Cadet: station history
Served by: metro line 7.
Did you know?
Opened with the first section of line 7, between Opéra and Porte de la Villette, the station is in the 9th arrondissement, under rue La Fayette, east of its intersection with rue Cadet. The street's name is said to be linked to the brothers Jacques and Jean Cadet, master gardeners and owners of the « clos Cadet ». Its only entrance, on rue Cadet, is decorated with a Guimard edicule protected as a historic monument. It is close to the headquarters of the Grand Orient de France and the Folies Bergère.
Anecdote
The decoration is inspired by the American flag, in homage to General Lafayette, who fought alongside the Americans: flat white, blue and red tiles, white stars on the walls and a rider of the War of Independence on one tympanum. A mosaic, « Lumière en éclats », by Hervé Mathieu-Bachelot, was installed in 1982 in a corridor. During an April Fool's joke, the station was renamed « Rousselle », in reference to Cadet Rousselle (1743-1807), a bailiff from Auxerre whose eccentricity inspired a song.
Around Cadet
- Musée de la Franc-Maçonnerie, 180 m away — The Grand Orient de France's museum tracing the history of Freemasonry from its medieval origins, housed in the former Hôtel de Chaulnes.
- Musée Grévin, 500 m away — A wax museum founded in 1882, featuring life-size figures of celebrities.
- Folies Bergère, 180 m away — A famous Parisian music hall opened in 1869, a hotspot for cabaret and revue shows for over a century.
- Square Montholon, 150 m away — A small, peaceful Napoleon III-era square, adorned with a fountain and flower beds.