Falguière: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 12.
Why this name?
The name comes from the start of rue Falguière, which honours Alexandre Falguière (1831-1900), a 19th-century French sculptor and painter. The station opened with the first section of Nord-Sud line A, between Porte de Versailles and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, a line that became line 12 after the CMP absorbed the Nord-Sud. It is in the 15th arrondissement, under rue de Vaugirard, at place Camille-Claudel, between Montparnasse - Bienvenüe and Pasteur. Its single entrance, a fixed staircase, has a Nord-Sud-style railing.
Anecdote
The semi-elliptical vault and the original Nord-Sud ceramics are preserved. Since the 1950s the walls have been clad in metal panelling with yellow uprights and lit gilded advertising frames, with yellow Motte seats. The enamelled name plates, built into the cladding, show the name in yellow capitals on black; only Parmentier, on line 3, still shares this detail.
Around Falguière
- Musée de La Poste, 170 m away — A museum tracing French postal history through machines, artefacts and one of Europe's largest stamp collections.
- Institut Pasteur, 350 m away — A scientific foundation created by Louis Pasteur, still at the forefront of global biomedical research.
- Musée Pasteur, 350 m away — Louis Pasteur's preserved apartment, retracing his life and major scientific discoveries.
- Place de Catalogne, 550 m away — A modern square with a distinctive circular design, created by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill.