Riquet: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 7.
Why this name?
The station takes its name from rue Riquet, which honours Pierre Paul Riquet, Baron de Bonrepos (1604-1680), the engineer who designed and built the Canal du Midi. In the Villette district, under avenue de Flandre, between Crimée and Stalingrad, it opened the day after the first section of line 7 went into service: that day, trains ran through without stopping. The Villette basin, the Centquatre-Paris, the Orgues de Flandre and the jardin de l'Îlot-Riquet are nearby.
Anecdote
The lower parts of the walls are vertical, because avenue de Flandre was narrower at the time of construction. A mosaic by Hervé Mathieu-Bachelot adorned the walls of the main entrance, above the staircase, before disappearing during the renovation of the corridors. Between 1974 and 1984 the platforms were modernised in the Andreu-Motte style.
Around Riquet
- Bassin de la Villette, 650 m away — Filled with water on 2 December 1808, this basin is the end of the Ourcq canal, created by a decree of Napoleon in 1802, and the starting point of the Canal Saint-Martin.
- Rotonde de la Villette, 700 m away — A former 18th-century toll house designed by architect Ledoux, now a cultural venue.
- Canal de l'Ourcq, 550 m away — Created by a decree of Napoleon on 19 May 1802, this 108.1-km canal brings the Ourcq's water to the Villette basin. Reserved for non-drinking uses since 1983, it also serves pleasure boating.