Notre-Dame-de-Lorette: station history
Served by: metro line 12.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from its proximity to the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette and the street of the same name, which itself takes its name from the church. It opened with the first section of Nord-Sud line A, of which it was the temporary terminus from Porte de Versailles, until the extension to Pigalle. It is in the 9th arrondissement, under rue de Châteaudun, between Saint-Georges and Trinité - d'Estienne-d'Orves. The rue de Châteaudun entrance keeps a Nord-Sud-style surround.
Anecdote
Two of the tightest curves on the network, with a 50 m radius, precede the station in the direction of Mairie d'Issy. On 30 August 2000, after excess speed, the lead car of a train overturned in the tunnel, slid for 134 m and wedged into the platform nose on the opposite side, causing 24 minor injuries. It is the only Andreu-Motte station to have kept its masonry benches, topped with blue Akiko seats.
Around Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
- Église Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, 190 m away — A neoclassical church on a basilica plan, by Hippolyte Lebas, ordered in 1822 and completed in 1836. Its walls are painted in wax, which has it described as "the most colourful church in Paris". Protected in 1984.
- Musée national Gustave-Moreau, 210 m away — The former studio of symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, preserving thousands of his works.
- Nouvelle Athènes, 210 m away — A district favoured in the 19th century by Romantic artists, with elegantly ornate buildings.