Halles Baltard de Niort

From the 12th century onwards, Niort was an active merchant city thanks to its river port and the trade flows with the Atlantic coast.
According to François Rabelais, his medieval covered market remains for a very long time "the most beautiful and most convenient crowded kingdom".
The halls, a cathedral of cast iron, glass and steel, were built in 1869 in the Baltard style and testify to this past magnificence! His attributes are represented at the entrance by two deities of the Roman pantheon. On the right, the goddess of agriculture Ceres, sitting on a horn of abundance, carries in her left hand a sheaf of wheat. On the left, the god of commerce Mercury, wearing his winged cap, holds a purse in his left hand.
Today, the barge is warmly welcomed by producers, craftsmen and merchants on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, days of big market.