Cardinal Lemoine: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 10.
Why this name?
In the 5th arrondissement, in the heart of the Latin Quarter, under rue Monge, the line 10 station owes its name to rue du Cardinal-Lemoine, which honours Cardinal Jean Lemoine (1250-1313), legate of Pope Boniface VIII; the street was cut through the grounds of the Cardinal-Lemoine college, founded in 1302. It opened with the extension of line 10 from Maubert - Mutualité to Jussieu, which replaced the section to Porte de Choisy, since transferred to line 7.
Anecdote
A double-track connecting tunnel links the station to line 7, above which it is built. It was used for a commercial service for a year, from 1930 to 1931, when line 10 ended at Porte de Choisy, and it is now unused. In the station, the lower part of the walls is vertical rather than elliptical, and the Motte-style seats are blue.
Around Cardinal Lemoine
- Place de l'Estrapade (Emily in Paris), 400 m away — In the series Emily in Paris, the heroine's apartment is at 1 place de l'Estrapade, in the 5th arrondissement, one block from the Panthéon.
- Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, 350 m away — Labrouste's library, opened to the public in 1851, which leaves its cast-iron and iron structure exposed. Eighteen columns carry openwork arches, and the names of 800 authors are carved on the facade.
- Panthéon, 400 m away — A former church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, now a necropolis for France's great figures, with the tombs of Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo and Marie Curie.
- Arènes de Lutèce, 220 m away — A 1st-century Roman amphitheatre rediscovered in the 19th century, once able to seat 15,000 spectators.
- Place de la Contrescarpe, 230 m away — A picturesque, lively square, the heart of the bohemian Latin Quarter frequented by Hemingway in the 1920s.
- Rue Mouffetard, 450 m away — One of the oldest streets in Paris, famous for its lively food market and historic façades.