Saint-Sulpice: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 4.
Why this name?
Opened on 9 January 1910 on line 4, the station is in the 6th arrondissement, under rue de Rennes, at the intersection with rue du Vieux-Colombier. Its name comes from rue Saint-Sulpice, which runs along the north side of the church of Saint-Sulpice, dedicated to Sulpicius the Pious (576-647), bishop of Bourges from 621 to 624 and almoner to Clotaire II. The church, begun in 1646 under Gamard and built until 1788, replaced an earlier one, from 1211, that had become too small.
Anecdote
The two metro entrances on rue de Rennes, on either side of rue du Vieux-Colombier, are decorated with a Val d'Osne lamp post. The station has three entrances, including one on rue du Four and one on rue de Coëtlogon, with an escalator. Renovated in spring 2010 as part of the « Un métro + beau » operation, it received blue Akiko seats and, during the automation of line 4, raised platforms to take platform screen doors.
Around Saint-Sulpice
- Jardin du Luxembourg, 600 m away — A garden begun in 1612 by Marie de' Medici, around a palace she modelled on the Pitti Palace in Florence. It holds a small model of Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty, dating from 1870.
- Fontaine Saint-Sulpice, 90 m away — A 12-metre fountain designed by Louis Visconti, nicknamed the "fountain of the four cardinal points" for its four sculpted bishops.
- Église Saint-Sulpice, 190 m away — The second largest church in Paris after Notre-Dame, famous for its Delacroix frescoes and astronomical gnomon.
- Café de la Mairie, 90 m away — A historic café overlooking Place Saint-Sulpice, long frequented by Parisian writers and intellectuals.