Pont de l'Alma: origin of the name and station history
Served by: RER C.
Why this name?
A station in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, at kilometre point 1.100 of the Invalides line, at 28.5 metres above sea level, opened by the Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Ouest and now operated by the SNCF and served by RER line C. It takes its name from the nearby pont de l'Alma. In 1889 the Moulineaux line came into service; in 1890 a petition asked for the removal of the level crossings and the extension to Les Invalides. The City of Paris wanted a tunnel, but the line was built in an open cutting.
Anecdote
The original building, designed by the architect Juste Lisch, evoked a Chinese pagoda. In 1920 the neighbouring avenue de la Bourdonnais station was disused, then demolished in 1937, when the line was covered with a new slab. The present building was erected in 1996; the station was closed for renovation, with lifts and emergency exits added on each platform, and reopened after about two and a half years. Residents of the Gros-Caillou district opposed the extension of the line, citing the nuisance of the works. Metro line 9 at Alma - Marceau station can be reached on foot by crossing the bridge.
Around Pont de l'Alma
- Palais de Tokyo, 450 m away — A major contemporary art centre housed in an Art Deco building from the 1937 World's Fair.