I like to tackle a subject of many questions by friends and family members as well as bloggers over the years, That is public transports in Paris which of course by nature of working in the City needed to use extensively for 9 years, I have written a general post on the RER réseau express régional or regional express network as well as on métro lines 1, 2, and 6;see posts, On this occasion would like to tell you about one very popular station on the most famous and beautiful avenue in the world, The Avenue des Champs-Elysées and its Arc de Triomphe (see posts as well, Therefore, here is my take on the Charles de Gaulle – Étoile station has metro lines 1, 2 and 6 as well as the RER A trains under Place Charles-de-Gaulle. Originally called Étoile, it is located on the border of the 8éme, 16éme and 17éme arrondissements of Paris. Hope you enjoy the post as I
The Place Charles de Gaulle in its current appearance was built during the Second Empire on the initiative of Haussmann and Napoleon III. From 1854 and around the Arc de Triomphe, completed in 1836, twelve star-shaped avenues were created, including the emblematic Avenue des Champs-Elysées. The Private mansions or the Hôtels des Maréchaux recognizable by their identical motifs are built there. Its origin dates back to the 17C .In 1787, during the construction of the Farmers General wall, the Etoile barrier (also called the Neuilly barrier) was created based on drawings by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Twelve in number, they are bordered by the twelve avenues starting in a star around the square. These U-shaped constructions on the rear façade have their entrances on a circular street (rue de Tilsit and rue de Presbourg). The motifs of the facades are common to all, Twelve large straight avenues come out of this square and form a star. From the north and clockwise:
1 – Avenue de Wagram named after the Battle of Wagram won by Napoleon in 1809 in Austria. Formerly Boulevard de l’Etoile or Boulevard Bezons. 2 – Avenue Hoche named after Lazare Hoche French General (native of Versailles). Formerly Avenue de la Reine-Hortense under the Second Empire and Boulevard Monceau before. 3 – Avenue de Friedland named after the Battle of Friedland won by Napoleon in 1809 in East Prussia since the Second Empire. Formerly Boulevard Beaujon. 4 – Avenue des Champs-Élysées, named after the Champs-Élysées, the place of the Underworld where virtuous souls dwelt in Greek mythology. 5 – Avenue Marceau named after François Séverin Marceau French General. Formerly Josephine Avenue 6 – Avenue d’Iéna, named after the Battle of Jena won by Napoleon in 1806 over the Prussians. 7 – Avenue Kléber named after Jean-Baptiste Kléber French General. Formerly Avenue du Roi-de-Rome and Boulevard de Passy before. 8 – Avenue Victor-Hugo named after Victor Hugo French writer. Formerly Avenue d’Eylau and Avenue de Saint-Cloud, 9 – Avenue Foch named after Ferdinand Foch Marshal of France. Formerly Avenue du Bois (de Boulogne) under the Third Republic and Avenue de l’Impératrice under the Second Empire,(my entry into Paris many times with family by car), 10 – Avenue de la Grande Armée named after Napoleon I’s army from 1800 to 1815. Formerly Avenue de Neuilly. 11 – Avenue Carnot named after Lazare Carnot Member of Parliament and minister. Formerly Avenue d’Essling under the Second Empire named after the lost defeat in 1809 , 12 – Avenue Mac-Mahon named after Edme Patrice Mac-Mahon Marshal of France. Formerly Avenue du Prince-Jérôme.
The station is under the northern part of Place Charles-de-Gaulle, the platforms being established: on métro lines 1 (between Argentine and George V stations) and métro line 6 (preceding Kléber station), adjoining, north of the Arc de Triomphe, parallel to the historic axis of Paris;and on métro line 2 (between Victor Hugo and Ternes stations), almost perpendicular to the previous ones, on the lower level, under the start of avenue de Wagram. The station opened on September 1, 1900 under the name Étoile, more than a month after the commissioning of the first section of Line 1 between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot on July 19 the previous year. The station owes its original name of Étoile to its location under the Place de l’Étoile, as the latter was then called because of the many avenues leading to it, thus giving it, from an aerial view, the shape of a twelve pointed star. The name of Charles de Gaulle was added in 1970 following the new designation of the aforementioned square, which pays tribute to the resistance fighter and President of the Republic Charles de Gaulle following the general’s death on November 9, 1970.
The station has 11 accesses or entries ,which are : no 1 “Champs-Élysées”: avenue des Champs-Élysées, even side; No. 2 “Avenue de Friedland”: corner Place Charles de Gaulle / Avenue de Friedland, even side; No. 3 “Avenue Victor-Hugo”; no 4 “Avenue Hoche”: place Charles-de-Gaulle (corner avenue de Wagram, odd side); No. 5 “Avenue de Wagram”: place Charles-de-Gaulle (corner avenue de Wagram, even side); No. 6 “Avenue Carnot-Parc Auto”: Avenue Carnot, even side; No. 7 “Avenue Carnot”: Avenue Carnot, odd side; no. 8 “Avenue de la Grande Armée”: avenue de la Grande-Armée, even side; no. 9 “Rue de Presbourg”: avenue de la Grande-Armée, odd side;No. 10 “Avenue Foch-Parc Auto”: Avenue Foch, odd side;and no 11 “Rue Beaujon”: avenue de Wagram, odd side.
The platforms of métro line 1, 90 meters long and slightly curved to the west, are of standard configuration: two in number, they are separated by the metro tracks and the vault is elliptical. The platform of métro line 2 , 75 meters long and slightly curved, is also in a conventional layout under an elliptical vault. On the other hand, unlike that of line 1, it has retained its “Mouton-Duvernet” style of the 1970s , The terminus of metro line 6 forms a loop under the square with a 75-meter-long station adjoining that of line 1, consisting of a narrow platform to the left of the train for the descent of passengers and another wider one to its right for the ascent (the latter communicating with the platform of line 1 in the direction of Château de Vincennes), The Charles de Gaulle Etoile station is served by bus lines 22, 30, 31, 52, 73, 92 and 341 of the RATP bus network. In addition, at night, it is served by the Noctilien lines N11, N24, N53, N151 and N153.
On January 19, 1970, the station was put in correspondence with the new Charles de Gaulle – Étoile station of the Regional Metro, embryo of the current line RER A which was officially born in 1977. On this occasion, the aforementioned station was renamed Charles de Gaulle – Étoile on the following November 30 , The original RER A was put into service between the stations of Nation and Boissy-Saint-Léger in 1969, then between the stations of La Défense and Étoile, which became Charles-de-Gaulle – Étoile, January 19, 1970 (later extended from La Défense to Saint-Germain-en-Laye); the two sections were joined in 1977. The construction of the station, under the Place de l’Étoile, began in early January 1964 and the structural work was completed in September 1965. The dimensions of the station are 225 meters long by 21 meters wide,
The Paris tourist office on the Place Charles de Gaulle: https://en.parisinfo.com/transport/90841/Place-Charles-de-Gaulle
The Paris tourist office on the Arc de Triomphe: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71396/Arc-de-Triomphe
The RATP Paris transports on the RER A: https://www.ratp.fr/plans-lignes/rer/a
The RATP Paris transports on metro lines: https://www.ratp.fr/plan-metro
There you go folks, another nostalgia ride into my eternal Paris, I first saw briefly the Avenue des Champs-Elysées in 1972, then 1990 and very often thereafter for many years, I have used this station a few time do not recall how many but it is a wonderful memory of going under and around ,and by it over the years, Again, hope you enjoy the Charles de Gaulle-Etoile and all around it as I,
Paris1972-Versailles2003 