George V: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 1.
Why this name?
Inaugurated as Alma, about four weeks after the first section of line 1, the station was renamed George V in 1920, in honour of the king of the United Kingdom (1865-1936). Together with Montparnasse - Bienvenüe, it is one of only two Paris metro stations named after a person still living at the time. Its first name, Alma, recalled the battle of the Alma (1854), now commemorated by Alma - Marceau on line 9. It lies under the Champs-Élysées, where avenue George-V joins it, in the 8th arrondissement.
Anecdote
Its platforms, lengthened from 75 to 90 metres between May 1963 and December 1964 to take six-car trains, end to the west in a 15-metre crypt. On the day of Elizabeth II's funeral, the RATP replaced half of the name plates with « Elizabeth II » and « 1926 - 2022 » on a black background. The station was used as a location for « À bout de souffle » (1960) by Jean-Luc Godard and « Le Samouraï » (1967) by Jean-Pierre Melville.
Around George V
- Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 200 m away — 1,910 m long, the avenue grew from the axis laid out by Le Nôtre, completed in 1724. Its name recalls the Elysian Fields of Greek mythology. Every year it hosts the 14 July parade and the finish of the Tour de France.
- Avenue Montaigne, 750 m away — A prestigious avenue home to Paris's most renowned haute couture houses.
- Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 750 m away — An Art Deco theatre where Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' premiered in 1913, causing a memorable scandal.