is much easier to navigate than parts of the New York Subway—and much better maintained. Les Halles is a very beautiful station. I hope eventually the designers can improve the navigation. (For the record, Philadelphia’s City Hall station, which allows users to connect with two subway lines and a suburban train station, should be relatively easy. It isn’t. It’s a rabbit warren where even long-time residents can easily get lots.)
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December 29, 2017 at 5:14 pm
The navigation at Les Halles is better now most of the renovation work is finished and the new signs are in place but the underground spread of the station means it will always be complicated. At least the maps help to make sense of it.
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December 29, 2017 at 4:17 pm
That’s “lost” there at the end. It’s early in Philadelphia.
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December 30, 2017 at 4:11 am
It seems it was under construction forever. I look forward to seeing it in person on my next trip.
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December 30, 2017 at 6:45 pm
Not quite finished yet!
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