Pyrénées: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 11.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from its position at the end of rue des Pyrénées, whose name refers to the mountain range forming the border between France and Spain. It lies under rue de Belleville, on the border of the 19th and 20th arrondissements, between Belleville and Jourdain, and marks the dividing line between the Combat and Belleville districts. It opened with the first section of line 11, between Châtelet and Porte des Lilas. Its elliptical vault is higher and more slender than average, because of the great depth.
Anecdote
In April 1944 its platforms served as an air-raid shelter: it is one of twenty-seven stations used in this way, mostly on lines 7, 11 and 12. On an April Fools' Day, the RATP renamed it « Alpes » for a day, along with twelve other stations. The works for the extension of line 11 to Rosny-Bois-Perrier added exits on avenue Simon-Bolivar; they were completed on 28 April 2023.
Around Pyrénées
- Parc de Belleville, 230 m away — A sloped park offering one of the finest free panoramas over Paris, from the heights of the 20th arrondissement.
- Rue Denoyez, 650 m away — An alley entirely covered in murals and graffiti, a hotspot of Parisian street art.
- Regard Saint-Martin, 300 m away — A former 17th-century water inspection chamber, a remnant of the aqueducts that once supplied Paris with drinking water.