Simplon: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 4.
Why this name?
Opened on 21 April 1908, the station takes its name from rue du Simplon, which refers to the Simplon Pass, at 2,008 m in the Swiss Alps, where Napoleon had a road built in 1807. The Simplon railway tunnel has linked Switzerland and Italy since 1906. The station is under boulevard Ornano, between rue du Simplon and rue de Clignancourt, with two side platforms, near the La Chapelle depot.
Anecdote
During an Allied bombing raid on the La Chapelle depot, in April 1944, the station's vault collapsed onto the track and platforms. A fire in two trains on 6 August 2005 revealed insufficient smoke extraction: since then, all metro staff use the alert « FEU FUMÉE » (fire smoke).
Around Simplon
- Marché Ordener, 1100 m away — A lively neighbourhood market, valued by locals for its fresh produce.
- Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, 1000 m away — A Romano-Byzantine basilica crowning Paris from the Butte Montmartre, reachable from this station.
- Mairie du 18ᵉ arrondissement, 500 m away — A Belle Époque-style district town hall, the administrative heart of the Montmartre district.