Every day, millions of people ride the Metro in Paris without knowing the history behind this famous rapid transit system. Would you like to know more about our city’s Metro? Then read on in preparation for your Parisian trip and your stay at the Hôtel du Continent and its delightful setting.

 

Secrets of the Paris Metro

It was the civil engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe, with the help of Baron Haussmann and his modernisation of the streets of the capital, who was behind the creation of the Paris Metro in the late 19th century. Despite the anger of citizens whose lives were disrupted during the building works, the system’s success was inarguable. Following its inauguration in 1900, some 4 million passengers used the Metro in just 5 months.

White bevelled tiles were specially chosen to bring more light to the platforms. The big yellow ‘M’ you see marking the entrances to the stations today was introduced in the late 1960s.

The Paris Metro now boasts over 200 kilometres of underground tunnels and more than 300 stations. It’s used by an astonishing 1.5 billion passengers each year!

 

Ghost stations of the Metro

Although it’s the second busiest underground railway system in Europe, the Paris Metro still yields some surprises. It has a number of ghost stations. Some were closed at the start of the Second World War and never reopened. Two more were constructed but not used. Others have been repurposed or disappeared completely as the network evolved. It’s all part of the strange subterranean world beneath Paris…

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Credit photo : Enseigne de Métro © Paris Tourist Office - Photographe David Lefranc

Hotel du Continent, a charming hotel in the heart of Paris