Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on Line 4 of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the Paris, city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform ar ...

. It serves the

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the north ...

neighbourhood on the

Rive Gauche The Rive Gauche (, ''Left Bank'') is the southern bank of the river Seine in Paris. Here the river flows roughly westward, cutting the city in two parts. When facing downstream, the southern bank is to the left, and the northern bank (or ''Rive D ...

, in the

6th arrondissement The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

. In 2013, the station was used by 4,498,265 passengers, making it the 101st busiest out of 302 on the Métro network.Trafic annuel entrant par station (2013)
sur le site ''data.ratp.fr'' (consulté le 31 août 2014)

Location

The station is located under

Boulevard Saint-Germain Boulevard Saint-Germain () is a major street in Paris on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. It curves in a 3.5-kilometre (2.1 miles) arc from the Pont de Sully in the east (the bridge at the edge of Île Saint-Louis) to the Pont de la Concorde ( ...

not far from the intersection with Rue de Rennes and

Rue Bonaparte Rue Bonaparte is a street in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It spans the Quai Voltaire/Quai Malaquais to the Jardin du Luxembourg, crossing the Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the place Saint-Sulpice and has housed many of France's most famou ...

History

The station was opened on 9 January 1910 as part of the connecting section of the line under the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

between Châtelet and Raspail. It is named after Place Saint-Germain and the

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

, dedicated on 23 December 558 by the son of Clovis,

Childebert I Childebert I (c. 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...

(ruled 511–558), at the request of St. Germain,

Bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...

. Childebert died the same day and was buried in it. More than a thousand years later the remains of the philosopher

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...

were also buried in it. The expression "des-Prés" refers to the ''Prés aux Clercs'' ("fields of the scholars") used for the erection of buildings to house the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. The station was equipped with

platform screen doors Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail syste ...

from February until May 2019, preparing it for the line's ongoing full automation.

Passenger services

Access

Each of the two exits from this station, located on either side of Boulevard Saint-Germain, just next to the church of the same name, is adorned with a Val d'Osne candelabra.

Station layout

Bus connections

The station is served by Lines 39, 63, 70, 86, 87, 95, 96 and the tourist line OpenTour of the

RATP Bus Network The RATP bus network covers the entire territory of the city of Paris and the vast majority of its near suburbs. Operated by the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), this constitutes a dense bus network complementary to other public ...

and, at night, by lines N01, N02, N12 and N13 of the

Noctilien Noctilien is the night bus service in Paris and its agglomeration. It is managed by the Île-de-France Mobilités (formerly the STIF), the Île-de-France regional public transit authority, and operated by RATP (with 32 lines) and Transilien SNC ...

network .

Nearby

The

, the

Café de Flore The Café de Flore () is one of the oldest coffeehouses in Paris, celebrated for its famous clientele, which in the past included high-profile writers and philosophers. It is located at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain and Rue Saint-Benoî ...

and

Les Deux Magots Les Deux Magots () is a famous café and restaurant situated at 6, Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris's 6th arrondissement of Paris, 6th arrondissement, France. It once had a reputation as the rendezvous of the literary and intellectual eli ...

are located nearby.

Gallery

File:Paris Saint Germain Metro Eglise 160109.jpg, Street-level entrance at Saint-Germain-des-Prés File:Metro Paris - Ligne 4 - station Saint-Germain-des-Pres 01.jpg, Platforms at Saint-Germain-des-Prés

References

*Roland, Gérard (2003). ''Stations de métro. D’Abbesses à Wagram.'' Éditions Bonneton. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Germain-Des-Pres (Paris Metro) Paris Métro stations in the 6th arrondissement of Paris Railway stations in France opened in 1910 Paris Métro stations located underground