Courcelles: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro lines 2 and 3.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from the crossing of boulevard de Courcelles and rue de Courcelles, which owes its name to a hamlet it led to through the Courcelles barrier, a gate of the Farmers-General wall located where the station now stands. It opened with the Étoile - Anvers section of line 2 North. Its exit 1, on boulevard de Courcelles, leads towards parc Monceau; the Saint Alexander Nevsky cathedral, seat of the archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe, and the Swedish church of Paris are nearby.
Anecdote
From the 1950s to 2007 the walls were clad in metal panelling with blue uprights and lit gilded advertising frames, with white Motte seats. It disappeared during the renovation of the platforms in 2008, in favour of bevelled white tiles, Gaudin-style light strips and orange Akiko seats.
Around Courcelles
- Parc Monceau, 750 m away — A park created for the Duke of Chartres and finished in 1779 by Carmontelle, who laid out follies including an Egyptian pyramid, a Roman colonnade and a Dutch windmill. In 1797 Garnerin made the first silk parachute jump here.
- Musée Cernuschi, 1000 m away — The City of Paris's museum of Asian arts, home to a remarkable collection of Chinese bronzes.
- Musée Nissim de Camondo, 1000 m away — An early 20th-century mansion preserved as it was, a testament to the refinement of French living.