Strasbourg-Saint-Denis: station history
Served by: metro lines 4, 8 and 9.
Why this name?
Served by lines 4, 8 and 9, on the border of the 2nd, 3rd and 10th arrondissements, the station opened on 21 April 1908 as « Boulevard Saint-Denis », on line 4. It took its present name on 5 May 1931, with the extension of line 8 to Porte de Charenton, which led to a complex network of interchange corridors; line 9 joined it on 10 December 1933, with its extension to Porte de Montreuil. Its name refers to Saint Denis, apostle of the Gauls and first bishop of Paris.
Anecdote
Lines 8 and 9 cross line 4 at right angles, passing beneath it. Their platforms, 105 metres long, are divided into two half-stations by a central wall, because of unstable ground. On line 4, the blue Andreu-Motte style, with light ramps and blue Motte seats, comes with white tiles laid vertically. The jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove titled the third track of the album « Earfood » (2008) « Strasbourg / St. Denis », in homage to the district where the New Morning club stands.
Around Strasbourg-Saint-Denis
- Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, 300 m away — A hall opened in 1781 on Marie-Antoinette's orders, where Cyrano de Bergerac premiered in 1897.
- Bouillon Julien, 200 m away — A popular 1903 bouillon restaurant with a sumptuous, listed Art Nouveau interior, its mahogany bar crafted by Majorelle.
- Porte Saint-Denis, 110 m away — A triumphal arch raised in 1672 to glorify Louis XIV, celebrating his military victories in Flanders and on the Rhine.
- Porte Saint-Martin, 250 m away — A second, neighbouring triumphal arch, built the same year, marking the former northern boundary of Paris.
- Grands Boulevards, 750 m away — The Grands Boulevards follow the line of old city walls, razed around 1660: the Nouveau Cours was built from 1674 to 1705. A tree-lined promenade, they welcomed theatres, dance halls and restaurants. Gas lighting arrived in 1826.