Montgallet: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 8.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from the proximity of rue Montgallet, which honours a former owner of the land where the street was cut. It is in the 12th arrondissement, in the north-west of the Picpus district, under rue de Reuilly, at place Sarah-Monod, between Reuilly - Diderot and Daumesnil. It opened with the third extension of line 8, from Richelieu - Drouot to Porte de Charenton, and its single entrance, rue Montgallet, has a 1930s Dervaux railing and lamp-post.
Anecdote
Rue Montgallet and the neighbouring streets are home to many computer hardware shops run by a community of Asian-origin sellers. The elliptical vault is particularly high, with the lower part of the walls vertical rather than curved, a profile also found at Reuilly - Diderot, Victor Hugo, Corentin Cariou and Palais-Royal - Musée du Louvre. A service connection with line 6 precedes the station in the direction of Balard.
Around Montgallet
- Coulée verte René-Dumont, 450 m away — A 4.7-km linear park inaugurated in 1993 on the former railway line from Bastille to Verneuil-l'Étang, closed in 1969. It is presented as the first project in the world to turn old elevated railway lines into an urban garden.
- Marché d'Aligre, 1050 m away — A market open every morning except Monday, with a covered hall, the marché Beauvau, and an open-air market along rue d'Aligre. The hall was built in 1779 by Lenoir, then rebuilt in 1843.
- Rue Montgallet, 190 m away — A street known for its concentration of computer equipment shops.