Porte de Bagnolet: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 3.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from the porte de Bagnolet, so called because it borders the commune of Bagnolet; the former Bagnolet station on line 2 was renamed Alexandre Dumas to avoid confusion. It opened with the last extension of line 3, from Gambetta to Gallieni, which aimed to serve an area that had been poorly served until then. It is one of four stations built at the gates of Paris without having been a terminus originally, the most recent to serve a Paris gate. The square Séverine, the Charonne cemetery and the Théâtre aux Mains nues are nearby.
Anecdote
Because of difficult ground made of gypsum, sand and clay, the station rests on eighty piles one metre in diameter, anchored in limestone 27 m deep. Its typical 1970s decor, close to the « Mouton-Duvernet » style, combines bevelled beige tiles and a white-painted vault left in half-light.
Around Porte de Bagnolet
- Mairie de Bagnolet, 500 m away — The Bagnolet town hall, a close eastern Paris suburb.
- Parc Jean-Moulin - Les Guilands, 1400 m away — A large park spanning Bagnolet and Montreuil, offering fine views over Paris.
- Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, 1350 m away — Paris's largest cemetery, the final resting place of Chopin, Édith Piaf and Jim Morrison.