Les Gobelins: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 7.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from the Manufacture des Gobelins, a tapestry-making centre established since the 15th century on the banks of the Bièvre; the name also gave rise to avenue and rue des Gobelins. It opened with the extension of line 10 between Odéon and Place d'Italie, before being transferred to line 7, which links Pré-Saint-Gervais or Porte de la Villette to Porte d'Ivry. In the 13th arrondissement, under avenue des Gobelins, it has five entrances, one of them facing the Manufacture.
Anecdote
The station name, in faience, uses a different typeface from other stations and a darker blue background; only Place d'Italie, on the same line, shares this feature. The entrances have Dervaux-type railings, and the Gaudin-style decor combines white rounded light strips, bevelled white tiles and honey-coloured faience advertising frames. Boulevard Saint-Marcel, boulevard Arago and rue Le Brun meet there.
Around Les Gobelins
- Manufacture des Gobelins, 110 m away — A royal workshop founded in the 17th century that still weaves exceptional tapestries for the French state today.
- Butte-aux-Cailles, 950 m away — A former village of cobbled lanes and low houses, spared from Haussmann's grand renovations.
- Place d'Italie, 500 m away — A vast crossroads in the 13th arrondissement, the gateway to Paris's Chinatown.