Vavin: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 4.
Why this name?
Opened on 9 January 1910, the station takes its name from rue Vavin, which honours Alexis Vavin (1792-1863). It lies under place Pablo-Picasso, at the junction of boulevard du Montparnasse and boulevard Raspail, with entrances on rue Vavin and rue Delambre. Its platforms are curved, and two connecting tracks on the line towards Bagneux - Lucie Aubrac link it to line 12 in the west and line 6 in the east.
Anecdote
With the automation of line 4, the station lost its light strips, advertising frames and seats, and its platforms were raised to take platform screen doors, installed in 2020.
Around Vavin
- Jardin du Luxembourg, 750 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.
- La Closerie des Lilas, 550 m away — A historic brasserie frequented by Hemingway and Montparnasse's artists during the Roaring Twenties.