Kléber: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 6.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from avenue Kléber, in tribute to General Jean-Baptiste Kléber (1753-1800), distinguished in the Revolutionary Wars, in the Vendée and during the Egyptian campaign. It is in the 16th arrondissement, under avenue Kléber, south of place Charles-de-Gaulle, between Boissière and Charles de Gaulle - Étoile. It opened on a branch of line 1 between Étoile and Trocadéro; its two entrances each have a Guimard pavilion listed as a historic monument.
Anecdote
With four platform tracks, it serves as a technical terminus and allows trains to stand for longer before or after Charles de Gaulle - Étoile, whose single track is unsuited to this. In 1969 it was remodelled in preparation for the rubber-tyring of line 6, with two side half-stations, pierced walls and a vault supported by steel arches left over from the Second World War. The film Le Nom des gens (The Names of Love, 2010) by Michel Leclerc shot a few scenes there.
Around Kléber
- Arc de Triomphe, 350 m away — A monument raised by Napoleon to glorify his armies, at the top of the Champs-Élysées.
- Trocadéro, 850 m away — The forecourt of the Palais de Chaillot, which separates its two wings and offers a prime view of the Eiffel Tower. Since 1985, at François Mitterrand's initiative, it has been named the "forecourt of liberties and human rights".
- Musée Guimet, 650 m away — The national museum of Asian arts, home to one of the richest collections outside Asia.