Grands Boulevards: station history
Served by: metro lines 8 and 9.
Did you know?
A station of the superimposed lines 8 and 9, on the border of the 2nd and 9th arrondissements, under the western end of boulevard Poissonnière. It was first called « Montmartre », then « Rue Montmartre », after the nearby street, a former path to the hill. It was renamed in summer 1998 to end the confusion of tourists who thought it served the Montmartre hill, several kilometres to the north. Entrance no. 2, on boulevard Montmartre, leads to the Grévin museum.
Anecdote
The platforms are 105 metres long, and each stop has two platforms separated by a central wall, because of unstable ground. Renovated between 1974 and 1984 in the Andreu-Motte style, the station is red for line 8 and green for line 9, with flat white tiling that replaced the original bevelled tiles. Line 9 has vertical walls and a flat reinforced-concrete ceiling.
Audio guide
The Grévin Museum,from the great names in history to today's stars
Before the press photo, how do you know what the people on the front page look like?
In 1881, Arthur Meyer, founder of the daily newspaper Le Gaulois, had an idea: to show them in three dimensions, in wax. He entrusted the project to Alfred Grévin, cartoonist and creator of theatre costumes. The museum opened on June 5, 1882, at 10 boulevard Montmartre, and the success was immediate.
Grévin died in 1892, but his name remains. The museum expanded: a theatre in 1883, then the Palais des Mirages, designed by Eugène Hénard for the Universal Exhibition of 1900 and integrated in 1906. This game of mirrors and optical illusions always amazes visitors.
In the Hall of the Columns and under the Dome, the baroque decorations of 1882 are still there. Since the opening, more than 2,000 wax figures have been fashioned here, from the great names of history to today's stars.
Chartier, oldest Bouillon in the capital
1896: two brothers open a canteen in a former train station, near the Grands Boulevards.
Frédéric and Camille Chartier have a simple idea: a meal worthy of the name, at a modest price. Their "broth" at 7 rue du Faubourg-Montmartre is today the oldest still in operation in Paris.
Inside, nothing has changed: woodwork, mirrors, brass, ball lights. Classified as a historical monument in 1989, the scenery is said to have seen Mistinguett, Piaf and Marcel Cerdan. In the past, regulars even stored their towels in a drawer cabinet.
Open 7 days a week until midnight, with a €2 Mayo egg, the Chartier served some 50 million meals.
Around Grands Boulevards
- Passage Jouffroy, 160 m away — Built in 1845, it is presented as the first Paris passage made entirely of metal and glass, and the first heated through the floor. The exit of the Musée Grévin, opened in 1882, is here. Listed as a historic monument in 1974.
- À la Mère de Famille, 300 m away — Paris's oldest confectionery and chocolate shop, opened in 1761, with a Belle Époque façade and interior listed as historic monuments.
- Grand Rex, 400 m away — Cinema opened in 1932 for Jacques Haïk, by Auguste Bluysen and engineer John Eberson. Its 2,702-seat main hall is topped by a starry vault more than 30 m high; the hall and its decor have been listed as historic monuments since 1981.
- Musée Grévin, 70 m away — A wax museum founded in 1882, featuring life-size figures of celebrities.