"Le Châtelet", a stronghold/gatehouse guarding the northern end of a bridge from the Cité island, was the origin of Paris' first real Rive Droite growth.Where the Les Halles quarter starts and ends is debatable, but for the average Parisian, it surrounds the former Les Halles marketplace, today a shopping mall centre for a highly commercial district whose many "trendy" boutiques are geared to tourism.