Nanterre-Préfecture: origin of the name and station history
Served by: RER A.
Why this name?
An underground station on RER line A, on the Auber to Saint-Germain-en-Laye line, of which it formed, when it opened, an embryo of the future line A. It is laid out on three levels: the ticket hall at level -1, two side platforms and two tracks separated by a central pier at level -2, then a central platform between two tracks at level -3. It is now part of the central section of line A. Its name comes from its closeness to the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture.
Anecdote
This is where the western branches of line A part: the Saint-Germain-en-Laye branch, run by RATP, and the Poissy and Cergy-le-Haut branches, run by SNCF. Trains to Cergy-le-Haut and Poissy change drivers here between SNCF and RATP. A connection along the public road links the station to Nanterre-La Folie, served by line E, and a connection with metro line 15 is planned for the longer term, around 2030.
Around Nanterre-Préfecture
- La Boule (Bernar Venet), 1050 m away — A monumental steel sculpture by artist Bernar Venet, standing in front of the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture.
- Université Paris Nanterre, 1150 m away — The campus where the 22 March 1968 movement was born, the spark of the May '68 events.