Balard: history and sights
Served by: metro line 8.
Did you know?
Named after rue Balard, honouring the chemist Antoine-Jérôme Balard (1802-1876), discoverer of bromine in 1826. The street, opened by decree and extended twice, runs through the Javel district of the 15th arrondissement.
Anecdote
Between the wars, a Citroën crèche stood at the corner of rue Gutenberg for the children of workers at the quai de Javel plant, demolished in the early 1980s.
Around Balard
- Ministère des Armées, 240 m away — A vast complex housing the French military headquarters, informally nicknamed the 'French Pentagon'.
- Parc André-Citroën, 600 m away — A contemporary park on the banks of the Seine, laid out on the site of the former Citroën factories.
- Héliport de Paris, 400 m away — The only heliport within Paris city limits, in operation since the 1950s.