Porte de Saint-Ouen: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 13.
Why this name?
A line 13 metro station, on the border of the 17th and 18th arrondissements, beneath the northern end of avenue de Saint-Ouen, between Garibaldi and Guy Môquet. It was first the northern terminus of line B of the Société du chemin de fer électrique souterrain Nord-Sud de Paris, before the branch to Porte de Clichy opened. Its name comes from the nearby porte de Saint-Ouen, a northern gate of Paris giving access to the commune of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine. The two platforms are about 75 metres long, and the semi-elliptical vault is typical of the former Nord-Sud stations.
Anecdote
The original Nord-Sud style is expressed in green ceramics, plant motifs, interlaced "NS" letters and brown geometric designs; the station name is written in white on a blue background, and the former direction Saint-Lazare appears on a tympanum. In the early 1960s the platforms received a metal cladding with advertising frames; between 2008 and 2009 the cladding was removed and the original Nord-Sud decoration restored. The seats are "Akiko" style, in cyan. The station has been connected to tramway 3b since 24 November 2018.
Around Porte de Saint-Ouen
- Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, 1050 m away — The world's largest antiques and secondhand market, gathering thousands of dealers.
- Mairie de Saint-Ouen, 1400 m away — The Saint-Ouen town hall, a town undergoing major urban transformation.
- Docks de Saint-Ouen, 1100 m away — A former industrial district undergoing major urban transformation, with new housing and green spaces.