Abbesses (Paris Métro)

Abbesses
Location	18th arrondissement of Paris Île-de-France France
Coordinates	48°53′05″N 2°20′19″E / 48.884849°N 2.338688°E / 48.884849; 2.338688Coordinates: 48°53′05″N 2°20′19″E / 48.884849°N 2.338688°E / 48.884849; 2.338688
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	31 October 1912 (1912-10-31)
Services
Preceding station   Paris Métro   Following station Pigalle toward Mairie d'Issy Lamarck - Caulaincourt toward Front Populaire
Location
Abbesses Location within Paris

Abbesses (French pronunciation: ​[abɛs], literally Abbesses) is a station on Paris Métro Line 12, in the Montmartre district and the 18th arrondissement. Abbesses is the deepest station in the Paris Métro, at 36 metres (118 feet)^[1] below ground, it is located on the western side of the butte (hill) of Montmartre. Access to the platforms is usually by elevators, but they can be accessed by decorated stairs.

Location

Abbesses station

Nearby are the Montmartre district, the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre (church), the Place du Tertre and the Église Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre (Art Nouveau church). The station is named after the Place des Abbesses, referring to the abbesses of the nearby abbey of the Dames-de-Montmartre.

History

The station opened on 31 October 1912 as part of the extension of the Nord-Sud company's line A from Pigalle to Jules Joffrin. On 27 March 1931, line A became line 12 of the Métro. The RATP has recently completed a major renovation of this station, which has returned it to its splendid original Nord-Sud condition.

Station layout

Line 12 platforms	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Southbound	← toward Mairie d'Issy (Pigalle)
	Northbound	→ toward Front Populaire (Lamarck – Caulaincourt) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Design

The Hector Guimard-designed édicule

The station's entrance, designed by Hector Guimard (1867–1942), is one of only two original glass-covered Guimard entrances, called édicules (kiosks), left in Paris (the other is located at Porte Dauphine, while a third, replica édicule exists at Châtelet). Though a Guimard original, the édicule at Abbesses was originally located at Hôtel de Ville but was transferred to its current location in 1974. The entrance is technically anachronistic, since line 12 of the Paris metro was built by a competing firm, the Nord-Sud Company, which did not hire Guimard but engaged other architects to design its stations and station entrances.

Abbesses in popular culture

• Abbesses is featured in Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain; a working title for the film was Amélie des Abbesses (Amélie of the Abbesses). Though set at Abbesses station, the film was actually shot at Porte des Lilas station, which has a disused platform that has been specially set up for filming.
• The entrance to Abbesses metro station is featured near the beginning of music video for Howard Jones' What Is Love as well as several other locations around Paris^[2]
• Louis Vuitton has a messenger style bag in the Monogram Canvas line named after the station.
• A cartoon version of the station appears in the official music video for "Flowers", the ninth track on Émilie Simon).
• "Abbesses" is also where Minette's fashion studio is located in a Nancy Drew Pc game Danger By Design.
• The French DJ crew Birdy Nam Nam has composed a musical piece called Abbesses.^[3]

Line 12 platforms at Abbesses

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abbesses (Paris Metro).

External links

• Renovation works schedule from RATP web-site (French)