Hôtel de Ville: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro lines 1 and 11.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from its proximity to the Paris city hall, home to the municipal institutions since 1357, and to place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville. It is served by lines 1 and 11, which opened respectively with the first section between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot, and with the one between Châtelet and Porte des Lilas. The Centre Georges-Pompidou is near exit 2, and the Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville near exit 6.
Anecdote
The Guimard pavilion at exit 6, listed as a historic monument, stayed in place until 1974, then was moved to Abbesses station (line 12). A plaque laid in 1994 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the strike of the 3,000 CMP employees. During the extension of line 11 to Rosny-Bois-Perrier, the station was the western terminus for nine months.
Audio guide
The Paris City Hall: "Paris Libéré"
On May 24, 1871, the Paris City Hall went up in smoke.
Seat of the municipality since 1357, it then stands on the Place de Grève, which gave its name to the expression "to strike". During Bloody Week, the Communards, cornered by Versailles troops, burned the building. It burns for eight days: paintings, furniture, a library of 120,000 books, Parisian civil status before 1860... everything disappears.
The only one who survived was the clock face, which fell to the ground by a ton and a half.
In August 1871, the city decided to rebuild in the same place. Théodore Ballu and Édouard Deperthes design a neo-Renaissance palace, inspired by the old but without its stones. The work was completed in 1882: the town hall that we admire today is therefore only 140 years old. And on August 25, 1944, de Gaulle launched his famous "Paris Libéré! Since 2013, the square in front of the town hall has been called Esplanade de la Libération, in tribute to the insurgents.
Around Hôtel de Ville
- Hôtel de Ville de Paris, 90 m away — Seat of the city government since 1357. Burned during the Commune in 1871, it was rebuilt from 1874 to 1882 by Ballu and Deperthes, in a neo-Renaissance style that largely repeats the facade of the destroyed building.
- Cathédrale Notre-Dame, 450 m away — A Gothic masterpiece recently restored after the 2019 fire, the spiritual heart of Paris.
- BHV Marais, 130 m away — A department store founded in 1856, known for its historic hardware department and animated Christmas windows.