Halle du Beffroi, market hall in Revel, France

Halle du Beffroi is a square market hall open on all four sides, its timber frame carried by 79 oak pillars and covered by a tiled roof. The belfry rising above it has a pale stone lower section with corner quoins and an arched window, then a bracketed cornice, a railed octagonal lantern with clock faces, and a grey metal ovoid dome topped by a weather vane. The hall stands on Place Philippe-VI-de-Valois, surrounded by arcades.

The town was founded in 1342 by King Philippe VI, with this market hall designed as the central anchor of a new grid-pattern street layout. Its 14th-century oak columns form the backbone of that original urban design and remain standing today.

The belfry's upper room once housed the watchman who warned of approaching enemies and fires, while a hall served the town council and part of the building held a prison. The name Revel comes from the town; the hall stands on Place Philippe-VI-de-Valois, named for the king who founded the bastide in 1342.

The hall stands open on all four sides, so you can walk through it at any time of day. The belfry above is reached only by its own stair and is not a public viewing platform; the clock faces and the metal weather vane are best seen from the square outside.

The belfry originally held a guard's lodging on its upper floor, from which a watchman warned of approaching enemies and of fire. A hall inside the belfry served the town council as its meeting place, and the building also housed a prison.